Virupaksha starring Sai Dharam Tej and Samyuktha Menon as the lead pair presented by Sukumar under the Sukumar writings banner has hit the screens today. Let’s see how it fares.

Story: Ser in a mysterious village backdrop, a few visuals of a village and some mysterious deaths will be showcased. Later, Sai Dharam Tej’s character enters the village and locks horns with a few local goons. The frames are amazing with a solid backdrop that instantly grabs everyone’s attention. What is the mystery behind a series of death in the village? Why the hero enters the village? How will Sai Dharam Tej’s character crack the case, expected to be the main crux?

Performances: Sai Dharam Tej really struggles well in his role which is visible on screen. His acting is fine and he is more overlooked and focused on the role he portrayed. due to personal incidents, though. He lost charm. In his face, he somehow managed to do justice to the given character.

Though the film looks totally different from Sai Dharam Tej’s previous films, he made sure that the heart is kept in the right place with his genuine acting and brings depth to the proceedings.

Heroine Samyuktha Menon gets a meaty role as the entire film revolves around her character. She is amazing in character and brought a realistic texture to the role she portrayed.

Not to forget, other artists such as a village president among others are fine in their respective roles.

Technicalities: Music composed by B. Ajaneesh Loknath is straight into the plot. His commendable sound adds a realistic texture to the proceedings and elevates key moments in the film. His instrumentation is okay but would have been better.

The photography work by Shyam Dutt registers as his rich framing and captivating lens add a realistic texture to the proceedings.

Production design work is done perfectly as the amazing as the village locations are showcased in an authentic manner.

The dialogues are written an authentic manner whoever a scene establishment is missing in the dialogue version.

Analysis: Karthik Varma Dandu directs Virupaksha. Despite the lack of an interesting love track, the storyline is engaging enough and picks up well from the pre-interval block, and carries forward with a few moments and chilling elements.

Major credit to sound mixing as it is done well and sets up a good path for the 2nd half. On an overview, Virupaksha is a decent village drama ser with a black magic backdrop.

To summarize, Virupaksha is a good village thriller with horror elements with a captivating storyline with some spine-chilling moments and nice twists. Though the love track in the 1st half is boring and the pace is uneven in parts, the screenplay engages for the most part and works out. Overall, Virupaksha is a satisfactory watch this weekend.

Verdict: Gripping Mysterious Drama!

Rating: 3/5