Lenin

Plot

The story begins in Sriramapuram, introducing the Mahabharata's eighteen-day war, its eighteen parvas, and the eighteen-day festival dedicated to Draupadi known as Bharatam Metta, during which no blood is to be shed. On the festival's first day, the village's upper and lower factions argue over who should inaugurate the celebrations. The dispute ends when an unknown boy plants the ceremonial flag on the gopuram, officially beginning the festival. The boy, Lenin, is adopted by the village's most respected woman, Jayanthi, and grows up alongside her son, Vasanth, with the two becoming as close as brothers.

Several years later, the story shifts to a prison, where Lenin is released after serving several years. He immediately visits the house of his foster uncle, Yatirajulu. Later, Lenin visits a bar with his dog, Kannayya, where he meets a young boy named Dilli. Curious about the man feared by the entire village and branded an outsider, Dilli asks Lenin about his past, prompting Lenin to recount his story.

Past: Several years earlier, during the first day of the festival, Lenin and the villagers clash with the henchmen of MLA Raghava Reddy. The MLA is publicly humiliated and swears revenge.

On the festival's third day, Lenin meets Bharathi, the younger daughter of Jayanthi's elder brother. After a series of encounters, the two fall in love. In the process, Bharathi bruises the ego of Damodaram, one of the MLA's henchmen. Damodaram conspires with Kotha Charuvu Tulasi to abduct and assault Bharathi. However, Lenin and Vasanth, who has just returned after completing his studies, defeat Tulasi and his men, rescuing Bharathi. Tulasi vows revenge. Later, Vasanth further humiliates Raghava Reddy by inviting him to the inauguration of his newly established hospital, only to deliberately ignore him, further fueling the MLA's resentment.

Jayanthi and Neelakantam decide to arrange Vasanth's marriage with Vaidehi, Neelakantam's elder daughter and Bharathi's sister. During one night of the festival, Jayanthi sees Vaidehi with another man, while Damodaram simultaneously taunts both Jayanthi and Yatirajulu. Yatirajulu, the illegitimate son of Jayanthi's father-in-law, has never been accepted as part of the family by Jayanthi or Vasanth, leaving him deeply insecure. His lifelong ambition is to become the festival's Dharmaraju, a highly revered position, but Jayanthi repeatedly denies him the opportunity. Despite this, Yatirajulu has a soft corner for Lenin. When Vaidehi is mysteriously murdered and Bharathi is subsequently arranged to marry Vasanth, Yatirajulu secretly plots to unite Lenin and Bharathi. It is eventually revealed that both Vaidehi and the man seen with her were murdered by Jayanthi's younger brother on Jayanthi's orders. On the eighteenth day of the festival, Bharathi refuses to marry Vasanth and publicly confesses her love for Lenin, who had previously sacrificed his feelings out of loyalty to Jayanthi and Vasanth. Instead of opposing them, Vasanth takes Bharathi to Lenin, allowing the couple to reunite. However, they are ambushed, and Vasanth is brutally stabbed. Lenin stays behind to fight while Bharathi rushes the injured Vasanth to the hospital.

Production

Development

Following the release of Agent (2023), Akhil Akkineni collaborated with director Murali Kishor Abburu for a rural action drama. The film was officially announced under the working title Lenin, highlighting a violent village conflict driven by a central romance. The project is jointly produced by Akhil's father, Nagarjuna, alongside Suryadevara Naga Vamsi, under Manam Enterprises LLP and Sithara Entertainments, respectively.

Casting

Actress Sreeleela was initially cast as the female lead and appeared in early promotional glimpses. However, due to scheduling conflicts, she exited the project and was subsequently replaced by Bhagyashri Borse. The film also marked the casting and reunion of the veteran actors Sivaji, Sunil, and Brahmaji in pivotal roles.

Filming

Principal photography primarily took place in rural clusters of Andhra Pradesh to authenticately capture the Rayalaseema and Chittoor backdrops. The film's major action sequences were choreographed by multiple action directors, including Dhilip Subbarayan and the Ram-Lakshman duo.

Music

The music was composed by Thaman S., marking his first collaboration with director Murali Kishor Abburu and third with Akhil after Akhil (2015) and Mr. Majnu (2019). The audio rights were acquired by T-Series. The lyrics were written by Ramajogayya Sastry, Bhaskarabatla, and Anantha Sriram. The first single, "Vaarevaa Vaarevaa", was released on 05 January 2026, before Sankranthi. The full video of the second single, "Yetta Yetta", was released on 16 April 2026. The promotional video and third single, "Soul of Lenin", was released on 05 June 2026.

Release

Theatrical

Lenin was theatrically released on 10 July 2026.

The film faced multiple production and scheduling delays prior to its final release announcement. It was originally slated for a theatrical release on 1 May 2026; however, it was deferred to avoid a box office clash with Ram Charan's film Peddi. It was subsequently rescheduled for 26 June 2026, before being pushed back one final time to July to allow the post-production and visual effects teams more time to finalize the project.

Distribution

Annapurna Studios released the film in the Nizam region, while Naga Vamsi independently released it in Andhra Pradesh through its distributor. This film was distributed in the United States by Shloka Entertainments.

Home media

The post theatrical streaming rights of Lenin were acquired by ZEE5. It started streaming on 7 August 2026.

Reception

Box office

The film grossed approximately ₹7 crore rupees in Telugu-speaking regions on its opening day, with Karnataka contributing about ₹65 lakh rupees and overseas markets contributing nearly ₹2 crore rupees, bringing its global opening day gross to approximately ₹10 crore rupees. The film grossed over ₹61 Crore in its first three days of release. Ultimately, the film's total box office reached ₹67–100 crore.

Critical response

Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu said that "In Lenin, Akhil does display marked growth as an actor. But a fresher script — one that did not fall back on the mass-action template — might have brought something new to the table." T. Naga Maruthi Acharya of the India Today said that "Murali Kishor Abburu deserves appreciation for attempting a story that is more ambitious than the average commercial entertainer. But ambition alone cannot carry a film. In the end, the missed opportunities linger far longer than the moments that actually work." Yashaswini Sri of The Indian Express said that "Lenin is a rooted, intense rural drama. For those willing to sit with a slow-building story about friendship, loyalty, and love turning into conflict, it largely delivers, anchored by a career-best performance from Akhil Akkineni." Sruthi Ganapati Raman of The Hollywood Reporter India gave the film a mixed review calling it a "shopworn revenge drama" that suffer from a barrage of twists and loose emotional groundwork, though she praised the lead performances of Akhil Akkineni and Bhagyashri Borse as well as its mythological parallels to Mahabharata.