Aadhi Pinisetty Gets Hacked in Drive Review: A Thriller That Stalls

This Drive review looks at a Telugu-language cyber thriller that puts a powerful media tycoon in the crosshairs of an unseen hacker. Directed and written by Jenuse Mohamed, it arrives with a slick premise and a lean 105-minute running time. The question is whether the film keeps its foot on the accelerator.

Drive Review: The Story So Far (No Spoilers)

The Drive plot centres on Jay, a successful media mogul on the verge of relocating to London with his fiancee. Everything looks settled until an anonymous hacker starts tearing his digital life apart. What begins as a cyberattack soon turns into a personal battle over his name, his money and the people he loves.

The set-up also turns an ordinary car journey into a deadly chase, which explains the title. It is a classic pressure-cooker idea: a rich, confident man suddenly cannot trust his phone, his accounts or his own reputation. The film wants you to feel that control slipping away.

As an action movie and thriller hybrid, it promises mind games as much as muscle. Mohamed sketches the hook quickly and avoids a long wind-up. That brisk start is one of the film's better instincts.

What Works in Drive

The premise is timely and easy to grasp. Fear of being hacked, exposed or ruined online needs no explanation, and the film taps into it directly.

• A tight runtime of 105 minutes keeps the film from sprawling.

• The pairing of a wealthy protagonist and a faceless enemy creates natural tension.

• The idea of a drive as a trap gives the action a clear, contained shape.

Reviewers have also pointed to the lead performance as a steady anchor, even when the writing around it wobbles. For fans of the thriller genre, the basic engine of the story is solid.

Drive Cast and Performances

The Drive cast is led by Aadhi Pinisetty as Jaidev Reddy, known as Jay. He brings a calm, polished presence that suits a media tycoon, and one early audience review calls his work competent. A Telugu review headline from Vaartha likewise says his acting is good but the thrill is missing.

Madonna Sebastian plays Shreya, and Kamal Kamaraju appears as Ishan. Raja Chembolu and Anish Kuruvilla also feature in the cast, though their character names are not confirmed in the material available.

The main complaint is not the acting but the role itself. Audience reactions describe the lead as let down by a thinly written part, which leaves Pinisetty with little to build on once the pressure rises.

Where Drive Stumbles

The biggest problem is execution. One viewer summary says the film tries to blend hacking, conspiracy and revenge into a sleek thriller, but the delivery rarely matches the ambition. That fits the wider reaction, where the thrill is the missing ingredient.

On Letterboxd the film averages 2.8 out of 5 from 206 reviews, which signals a divided, lukewarm response. A thriller about a mind game needs escalating surprise, and here the tension reportedly flattens instead of tightening.

The character writing is the second weak point. When the hero feels thin, the stakes around his fiancee, fortune and reputation lose some of their bite.

Is Drive Worth Watching?

Drive is worth a look if you like compact Telugu thrillers and Aadhi Pinisetty, but it is not a must-see. The premise is strong and the pacing is short, yet critics and viewers agree that the payoff falls short of the setup.

The film opened on 12 December 2025. If you go in expecting a modest, watchable cyber-chase rather than a twisty masterpiece, you will be better placed to enjoy it. Anyone wanting sharper writing may prefer a more polished entry from the thriller reviews archive.

For more of the story, the Drive (2025 film) page on Wikipedia) has the basic production details.

Who Will Enjoy Drive

• Fans of Aadhi Pinisetty who want to see him as a high-powered, hunted lead.

• Viewers who like short, premise-driven cyber thrillers and do not mind some rough edges.

• Telugu cinema followers curious about Jenuse Mohamed as a writer-director.