Mad (film)

Mad (stylized as MAD) is a 2023 Indian Telugu-language coming-of-age comedy drama film written and directed by Kalyan Shankar in his directorial debut. Produced by S. Naga Vamsi, the film has an ensemble cast of Narne Nithiin, Sangeeth Sobhan, Ram Nithin, Sri Gouri Priya, Ananathika Sanilkumar, Gopika Udayan, Vishnu Oi and Karthikeya Samala. The film was released on 6 October 2023.^[2]

Mad
Theatrical Release Poster
Directed by	Kalyan Shankar
Written by	Kalyan Shankar
Produced by	Haarika Suryadevara Sai Soujanya S. Naga Vamsi
Starring	Narne Nithiin Sangeeth Sobhan Ram Nithin Sri Gouri Priya Ananathika Sanilkumar Gopika Udayan
Cinematography	Shamdat Sainudeen Dinesh B. Krishnan
Edited by	Naveen Nooli
Music by	Bheems Ceciroleo
Production companies	Sithara Entertainments Fortune Four Cinemas
Distributed by	Sithara Entertainments
Release date	6 October 2023 (2023-10-6)
Running time	127 minutes
Country	India
Language	Telugu
Budget	₹8 crore
Box office	est. ₹26 crore[1]

Mad was theatrically released on October 6, 2023 to positive reviews and became a major commercial success as well as becoming a breakthrough for the lead actors. A sequel, titled Mad Square, was released in March 2025.

Plot

This movie is about four friends who start their journey at an engineering college.

Cast

• Narne Nithiin as Ashok
• Sangeeth Sobhan as Damodhar "DD"
• Ram Nithin as Manoj
• Sri Gouri Priya as Sruthi
• Ananathika Sanilkumar as Jennie Sharma
• Gopikaa Udyan as Radha
• Raghu Babu as College Principal Purushottam
• Racha Ravi as Peon
• Muralidhar Goud as Ganesh "Laddu"s father
• Vishnu Oi as Ganesh "Laddu"
• Ravi Anthony Pudota as Anthony Rodriguez
• Charan Peri as Charan
• Karthikeya Samala as Siva
• Srikanth N. Reddy as Srikanth N. Reddy
• Raghuram Sreepada as Xerox Janardhan
• Santosh Kalwacherla as rich student president
• K. V. Anudeep in a cameo appearance

Soundtrack

Track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Proud'se Single"	Raghuram	Nakash Aziz, Bheems Ceciroleo	3:25
2.	"Nuvvu Navvukuntu"	Bhaskarabhatla	Kapil Kapilan	3:40
3.	"College Papa"	Kasarla Shyam	Bheems Ceciroleo, Varam, Keerthana Sharma	3:41

All music is composed by Bheems Ceciroleo.

Release

Theatrical

Mad was released on 6 October 2023.

Home media

Netflix acquired the post-theatrical streaming rights for the film, which premiered on the platform on 3 November 2023.^[3] The satellite rights were acquired by ETV.

Reception

Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu wrote, "Watching MAD is like stepping into an engineering campus and being privy to the fun riot in the classrooms and hostels". She further praised the performances of Shobhan, Muralidhar Goud, and Vishnu Oi.^[4] Abhilasha Cherukuri of The New Indian Express rated the film 3.5 out of 5 and wrote, "Despite remnants of the campus film genre seen across MAD, one thing sets the latter apart from the rest. There is no sappy mythologising of friendship".^[5]

Accolades

Award[a]	Date of ceremony[b]	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref.
Filmfare Awards South	3 August 2024	Best Male Debut	Sangeeth Sobhan	Won	[6][7][8]
South Indian International Movie Awards	14 September 2024	Best Comedian – Telugu	Vishnu Oi	Won	[9][10]
		Best Male Debut – Telugu	Narne Nithin	Nominated
			Ram Nithin	Nominated
			Sangeeth Sobhan	Won
		Best Debut Director – Telugu	Kalyan Shankar	Nominated
		Best Lyricist – Telugu	Bhaskarabhatla ("Nuvvu Navvukuntu")	Nominated

Notes

1. Awards, festivals and organizations are in alphabetical order.
2. Date is linked to the article about the awards held that year, wherever possible.