Krithi Shetty Celebrates As Her Debut Film Uppena Wins National Award: 'Feels Like a Pure Blessing'

Telugu actress Krithi Shetty made her debut in the 2021 romantic film Uppena with actors Vaisshnav Tej and Vijay Sethupathi. The Buchi Babu Sana directorial had earned immense love from critics and audiences alike when it was first released. The film has now won the 69th National Film Award for Best Telugu Film in the regional category. Krithi recently reacted to the prestigious honour and thanked everyone for showering love on her debut movie.

Speaking to Pinkvilla, Krithi said, “I’m thankful for all of it… The highs. The lows. The blessings. The lessons. The setbacks. The comebacks. The love. The hate. Everything… It’s made me who I am today! My first film receiving a national award feels like a pure blessing… HUGE thank you and congratulations to my #uppena team.”

The film also marked Buchi Babu Sana’s directorial debut. It is set in 2002 in the coastal town of Kakinada and features the love story of Aasirvadham (or Aasi), a Dalit Christian young man who falls in love with Sangeetha (or Bebamma), the daughter of a powerful businessman Raayanam.

While Krithi and Vaisshnav play Bebamma and Aasi in the film, Vijay stars as the antagonist Raayanam. The film also features Sai Chand, Mamilla Shailaja Priya, Gayatri Jayaraman, Mahadevan, Rajeev Kanakala, Kancharapalem Raju, Ravi Varma, Naga Mahesh, Jai Krishna and Rajsekar Aningi in key roles.

The film is jointly produced by the production houses Sukumar Writings and Mythri Movie Makers. Mythri Movie Makers took to the microblogging site X (formerly known as Twitter) to share a video of the film’s director and his team celebrating their prestigious achievement.

Popular composer Devi Sri Prasad composed the music and the original score of the film. Devi Sri Prasad also won at the 69th National Film Awards in the Best Music Director Category but for the Allu Arjun-starrer Pushpa: The Rise.