Viswam () is a 2024 Indian Telugu-language action comedy film co-written and directed by Sreenu Vaitla while Gopimohan, Bhanu-Nandu and Praveen Verma wrote the screenplay. The film is produced by Chitralayam Studios and People Media Factory. The film stars Gopichand and Kavya Thapar. The soundtrack and background score were composed by Chaitan Bharadwaj and Bheems Ceciroleo, while the cinematography and editing were handled by K. V. Guhan and Amar Reddy Kudumula, respectively.
Viswam was scheduled to release in theatres on 11 October 2024. The film received mixed reviews from critics and became an average grosser at the box office.
The film opens with a bomb blast carried out by a student linked to a terrorist network. Professor Sanjay Sharma (Jisshu Sengupta), revealed to be Jalaluddin Qureshi, an ISIS operative, conspires with Bachiraju (Sunil) to orchestrate further attacks. When another professor discovers their plans, both he and the central minister are killed, leaving a young girl, Darshana, as the sole witness.
Darshana becomes the target of QureshiâÂÂs men, but is protected by Gopi Reddy (Gopichand), a seemingly ordinary man. As he fights off multiple attempts on her life, his past is gradually revealed: his real name is Viswam, an orphan adopted by DIG Kailash Satyardhi after terrorists killed his family. He later joined the Anti-Terrorism Squad and had been tracking QureshiâÂÂs network.
ViswamâÂÂs personal life intertwines with Samira (Kavya Thapar), a woman he once loved and was betrayed by, but who later reconciles with him. Meanwhile, Qureshi intensifies his attacks, killing ViswamâÂÂs adoptive father and targeting Darshana again. In the climax, Viswam rescues the girl, confronts Qureshi, and eliminates his network with the help of his sister Priya (Priya Vadlamani) and surviving allies. Qureshi is killed, and his associates are exposed and arrested, bringing the terror plot to an end.
The first filming schedule commenced on 24 September in Italy, and they shot in multiple locations there, including Matera, Milan and Rome. A song sequence was filmed there, as well. Following that, the crew moved to Goa for their next schedule. Afterwards, they shot some scenes in Manali, at the foothills of the Himalayas in January 2024. Thereafter, the cast began shooting in Hyderabad. By the following month, the film had completed approx. 60% of its shoot. In March, the makers announced that People Media Factory would join as co producer of the film with Chitralayam Studios. The teaser was unveiled on 3 September 2024, with the launch event primarily attended by the cast and the technical crew.
The soundtrack and the background score were composed by Chaitan Bharadwaj and Bheems Ceciroleo (only one song), in his maiden collaboration with both Gopichand and Srinu Vaitla. The first single, "Moroccan Maguva," was released on 11 September 2024, and is a dance track about the hero's romantic interest. Rakendu Mouli's lyrics have a liberal use of colloquial Hyderabadi lingo, and it is a unique blending of English, Telugu and Urdu. The second single, "Mondi Thalli Pilla Nuvvu" was unveiled thereafter on 24 September, and is a composition about motherly love and affection. The song portrays a mother-daughter relationship in a melodic and heartwarming manner. "Vastanu Vastanule," the third single, was released on 4 October 2024 and is a romantic melody between the hero and the heroine. The fourth single, "Gunguru Gunguru" was composed by Bheems Ceciroleo, and is another dance track with heavy mass beats, intending to show the chemistry between the hero and the heroine.
The film was theatrically released on 11 October 2024. Amazon Prime Video has purchased the streaming rights of the film, and the dubbing rights have been sold for .
The Censor Board of Film Certification suggested fourteen cuts to the original version of the film, mainly those that featured moments of gore, violence and offensive dialogue. The film eventually received a U/A certificate from the Censor Board, after making changes to some scenes. According to the British Board of Film Classification, the film received a 15, stating reasons like strong gory violence and injury detail.
On a similar note, Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu wrote, "In terms of narrative style, character arcs and the plot itself, this Gopichand and Kavya Thapar starrer feels redundant. The film teems with dozen of characters and a handful of sub plots â in the name of offering wholesome entertainment â with action episodes, romance, emotional drama and mindless comedy; it can get tiresome to sit through 155 minutes of an incoherence narrative, even if one does not look for logical reasoning."