Irumudi

Ayyappa devotees climb to Sabarimala carrying a bundle of offerings on their heads, and in south India that bundle is called an irumudi. That's where 'Irumudi' gets its name. It's the Telugu drama in which Shiva Nirvana, director of 'Ninnu Kori', 'Majili' and 'Kushi', handed Ravi Teja, Tollywood's 'Mass Maharaja', a part a long way from his usual action heroes.

Trinath lives in Polluru, a hill village, with his wife Kaveri and his young daughter Manikanta, who means everything to him. He drinks for most of the year and has a temper that snaps the moment anyone hurts a girl in the village, because he treats every one of them like his own. There's only one stretch when he changes: the 41 days of the deeksha, when he puts on the Ayyappa mala, gives up drink and violence and gets ready for the pilgrimage. The one thing he's taught Manikanta above all else is to tell him whatever happens to her.

But that year, in the middle of the deeksha, the village is hit by a string of abductions and murders of young girls, and Trinath, who has sworn not to raise a hand against anyone, has to face his own demons to stop them.

Priya Bhavani Shankar and Baby Nakshathra play Trinath's wife and daughter, with Sai Kumar, Swasika and Ajay Ghosh also in the cast. GV Prakash Kumar wrote the music and Mythri Movie Makers produced it. It opened on 21 August 2026 and became the biggest hit of Ravi Teja's career, grossing over ₹200 crore worldwide according to the producers.

Critics were less sold: it averages 55.5 out of 100 across eleven reviews on the site. Most praise the lead and the father and daughter at its heart, but several take issue with cardboard villains and with a message about women's safety that ends up relying, once again, on a man who saves them all. It reached Netflix in September.

• Action
• Drama
• Family