Guntur Kaaram (pronounced [ɡʊɳʈuːɾ kaːɾʌm]; transl. Spice of Guntur) is a 2024 Indian Telugu-language action drama film[written and directed by Trivikram Srinivas and produced by S. Radha Krishna through Haarika & Hassine Creations. It features Mahesh Babu, Sreeleela, Meenakshi Chaudhary, Prakash Raj, Ramya Krishna, Jayaram, Jagapathi Babu, Sunil and Rao Ramesh.

The film was officially announced in May 2021 under the tentative title SSMB28, as it is Mahesh's 28th film in the leading role, and the official title was announced in May 2023. Principal photography commenced in September 2022, predominantly shot in Hyderabad, and wrapped by late-December 2023. The film's score and soundtrack are composed by Thaman S, with cinematography handled by Manoj Paramahamsa and editing handled by Naveen Nooli.

Guntur Kaaram was released in theatres worldwide on 12 January 2024, coinciding with Sankranti. The film received negative to mixed reviews from critics for Trivikram's direction, screenplay, plot and Thaman's background score and soundtrack but Mahesh Babu's performance was praised.[It emerged as a box office bomb.

Plot

1998: In Guntur, Dokka Marx Babu and Lenin Babu, two of the biggest hooligans in the city, burn down Bhogineni Satyam alias "Royal" Satyam's mirchi factory. Satyam, seeing this, approaches Marx and Lenin to question them, while the factory is burning. In the process, Satyam's brother-in-law, Rangam, accidentally kills Lenin, but Satyam takes the blame for the murder, landing him in jail for 12 years. However, his son, Veera Venkata Ramana "Ramana", partially loses his vision in his left eye, rendering him blind during the explosion of the factory. Soon afterward, seeing how Satyam went to jail, his wife and Ramana's mother, Vasundhara, decides to leave Ramana and Satyam's family and moves back with her politician father, Vyra Venkata Swamy, in Hyderabad, eventually marrying a second time to his nephew and her cousin, Pakka Rajagopal Narayana "Narayana".

2023: Venkata Swamy makes Vasundhara the Minister of Law from his political party, but faces opposition from Kata Madhu, a subordinate and member of his political party, "Jana Dalam Party", who threatens to expose the fact that Ramana is Vasundhara's son. To combat this, Venkata Swamy decides to make Ramana sign a document stating that he is not related to Vasundhra or the Vyra family, in return for which he will receive money. Ramana refuses to do so if he cannot see or talk to his mother. There is a back-and-forth involving Venkata Swamy's lawyer, Basavaraju Sarangapaani "Paani", his daughter, Basavaraju Aamukta "Ammu" Malyada, and his assistant, Balasubramanyam "Balu", trying to get Ramana to sign the document. Venkata Swamy, growing frustrated, decides to have Paani file a fake FIR against Ramana in Jubilee Hills, stating that he destroyed valuables in his house and attacked his security guards in order to force him to sign the document. Balu is empathetic towards Ramana and opposes Paani by obtaining a bail order for Ramana. Ramana goes to Venkata Swamy's house and recreates exactly what was stated in the FIR.

Vasundhara, who hears and witnesses the commotion inside the house, confronts and slaps him, which makes him sign the document. Back in Guntur, Kata Madhu tries to get him to side with him and the faction of the politicians opposing Venkata Swamy and Vasundhara, but he thrashes him. However, Kata is able to steal his wallet and reveals to the media that he is indeed Vasundhara's son, showing a family photo as photographic evidence. Venkata Swamy seeing this tries to get Ramana arrested again but fails to do so. Satyam then reveals to Ramana and his family that Vasundhara immediately wanted to have Ramana's eye operated on after the burning of their factory and fought with him, who thought saving Rangam was his main priority. She also wanted to take Ramana with her back to Venkata Swamy's house, but Bujji, Satyam's sister and her sister-in-law, shut the doors of the house on her, as per Satyam's orders. During the trial of Lenin's murder, in the court, Vasundhara inquired with Bujji about Ramana's eye, to which, she told her that his eye would never regress to normalcy. An enraged Vasundhara testified that Satyam murdered Lenin, instead of Rangam. Ramana, learning of this, becomes depressed. "Gelatin" Babji, a blind contract killer, and his men kidnap him and Balu to kill them.

Babji reveals to them that it was Venkata Swamy who gave him the contract to kill him, but upon confronting him, it is revealed that Narayana hired Babji and his men to kill Ramana, under Venkata Swamy's "orders". Elsewhere, Vasundhara is struck by a lorry and is hospitalised. Ramana rushes to see how she is; Venkata Swamy reveals to him that Hari Das, a rowdy, and Kata Madhu planned to murder Vasundhara under the guise of the accident. He convinces Ramana to kill them to prove that he is Vasundhara's son. In the process, he also reveals to Paani that he orchestrated the attack on Satyam's factory in 1998 to bring his daughter back, as he lost the elections then due to Vasundhara marrying Satyam, who was from another caste.

When Ramana goes to kill Hari Das, he reveals that he never planned the murder with Kata, but his vengeance is towards Venkata Swamy, with whom he set up a business 25 years ago and was eventually backstabbed by him. At the event to make Raja Gopal, Vasundhara's second son with Narayana, an MP, Narayana also reveals to Venkata Swamy that Gopal is not their biological son but was merely adopted by Vasundhara to fool her father so that Ramana can be saved from harm. Even though they are married, they never consummated and sleep separately in their bedroom. It is revealed that Venkata Swamy orchestrated the accident on Vasundhara so that he could win another term as CM from the sympathy of her death. When Ramana learns of this, he becomes enraged at him, but Vasundhara stops him and they both go back to Guntur, along with Balu and Ammu, where she reunites with Satyam and Bujji. In the end credits scene, a desperate Venkata Swamy unsuccessfully ponders with Narayana about engaging with Ramana to bring him into the political party, but Narayana laughs at him.