''Net'' (stylized as ''NET'') is a 2021 Indian

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

-language

thriller drama In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

film written and directed by debutant Bhargav Macharla. It is produced by Surya Rahul Tamada and Saideep Reddy Borra of Tamada Media. The film stars

Rahul Ramakrishna Rahul Ramakrishna (born 15 January 1991) is an Indian actor, writer and journalist. He made his debut with the short film, ''Sainma''. He became popular with his role in the 2017 Telugu film, ''Arjun Reddy''. Early life Rahul Ramakrishna was b ...

Avika Gor Avika Gor (born 30 June 1997) is an Indian actress who works predominantly in Hindi television and Telugu films. She is famously known for playing the role of Anandi in '' Balika Vadhu'' and Roli in ''Sasural Simar Ka''. She made her Telugu film ...

, Praneetha Patnaik and Vishwadev Rachakonda. It premiered on the

streaming service Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

ZEE5 ZEE5 is an Indian subscription video on-demand and over-the-top streaming service, run by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It was launched in India on 14 February 2018 with content in 12 languages. The ZEE5 mobile app is available on Web, Androi ...

on 10 September 2021.

Plot

The plot revolves around a youngster in the cyber world. He gets trapped in the events around cybercrimes. Every moment in life is being monitored and used by strangers.

Cast

as Lakshman *

as Priya * Praneetha Patnaik as Suchitra * Vishwadev Rachakonda as Ranjith * Vishnu Oi * Dakshi Guutikonda * Shoban Chitraprolu * Amulya Mende * Harishchandra * Anthony Som

Production

The film marks the feature film debut of director Bhargav Macharla. Macharla wrote the script after studying data leaks and privacy breaches. ''Net'' was initially planned as a six-episode web series, but was later made as a

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...

film for

. Macherla cast Ramakrishna as he wanted someone who would look like a "regular guy in the neighbourhood" while Patnaik was signed after watching her performance in ''

C/o Kancharapalem ''C/o Kancharapalem'' (spelt as ''Care of Kancharapalem'') is a 2018 Telugu-language slice of life anthology film written and directed by debutant Venkatesh Maha. It is produced by American filmmaker Praveena Paruchuri and distributed by Rana ...

'', as Macharla felt she could pull of a character in a realistic setting.

Reception

In her review for ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'', Sangeetha Devi Dundoo called the film a "telling tale of online voyeurism." Praising the performances of Ramakrishna, Patnaik and Gor, Dundoo wrote, "''NET'' could have been a full-fledged tech thriller had it looked at a crackdown on cybercrime, but it stays content in being a human drama, and leaving us with uneasy questions on privacy breach." Sravan Vanaparthy of ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...

'' rated the film 3.5 stars out of 5 and stated: "Director Bhargav Macharla puts forward a good film in ''NET'' that tells the story in a natural and convincing manner." ''Cinema Express'' critic Ram Venkat Srikar felt that the film was more of a tale of voyeurism than a surveillance thriller. He concluded his review saying: "''NET'' is a self-aware attempt that works more as a drama than a thriller. A brilliant performance from Rahul Ramakrishna and the straightforward treatment makes it one of the better films of the year." Praveen Kumar Vadla of ''

News18 Telugu Network18 Media & Investments Limited, (formerly SGA Finance and Management Service and Network18 Fincap Limited) commonly referred to as the Network18 Group and sometimes as the Network18–Eenadu Group, is an Indian media conglomerate owned b ...

'' also praised the writing and performances, in addition to the technical aspects.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, tt14992960
''NET''
on

2021 thriller drama films 2020s Telugu-language films Indian thriller drama films 2021 directorial debut films 2021 direct-to-video films ZEE5 original films Films about pornography Films about cybercrime Films set in Hyderabad, India Films set in Telangana Films shot in Hyderabad, India Indian direct-to-video films Indian crime thriller films Films about technological impact