Grey The Spy Who Loved Me: Raj Madiraju’s award-winning spy saga offers a dash of romance, drama, thrills

Grey: The Spy Who Loved Me, the spy thriller directed by Raj Madiraju, the man behind the critically acclaimed Rushi many years ago, has hit screens today. The thriller, which stars Arvind Krishna, Ali Reza, Urvashi Rai in crucial roles, is also the last release of late actor-director Pratap Pothen. This is the first black-and-white Telugu film after a four and a half decades.

The project is bankrolled by Kiran Kallakuri under Adwitiya Movies that’s also backing Raj Madiraju’s next drama Krishna Rama as well. Grey revolves around the death of a Professor Sudarshan Reddy, a nuclear scientist. He’s found dead at his residence under mysterious circumstances. From a family doctor to the scientist’s young wife and the links pointing to international agencies, there are multiple culprits and dimensions to the case.

Right from its title credits, Grey indicates how there are several mysteries clouding the death of noted scientists like Homi Bhabha, Vikram Sarabhai. The thriller is a chilling tale of ambition, raw passion, deceit and every character in it isn’t what they claim to be. With its no-holds-barred dialogue, a stylish background score, terrific visual aesthetics and impressive performances, Grey is a compelling cocktail that’ll leave you craving for more.

The film also indicates the risks that several undercover agents take to fulfil their duties and states why they’re truly the unsung heroes of the nation. After a college drama, cyber-crime saga and a teenage romance, director Raj Madiraju reinvents himself as a storyteller with Grey and also impresses as an actor in a brief role.

The filmmaker was inspired to tell this story when he came across a report where around 12 nuclear scientists went missing in a period of two years in the country and how such incidents surface regularly every decade. PVR Pictures has released the film in Telugu states. MR Chetan Kumar cranked the camera for the thriller which has music by Nagaraju Talluri and is edited by Satya Giduthuri.

Fittingly enough for its novel theme, Grey has won big at the festival circuit, bagging top honours at Budapest Film Festival, Jaipur Film Festival, Tagore International Film Festival, World Film Carnival in Singapore, Europe International Film Festival, Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival, Calcutta International Cult Film Festival, Asian Film Festival and Brazil International Film Festival, to name a few.