12A Railway Colony (2025) Movie ft. Kamakshi, Allari, and Sai
For years now, Allari Naresh has been tiptoeing away from the slapstick routines that made his name. With 12A Railway Colony, he takes a real leap, straight into the thriller space. It’s refreshing to see an actor willing to retool his brand. Unfortunately, the film he chose to do it with doesn’t hold up its end of the bargain.
Director Nani Kasaragadda and writer Dr. Anil Vishwanath had their work cut out for them. Building a suspense film around Naresh requires careful balance. The project had genuine intrigue in its bones, but somewhere between script and screen, that intrigue got buried.
The Story That Loses Its Way
Set in a Warangal railway colony, the film centers on Karthik, a man working the gray areas of local politics. He becomes entangled in a murder when he discovers his neighbor dead under strange circumstances. From there, it spirals into questions about who, why, and what actually happened.
The bones of this premise held promise. Murder mysteries thrive on careful revelation and reader—or in this case, viewer—engagement with clues. But the film’s journey from question to answer feels hastily sketched. Plot points that should build on each other instead sit isolated, waiting for the next revelation to patch things together.
Performances That Try Harder Than the Script
Naresh shows genuine range here, moving beyond his familiar persona into something more grounded. His Telangana accent feels earned rather than slapped on. When the camera finds him quiet and contemplative, you sense an actor expanding beyond his lane. The problem isn’t his commitment—it’s that the material doesn’t give him solid ground to stand on.
Kamakshi Bhaskarla plays a role that demands mystery and restraint. She delivers on both fronts, though her character deserves more texture and backstory than the script provides. By the end, you wish there had been more of her story woven through the narrative from the start.
Sai Kumar enters as the investigation officer with authority, but then gets sidelined as Naresh’s character takes over detective work. It’s an odd choice that weakens the story’s believability. An experienced officer should handle the investigation, not a local worker with zero training.
The Bloated First Act
The opening hour doesn’t know what it wants to be. Romance scenes between Naresh and Kamakshi feel obligatory rather than organic. Conversations among the gang about shallow topics stretch thin. The film treats setup like it’s optional, spending too much screen time on moments that don’t matter.
Then, just before interval, something finally clicks—the sudden discovery that shifts everything. It’s a genuine shock that makes you sit up. For a brief moment, you think the film might actually know where it’s going. That moment, unfortunately, doesn’t last.
Logic Takes a Backseat in Act Two
The second half races forward with revelations and plot twists, but they arrive without proper foundation. A thriller survives on internal consistency—rules that make sense within its world. This one abandons that principle halfway through. Motives feel forced. Connections seem random. The climactic revelations don’t land because they weren’t planted carefully enough in what came before.
What bothers me most is characterization that contradicts itself. Early scenes establish certain relationships and feelings. Later scenes ignore that setup entirely, asking you to accept new versions of the same characters. It reads like multiple drafts stitched together rather than a single coherent vision.
Craft Elements That Fall Short
Kushendar Ramesh Reddy’s cinematography is technically sound but plays it safe. There’s no real visual language that deepens the thriller experience. Bheems Ceciroleo’s music includes moments that work, but songs interrupt the narrative momentum at crucial points. The background score does heavier lifting in tense sequences.
The technical side shows wear. Green screen work becomes obvious when it shouldn’t be. Location choices lack the specificity needed to make Warangal feel like a character itself. You sense time pressure in the editing—scenes cut before they breathe, sequences assembled without breathing room between them.
What Reviewers Made of It
Professional critics have been largely measured but firm in their assessments. Most praise Naresh for his willingness to experiment while criticizing the film’s structural weaknesses. Consensus suggests the story could work with stronger writing and clearer direction. Several noted that the mystery elements feel recycled from earlier thrillers rather than fresh.
The rating range across platforms sits between 2 to 3 out of 5, indicating a film that doesn’t quite miss but also doesn’t quite hit. It’s the middle ground that makes it harder to recommend.
The Takeaway
12A Railway Colony isn’t without merit, but it’s also not a film that stakes a claim on your time. Naresh’s career move shows guts, and there are genuine moments where the film threatens to become something worthwhile. The problem is those moments remain scattered rather than cumulative.
If you’re specifically interested in watching Naresh branch out, or if you have two hours for a mystery film regardless of quality, you’ll find things to appreciate. For everyone else seeking a tight, engaging thriller, there are stronger options available right now.
Rating: 2.5/5
