Virupaksha (2023)

 Virupaksha (2023) 

    Movie review 

Direction : Karthik Varma

Written by : Sukumar

Cast : Sai Dharam Tej, Samyukta Menon, Sunil, Sai Chand

There is a lot of novelty in telugu movie scripts these days. But one film company which is specialising in this challenging art of cinema is Sukumar Writings. Virupaksha is a strong example of this banner's exemplary characteristic. The movie's story line is its greatest achievement. Adding an element of spooky horror with its rural background, norm and culture and the mysterious depiction of occult magic, the film is gripping and enthralls the viewer. The dark rural scenery with a haunting cinematography adds to the touch of macabre.

The story revolves around a witch hunting incident which happens in a small village called Rudravanam. The results of this incident after 12 years result in horrifying sequelae which coincides with the hero's visit to the place, which is his mom's native village. He meets his lady love who is the village sarpanch's daughter and has a history of throwing seizures. The village has a priest whose word regarding the omens and deities is the law. For the betterment of the village he advises and enforces certain rules according to the religious edicts. The story follows the witch hunting narrative to the recent diabolic developments which threaten the existence of the village itself.

The movie though has its tiny flaws in the nature of its tedious length at the start. Sai Dharam Tej's acting is mediocre and is very lacking at important times. Samyukta Menon does her role passably. The supporting cast hasn't much to do except to utter the emotional dialogue with a little unwanted exuberance. 

Director karthik Varma impresses in the way he stages the movie in its rural background with a weave of cultural norms he cleverly fuses them into the story. But it is Sukumar who is the real hero. His writing is so perfect in the way it adds up all the breadcrumbs spread through the whole length of the narrative and he does it with a dexterous subtlety. Writing a horror movie with such a cohesive script is really an art. 

Virupaksha makes the viewer muse a long time after the first viewing at the way it sits in the mind like a cohesive puzzle. This is a treat to people who value good writing and especially a novel script. This surely worked for me.