Dear Comrade (2019)

Dear Comrade 2019: what to know before you watch

Dear Comrade 2019 is a Telugu-language romantic action drama and the directorial debut of Bharat Kamma, who also wrote the story and screenplay. It stars Vijay Deverakonda as Bobby, a student-union leader whose temper gets him into trouble, and Rashmika Mandanna as Lilly, a cricketer.

It is a long film by most standards, with listings giving a runtime of roughly 167 to 170 minutes, so it suits a settled evening rather than a quick watch. The story is about love under strain: how someone angry and idealistic treats the people closest to him.

Release date and languages

Reference listings give the theatrical release as 26 July 2019, in Telugu with dubbed Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada versions. A Hindi dubbed version was reportedly put on YouTube on 19 January 2020. One classification record shows a date in May 2019, which looks like an earlier certification-stage entry rather than the release. We could not confirm a current streaming platform from the sources we saw, so check your region's OTT apps.

Remake background and cast

Reports describe the film as a remake of, or inspired by, the 2017 Malayalam film CIA (Comrade in America). Shruti Ramachandran appears as Lilly's cousin Jaya in her Telugu debut, and Suhas plays Martin. Music is by Justin Prabhakaran and the camera work by Sujith Sarang. Mythri Movie Makers and Big Ben Cinemas produced it. A Hindi remake was reportedly acquired by Karan Johar, but we have no confirmed release to report. We have not watched the film.

Who it suits

Fans of Vijay Deverakonda's early-career intensity and viewers who like campus politics mixed with romance are the obvious audience. Those who dislike long runtimes or heavily emotional drama may prefer to pick something shorter.

If you want context first, the Malayalam film it draws from, CIA (Comrade in America), is the obvious companion to compare against afterwards. Be aware that the sources give a few different running times, from 167 to 170 minutes, so the exact figure may vary by version or platform. As we have not watched it, we do not rate the performances or the pacing, and we have not repeated any pre-release business figures.

Since it is a 2019 release, it is usually easiest to find through the streaming catalogue search for the Telugu title rather than a Hindi one, and subtitle availability differs between services. Anyone coming to it for the first time should be ready for a serious tone: the premise deals with temper, protest and personal pressure, not light romance alone.