Junior Movie Review: Kireeti Reddy makes a convincing debut in a massy, soulful ride

New Indian Express

19-07-2025

Director Radhakrishna Reddy crafts Junior within a familiar commercial framework — campus capers, dance numbers, and dramatic dialogues — but infuses it with a surprisingly tender core. At its heart, the film is about parenting, misunderstood love, redemption, and the aching need to reconnect across generations. Designed as a launch vehicle for debutant Kireeti Reddy, Junior does more than introduce an actor — it explores what happens when youthful exuberance collides with long-buried emotional truths.
The story begins on an almost offbeat note. Kodandapani (Ravichandran) and Shyamala (Sudharani), an elderly couple residing in Vijayanagara, stun their conservative neighbourhood by expecting a child late in life. Society's whispers force them to leave town in search of peace. But tragedy cuts that journey short — Shyamala dies in childbirth during a bus ride, leaving Kodandapani a single parent. It's an unconventional start for a mainstream film, but it sets the emotional compass.
Fast forward to the present, and their son Abhinav (Kireeti Reddy) bursts onto the screen with a high-octane college chase sequence, a showcase for the young actor's flair. From there, Junior transforms into a vibrant campus entertainer, where fun, rebellion, and romance reign.