‘Super Subbu’ series review: Sundeep Kishan’s Telugu series blends humour with social commentary The more we assume things have changed, the more they probably have not, at least not for everyone. While some urban homes and schools have moved beyond awkward ‘birds and bees’ conversations to adopt a more pragmatic approach to sex education, the subject remains taboo in many households. In a remote village, those conversations become even harder. Super Subbu, Netflix’s first Telugu original series, directed by Mallik Ram and starring Sunde, Kishan in the title role, builds an engaging drama around this premise. Some of the early scenes evoke school days when teachers would skip sex education lessons to avoid uncomfortable giggles in the classroom. They also reveal the unease many educators themselves feel around the subject. Mallik Ram, who has co-written the series with Ramesh Eligeti and Shivani Dhobal, understands that conversations around sex education, menstrual health, and family planning remain relevant, even if cinema has touched on them before. He tells the story of Subbu, or Subramanyam Chilukuri (Sundeep Kishan), a sex education officer posted to a remote village in Telangana, with humour. The tone recalls Vicky Donor, transplanted to a rustic setting. While some jokes are risqué, they never descend into crassness. At its heart, Super Subbu is anchored in a father-son dynamic that will feel familiar to many who grew up in the 1980s and 1990s. A father who recoils at any discussion of sex. A curious adolescent son sneaking a look at magazines, only to be caught. Murali Sharma, making his web-series debut, is pitch-perfect as Kukkuteshwar Rao, Subbu’s authoritarian father and a schoolteacher who dismisses sex education as “pure, unadulterated nonsense.#netflix #telangana #super_subbu #sundeep_kishan #mallik_ram
