Virupaksha Movie Review

Introduction

'Virupaksha' is a Telugu movie that is technically skilled and features a fine thrilling background. The story is set in the 1990s and takes place in the village of Rudravanam. Surya (Sai Dharam Tej) and his mother return to their village after a lengthy break. Then a few uncanny incidents occur in the village, and people continue to die one after another. What is really taking place at Rudravanam? What is the cause of the ongoing deaths? How did Surya solve the puzzle? The solutions are in the movie itself.

The Casting of the Movie

In the movie, Samyuktha Menon plays the role of Nandini, and Sai Dharam Tej plays Surya; they are in the lead roles. While Kamal Kamaraju, Ravi Krishna, Mahesh Achanta, and Rajeev Kanakala are a few of the other actors who also have significant roles to play.

Plot

The story begins in a village called Rudravanam, where some people burned alive Venkata Chalapathy and his wife because they believe their black magic caused countless deaths in the village. The dying woman curses the village and predicts its demise in twelve years.

After a 12-year pause, the story picks back up with Surya (Sai Dharam Tej), his mother, and his brother (Abhinav Gomatam) traveling to Rudravanam. It is where Surya's mother was born, and she is returning there in the yearly celebration of the local deity Modamamba after a 15-year.

Surya and his family are hosted by Savitri (Anchor Shyamala), so they participate in the celebrations and reestablish previous connections. The daughter of the sarpanch, Harischandra Prasad, Nandini (Samyuktha) captures Surya's interest, and they start liking each other. While on the day of the celebration, a vanished villager returns from the forest in a disturbed state and passes away inside the temple. The priest immediately orders a comprehensive ritual, sealing the village's boundary and temple for eight days. Sudha (Sonia Singh), Nandini's friend, plans to take advantage of the circumstances and flee with his beloved, Kumar.

When Sudha crosses the boundary, she witnesses her beloved's death at the railway station after getting hit by a train. After Kumar, Sudha, Suri, a villager, and Parvathi, also died by suicide. Surya notices a certain pattern in all deaths and finds that death spreads from one person to another, and Nandini could pass away next. To identify the actual offender, stop more tragic events, and save Nandini, he puts his life in danger. He visits Venkata Chalapathy's locked house with the Aghora Swami, where he discovers Kumar's history, which leads him to spill the beans that Kumar is actually Bhairava, the orphaned son of Venkata Chalapathy, and that dead woman, whom the villagers brutally killed.

The climax scene is more surprising to us as, in the end, it is revealed that Nandini is Chalapathi's daughter and Kumar's sister, whose identity has been hidden by Harischandra Prasad. After knowing the truth, Surya confronts Nandini about killing the villagers, but she won't back down. Instead, she explains that Chalapathy was an Atharvan Veda specialist who tried to solve the paralysis of his wife but was mistaken for black magic. Since then, she and Bhairava have started planning to kill all the villagers with some superstitious power of transforming death from one to another.

Nandini begs Surya to leave, but he refuses and tries to help her recognize her love for him by asking her to stop the practice. Due to the locket which Nandini gave Surya before, she is unable to harm him but expresses her sentiments by pleading with him to stab and kill her so that the procedure can be stopped. He summons the courage to stab her, putting an end to the deadly curse and saving the lives of the villagers.

Review

Virupaksha's Trailer

On April 11, 2023, the Virupaksha trailer debuted on YouTube, giving audiences a 2.5-minute sneak peek into the movie. The trailer grabbed people's interest by offering an exciting and unique portrayal.

The Movie's Review

Virupaksha gets off to a ferocious start. We are shown how, in the 1970s, people made some awful judgments out of superstition and fear. However, throughout the 1990s, everything appeared to be reliable. Surya spends time with his mother, his cousin Parvathi, and other villagers. The first part of the movie is quite stressful until when it takes a break from death to focus on the romance. The second part of the movie takes an unexpected turn, where it gives certain anxiety but also grabs viewers' attention. The movie succeeds as it concentrates on the story and its characters beyond the actors.

There are several night scenes, mysterious deaths, a lonely home, and various rituals. Along with the filmmaking, the background soundtrack by Ajaneesh Loknath and the editing by Navin Nooli make sure that the interest is maintained and that the narrative occasionally gives the audience goosebumps. There are enough scary occurrences without any screaming ghosts or bloody jump scares. These revelations are powerful and aid in avoiding some weird stereotypes.

The director doesn't spend any time setting up the storyline, which makes for an intriguing start to the movie. Involvement in the events would begin with the very first shot. In the first hour, Sukumar's screenplay demonstrates his genius. The sparkling sound effects of 'Virupaksha' will likely give you shivers. Not only one but numerous scenes in the movie benefit greatly from the use of these sound effects. The filmmakers left no chance to include every detail of the scenes, increasing the viewers' interest in the movie.

With Virupaksha, Sai Dharam Tej, the protagonist, made his debut in the genre of thriller. Being an outsider, he did a commendable job of solving the mystery of death in Rudravanam. The megastar showed profound wisdom in his portrayal and did exactly what the script required of him.

Samyukta Menon was given a substantial role, and she achieved excellence in it. She portrayed the rural girl character with the utmost sincerity, and the movie offers the actress plenty of opportunities to show off her acting skills. The stunning woman embraced the chance and gave it everything she had.

Most of the dialogue is sharp, and the fantastic background really lifts the proceedings. Characters are written effectively, and some who feature for a short time also propel the plot. Ravi Krishna (Kumar), Sai Chand, Shyamla (Parvathi), and Soniya Singh (Sudha) all performed admirably.

It is quite natural to dismiss a story that mentions paranormal activity as superstition. But this not happened with 'Virupaksha,' where the whole story is explained in such a way that the audience gets drawn in, keeps reading to learn more about the unexplained events, and starts to feel sympathy for some of the characters.

Virupaksha is a well-crafted thriller with all the required elements in place. The script gives the daring thriller its capacity for suspense. The technical effort and the movie's cinematography are excellent.

Meaning of the Word "Virupaksha"

The Hindi terms "virup" and "aksha," which are combined to form the word "Virupaksha," have Sanskrit roots. The Hindu deity Lord Shiva is frequently called "Virupaksha," which means eyes without a form. Shiva's third eye stands for heavenly strength and enlightenment. Similarly, in the movie, Surya detects an undefined antagonist within the village with a clearer perspective in a broader sense than the other people. When the other villagers are too misled by their beliefs and fear, Surya remains true to his love for Nandini and compassion for all people. As a result, he is the only person to become enlightened, and he unravels the secret of Rudravanam's curse.

Box Office Review

Virupaksha was released on April 29th, 2023. It has been made on an overall budget of approx 60 crores and has earned 91 crores at the box office in just 17 days. This is an impressive accomplishment, and the movie has become one of the highest-earning ones in the Telugu cinema business. Furthermore, the film earned well in pre-release sales of non-theatrical, OTT, audio, and satellite rights. Virupaksha's worldwide theatrical rights are valued at roughly Rs 22 crore. The film marked the best and highest business for the actors' careers.

Public Review

123telugu.com Rating: 3.25/5

India Glitz: Rating: 3 / 5.0

IMDb RATING: 7.4/10

ntvtelugu.com: RATING: 2.75/5

Verdict

The well-made paranormal thriller Virupaksha has a well-known plot, but its fascinating presentation keeps the viewers active throughout the movie. This movie may inspire many other popular thriller films. We remain engaged in the plot because of how brilliantly the Virupaksha filmmaker maintains the balance between tension and peace.