The mystery of the closed Subramanian Swamy temple.|Oct. 24, 2014|India|124 Min.|R
Genre: Drama;Family;South;Indian
Description: Karthikeya is a 2014 Indian Telugu-language mystery thriller film written and directed by Chandoo Mondeti. The movie stars Nikhil Siddharth, Swati Reddy, Tanikella Bharani, Rao Ramesh, and Jayaprakash in key roles. Produced by Venkata Srinivas under the Magnus Cine Prime banner, the film features music by Shekar Chandra, cinematography by Karthik Ghattamaneni, and editing by Karthika Srinivas. The story centers around a medico named Karthik, whose curiosity leads him to uncover the mysteries of a closed Kartikeya temple located on the border of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
The film’s inspiration came from an incident at the Talupulamma Temple near Tuni in Andhra Pradesh. Production began on 10 June 2013, with principal photography starting on 5 July 2013 and concluding on 21 February 2014. The movie was filmed in various locations, including Visakhapatnam, Araku, and the Kumararama temple in Samarlakota. Nearly half of the filming took place in Tamil Nadu, including Kumbakonam. Released on 24 October 2014 as a Diwali release, the film received positive reviews and grossed over ₹20 crore against a budget of ₹4–6 crore.
At the 62nd Filmfare Awards South, Karthikeya received four nominations, and it won one award out of four nominations at the 4th South Indian International Movie Awards. Due to its success, a sequel, Karthikeya 2, was announced in late 2019 and released on 13 August 2022.
The plot revolves around a village called Subrahmanyapuram, where an ancient Subrahmanya Swami temple is closed after a series of mysterious deaths attributed to snake bites. Karthikeya, a medical student who relies on science and logic, visits the village for a medical camp with his love interest, Valli. Intrigued by the temple’s closure, he begins investigating and discovers a diary left by Shankar, an Endowments Department official who previously researched the temple’s mysteries but was killed by a snake bite in the same building where Karthikeya and his friends are staying. The film follows Karthikeya’s journey to unravel the temple’s secrets.
Cast director: Chandoo Mondeti
Cast actor: Nikhil Siddharth, Swathi Reddy, Tanikella Bharani, Rao Ramesh, Kishore, Satya, Praveen, Raja Ravindra, Meena Vasu, Tulasi
Original name: కార్తికేయ