Ramesh Varma is the director of the 2019 Telugu-language psychological thriller Rakshasudu. This official remake of the 2018 Tamil film Ratsasan features Bellamkonda Sreenivas and Anupama Parameswaran. Ghibran composed the soundtrack, and filming on the movie started in March 2019. The film debuted on August 2, 2019. The movie did well at the box office.
Plot
The body of 15-year-old Samyuktha, a schoolgirl who was brutally slain and wrapped in a polythene bag, is found by two elderly men. Arun Kumar is a budding filmmaker who hopes to produce a film about sociopaths. With the assistance of his brother-in-law Prasad, a police officer himself, he resolves to become a sub-inspector after being turned down numerous times despite having a strong script and because of pressure from his family.
He moved in with Prasad, their daughter Siri, and his sister Sapna. When Siri forces Arun to sign her report card under her father’s false name, she finds herself in hot water. When her teacher, Krishnaveni, discovers this, he assumes that she signed it herself. In an attempt to pass for her father, Siri brings Arun to school. Later, once her parents catch her, Siri is moved to a new school. After that, Arun meets Krishnaveni and makes friends with her speech-impaired niece Kavya.
Amrutha, a teenage schoolgirl, is kidnapped while traveling home. Then, a broken doll’s head is discovered by her parents in a present box fastened to their dog’s collar. Samyuktha and Amrutha, both 15-year-old schoolgirls who were abducted on their way home from school, strike Arun as having similarities. Similar to Samyuktha, the doll has damage to her mouth, eyes that are drilled, and hair that has been uprooted from her forehead.
Aside from that, Samyuktha’s forehead, ears, and nose are specifically marked with a knife. The doll’s face had the same markings. He makes an effort to persuade his conceited superior officer, ACP Lakshmi, that a psychopath was at work. His theories are dismissed as fiction, nevertheless. Amrutha’s horribly disfigured body is discovered later.
Her hair was uprooted in chunks, her teeth were broken, and her eyes were drilled out by the killer. Her body also bears stab wounds from when she was still alive. Arun advises hiding the bodies to keep the murderer from becoming noticed. The officials initially object to this proposal since it violates protocol, but in the end, they transfer the bodies to a facility that is under Dr. Kishore’s control.
Another schoolgirl, Meera, is kidnapped shortly afterward. She was actually a former student of Siri’s. The investigation turns out Somaraj, a teacher at Siri’s present school, who turns out to be a pedophile who preys on young girls. As Somaraj tries to harass Siri, Arun finds him and knocks him up before taking him into custody.
Although Somaraj acknowledges being a sexual predator, he says he was not involved in the killings. He puts policeman Venkat at gunpoint in an attempt to get away. Venkat is saved when Arun stops Somaraj inside the elevator by shooting him.
Siri’s birthday celebration at home is interrupted by her kidnapping. Her disfigured body is found in the trunk of Arun and Prasad’s car, suggesting that she was also killed. Arun’s situation grows worse when he is suspended for shooting Somaraj due to his carelessness. Siri gets kidnapped from her birthday celebration at home in the meantime.
It appears that she was also slain when Arun and Prasad find her disfigured body in the trunk of their vehicle. Arun’s situation deteriorates after he is suspended for failing to stop Somaraj from being shot. Dejected and furious, Arun looks into the matter on his own with a few police officers’ assistance.
He discovers an audio recording from Meera’s hearing aid and links it to the victim’s school function, when an elderly magician by the name of Annabella George performed. Since she had amazed all of the pupils with her magic tricks, the woman used her magic show as a pretext to kidnap the girls.
After asking one kid to volunteer for a task, she engages with the student in conversation to win her trust. She follows the chosen student without causing any trouble, which results in their abduction the day after they first meet. This brings Arun’s next possible victim, Sanjana, a schoolgirl, into view. When Arun finds out that Sanjana has a twin sister, he quickly realizes he was following the wrong person.
Though Sanjana was being watched, she is kidnapped. Arun finds her whereabouts and follows her to a city house, where he only manages to save Sanjana from being killed. The murderer gets away, but it turns out that she is Mary Fernandez, who was a long-time participant in a murder. Arun learns more about the case from retired police officer Jaya Prakash, the investigating officer.
Christopher, Mary’s son, had been suffering from Werner syndrome, a hormonal condition that made him appear older. He was the school pariah, but Sophie, a girl, saw something in him and they became friends. Soon after, Christopher started to feel something for Sophie.
Sadly, he is devastated when she rejects him and faces bullying at school. The following day, Mary gave Sophie a present and begged to reestablish their friendship. Sophie sent Christopher a mangled doll’s head as a birthday present, and when she opened the gift box, she discovered it. Mary viciously killed Sophie, and she and her son were taken into custody.
Subsequently, it is disclosed that Mary and Christopher were involved in an accident, and that she is still alive and pursuing her vengeance. Before Jaya Prakash can meet Arun, Mary kills him after he discovers a clue in the files. Arun is arrested and held in handcuffs at the station after being discovered at the crime scene.
He finds out that Jaya Prakash was attempting to disclose that the magician in the school had six fingers on his left hand; this is confirmed by a photo, which shows that Christopher was the magician. Given that the accident only claimed Mary’s life, Christopher, her son, who has profited from his advanced age, is the true killer, not the woman.
Christopher kidnaps Kavya and attacks Krishnaveni before Arun has a chance to respond. Venkat is slain in the process of attempting to capture Christopher. After Kavya escapes, Kishore finds her and tries to hide her in the facility, but in the process of defending her, Kishore perishes.
After a protracted battle, Arun finds Christopher at the facility, where he kills him and saves Kavya. As the film comes to a close, the media is covering the sequence of events and the psychopath’s decision to stop killing people. Subsequently, it is disclosed that Arun finally gets his wish of making a film on a psychopath.
Director | Ramesh Varma |
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Story | Ramesh Varma |
Screenplay | Ramesh Varma |
Dialogues | Ramesh Varma |
Cinematography | Venkat Dilip Chunduru |
Editor | Amar Reddy Kudumula |
Music | Ghibran |
Producer | Havish, Satyanarayana Koneru |
Cast | Bellamkonda Sai Sreenivas Anupama Parameswaran SaravananAmmu AbhiramiRajeev KanakalaVinodiniSurya Kumar BhagvandasKasi ViswanathanRavi PrakashRaveena DahaRadha RaviGhibranNoel Sean, Yasar, Baby Dua, Suzane George, Raghavi Renu, Trishala |
Release Type | Theatre |
Language | Telugu |
Production | A Studio, Abhishek Pictures |
Budget | 22 Crores |
Box Office | 23 Crores |
OTT Platform | SunNXT |