Okka Kshanam

Story:

“Okka Kshanam” (translated as “One Second”) is a 2017 Telugu-language science fiction action thriller directed by Vi Anand and produced by Chakri Chigurupati under the Lakshmi Narasimha Entertainments banner. The cast includes Allu Sirish, Surbhi, Srinivas Avasarala, and Seerat Kapoor. The movie explores the concept of parallel lives, where the protagonist confronts and challenges his own destiny, fate, and the constraints of time. The storyline draws inspiration from Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window.

Shyam K Naidu handles the cinematography, and the score and soundtrack are crafted by Mani Sharma. The film premiered worldwide on December 28, 2017, receiving a mix of reviews from both critics and the audience.

Plot

The narrative commences with a couple in a parking lot. They have a son named Jeeva, who encounters Jyotsana, also known as Jo, in a mall. They develop feelings for each other, and Jo provides Jeeva with her contact number. Jo later reveals her interest in observing people and shares insights into a couple, Srinivas and Swathi, who are constantly quarreling. Jo suspects Srinivas of being abusive. Jeeva reciprocates by inviting Jo to his home, where she observes his candid and open relationship with his parents. A mishap occurs when a metal roof cuts Jeeva’s hand just as Jo is about to express her feelings.

Upon Jo’s request, Jeeva delves into Srinivas’s life, conversing with him while he is inebriated and unraveling his love story. To their astonishment, Jeeva and Jo discover that their own stories mirror each other. Jo notices Srinivas taking an unconscious Swathi in his car to an undisclosed location, prompting Jeeva and Jo to break into his house. During their search, they find a psychiatrist’s file, reinforcing Jo’s suspicions about Srinivas. However, Jeeva reveals a shocking twist—the file belongs to Swathi, not Srinivas, and Jo and Swathi share similar health conditions. They consult a renowned scientist who explains that they are experiencing a rare phenomenon called Parallel Life. This means that events from Srinivas and Swathi’s past are occurring simultaneously in Jeeva and Jo’s present, and attempting to alter these events can lead to unforeseen consequences.

Fearfully returning to Jo’s apartment, they discover that Swathi has been murdered, and Srinivas has admitted to his role in it. Afraid of a similar fate, Jo decides to break up with Jeeva. However, Jeeva’s mother encourages him not to give up. He persists in visiting Srinivas in prison, eventually convincing him to reveal what transpired after their marriage. Srinivas discloses that Swathi, blaming him for a tragic accident involving an ambulance carrying children, succumbs to depression, overdoses, and falls unconscious on the day Jo saw them in the car. Swathi is admitted to Olympus Hospitals, and when Srinivas returns home, he finds her lifeless with her throat slit.

Jeeva receives a distressing call from Jo, expressing a desire to attempt suicide but lacking the courage to do so. This revelation prompts Jeeva to suspect a third party’s involvement in Swathi’s murder. Collaborating with a local garbage thief, Jeeva uncovers that someone infiltrated Srinivas’s sealed house, stole the computer’s hard disk, and was scheduled to meet someone at 7:00 P.M. Simultaneously, Jeeva seeks assistance from Jo’s brother-in-law to identify the cars involved at the beginning of the story, discovering that they belong to the same person. The infiltrator also works for T.S. Tarun, the MD of Olympus Hospitals. Jeeva and Jo deduce that Olympus Hospitals played a significant role in Swathi’s murder but are puzzled about Tarun’s connection to Jo.

Meanwhile, Jo gains access to Swathi’s email and discovers a video clip in the last mail, unveiling the truth behind her murder and the preceding accident. Swathi, during her hospitalization, learns that the children in the ambulance were already dead due to ventilator power shortage, and their deaths were falsely attributed to an accident. She records this revelation in a video clip, sending it to Srinivas. Tarun, feeling threatened, sends his henchman to kill Swathi, but she escapes and sends the clip to Jeeva. Realizing that Jo is on the same perilous path as Swathi, Jeeva instructs her to change direction, narrowly avoiding an accident. However, the henchman kidnaps Jo and puts her life in jeopardy by slitting her throat. In a final confrontation, Jeeva kills Tarun and saves Jo at the last moment. They expose Olympus Hospitals’ guilt in both the accident and Swathi’s murder, leading to Srinivas’s exoneration and release from prison.