Martin Luther King is a 2023 Indian Telugu-language political satire film directed by Puja Kolluru in her directorial debut. It was jointly produced by YNOT Studios, Reliance Entertainment, and Mahayana Motion Pictures. The film, titled after the late American Baptist minister Martin Luther King, stars Sampoornesh Babu in the titular lead role while Naresh, Sharanya Pradeep and Venkatesh Maha play supportive roles.
The music for the film was composed by Smaran Sai, and the cinematography was handled by Deepak Yaragera. In addition to directing, Puja Kolluru handled the editing of the film. It is a Telugu adaptation of the Tamil film Mandela.
Plot
A man without a name or identity is suddenly wooed by two warring groups when he gets a Voter ID. Will he reap the benefits of his privilege or use it as a tool for social change?
Cast
Sampoornesh Babu as Smile aka Martin Luther King
Naresh
Sharanya Pradeep
Venkatesh Maha
Production
YNOT Studios came up with the idea of a Telugu adaptation of the Tamil film Mandela, and as Baradwaj Rangan suggested, they approached Venkatesh Maha. Venkatesh Maha neglected doing another remake because he has already remade the Malayalam film Maheshinte Prathikaaram in Telugu as Uma Maheswara Ugra Roopasya. Later, they chose Venkatesh's associate director, Puja Kolluru, as a director. Venkatesh wrote the screenplay and dialogue for the film. The story of the film is set to happen around the place of Markapur. Later, Sampoornesh Babu was chosen as the lead actor in the film. Sampoornesh went through a forty-day workshop to fit him into the role of Smile.
Music
The music for the film was composed by Smaran Sai.
Release
The film was released on 27 October 2023.
Reception
A critic from Sakshi gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote a mixed review. Srivathsan Nadadhur of OTTPlay gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Director Puja Kolluru’s Martin Luther King is a sharp social commentary with a good dose of drama and humour."