Cheekatilo, the direct OTT release of Sobhita Dhulipala, has garnered attention for two reasons. One is the attention she received in recent times as the Akkineni bahu, and the other is her appearance in a saree clad, performance oriented role, unlike her usual glamorous image.
Getting into the storyline, this is a crime thriller set against the backdrop of a mysterious psychopath killer. Sandhya (Sobhita Dhulipala) is a crime news presenter in a TV channel. She hosts the program Idi Ghoram, which draws great traction from viewers. However, she lacks professional satisfaction in her job and wishes to start her own podcast.
Amidst this, her friend Bobby gets killed by an unknown assailant. Similar patterned murders continue to take place in the city. Cop Rajeev (Chaitanya Krishna) begins the investigation, and Sandhya joins him by offering support.
Meanwhile, Sandhya launches her own podcast titled Cheekatilo, as the murders occur only at night. Soon, she starts receiving calls from an unknown number announcing upcoming murders, which are later executed exactly as predicted.
Who the killer is, how Sandhya plays a role in exposing him, and the intelligence, dare and commitment she shows toward her mission form the rest of the story.
Films of this genre usually follow a familiar template of a series of similar murders, confused cops, a criminal leaving no clues, suspicion falling on every character, and finally the reveal of the real culprit.
Sobhita looks fresh in this role and appears unlike any of her previous performances. She is natural in carrying the character, but during key emotional moments involving the deaths of close ones, she fails to convey the required intensity. One may argue that the protagonist is meant to be stoic as per the given characterization, but without clearly establishing this trait or delivering the needed dramatic performance, audiences may feel she falls short in acting.
Vishwadev Rachakonda, as the love interest of the protagonist, is talented and effectively expresses varied emotions as required.
Chaitanya Krishna is convincing as the cop. Senior actors Suresh and Ravindra Vijay appear briefly but leave an impression with their attention pulling roles.
Jhansi, Sri Lakshmi, and Pradeep are fine as character artistes, while Srinivas Vadlamani impresses with his performance in key scenes. Aamani, however, is given a role that does not fully utilize her talent.
The cinematography justifies the title by placing several scenes in deep darkness. Overall, it is a decent effort. The music works adequately for a home viewing experience, and the sound effects are minimal yet sufficient. Lyrics are dull. Editing is crisp.
What needs to be underlined is that keeping the audience on the edge of their seats and finally revealing an unexpected culprit is a challenge, and the film largely succeeds in this aspect.
However, the major drawback lies in establishing the motive behind the crimes. When a motive carries strong conviction, the impact works; otherwise, it weakens the climax.
As seen in many psychopath thrillers, the backstory often involves childhood abuse. While this is acceptable and not necessarily clichéd, such trauma needs enough depth to justify the transformation into a psychopath killer.
Cheekatilo loses grip in the final moments when the criminal confesses the reason behind the murders. It becomes confusing whether the real culprit is the psychopath, or the person who abused him earlier in life, or merely a health related issue.
Simply put, the film remains engaging throughout but does not deliver a clap worthy conclusion.
(Cheekatilo is streaming on Amazon Prime Video)
