Virupaksha (film)

Virupaksha
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Karthik Varma Dandu
Screenplay by	Sukumar
Story by	Karthik Varma Dandu
Dialogues by	Krishna Hari
Produced by	B. V. S. N. Prasad Sukumar
Starring	Sai Dharam Tej Samyuktha Sunil Brahmaji Rajeev Kanakala Ajay Ravi Krishna
Cinematography	Shamdat Sainudeen
Edited by	Navin Nooli
Music by	B. Ajaneesh Loknath
Production companies	Sri Venkateswara Cine Chitra Sukumar Writings
Release date	21 April 2023 (2023-04-21)
Running time	146 minutes[1]
Country	India
Language	Telugu
Budget	₹40 crore
Box office	est.₹103 crore[2]

Virupaksha (transl. A form of Siva) is a 2023 Indian Telugu-language horror thriller film^[1] directed by Karthik Varma Dandu who co-wrote the film with Sukumar. The film was produced by B. V. S. N. Prasad and Sukumar through Sri Venkateswara Cine Chitra and Sukumar Writings respectively. It features Sai Dharam Tej, Samyuktha, Sunil, Rajeev Kanakala, Brahmaji, Ajay and Ravi Krishna.

Virupaksha was released on 21 April 2023 and received generally positive reviews from critics.^[3] The film became a commercial success at the box office.

In 1979, in the village of Rudravanam, Venkata Chalapathy and his wife are lynched by the villagers who believe their eerie rituals (black magic) caused multiple deaths. As she dies, Chalapathy's wife curses the village with destruction in twelve years. Their son, Bhairava, is spared and sent to an orphanage by the village head, Harishchandra Prasad.

In 1991, a week after the mysterious disappearance of a villager named Siddhayya, Anasuyamma returns to Rudravanam with her son, Surya, and nephew to donate land for a school and attend the annual carnival honouring Goddess Modamamba. Surya's encounter with Nandini, Harishchandra Prasad's daughter, results in love and she apparently reciprocates but hesitates to accept his proposal. During the festival, Siddhayya, who has developed a severe pox after being mauled by a supernatural crow, returns to the village temple and dies in the inner sanctum, which is considered sacrilege.

The head priest declares that the village is desecrated and must be sealed off for eight days in eight directions. Surya and his family are allowed to leave as they have been away for over twelve years, but Surya reenters the village to deliver medicine to Nandini, who suffers from convulsions, rendering him incapable of leaving the village for eight days.

Sudha, Nandini's friend, tries to elope with her lover Kumar but witnesses his death. When she returns to the village, she is killed by bees. Her parents hide her disappearance to avoid shame. Soon after, the milkman Suri and Surya's cousin Parvathi are found dead under suspicious circumstances. Surya, with the help of an RMP (Registered Medical Practitioner), investigates and discovers that the deaths are connected. Each victim witnesses a death before dying, passing the curse onto the next person.

An Aghora warns the villagers that they made a mistake by imposing the lockdown. Surya finds Sudha's body and uncovers the truth about the chain of deaths. He realizes that Nandini is the next target. As she contemplates suicide, Surya intervenes and saves her.

Surya learns about Chalapathy's past and suspects Bhairava is behind the killings. The head priest suggests that sacrificing Nandini will end the curse, but Surya sedates her and vows to find a solution. He investigates Bhairava's whereabouts and learns that Bhairava fled the orphanage after paralyzing its founder. With the help of the Aghora, Surya discovers Bhairava’s hideout in a cave, where he finds Bhairava's belongings and the original village edict, which was replaced by a fake one.

Surya deduces that Kumar is actually Bhairava, and someone from the village has been helping him execute the curse. He also realizes that Nandini's sacrifice is a ploy to destroy the village. As Surya races to stop the ritual, superstitious residents of nearby villages block his path, fearing that the curse will spread to their homes. Despite the delay, Surya manages to return, only to find the Rudravanam villagers already possessed and performing the ritual.

Surya suspects Harishchandra Prasad is involved but learns that Nandini is actually Chalapathy's daughter, whose identity was hidden by Prasad. Confronting Nandini, Surya discovers that she, along with Bhairava, has been seeking revenge on the village for wrongfully accusing her father of black magic. Nandini reveals that Chalapathy was an Atharvana Veda practitioner who was trying to cure his paralyzed wife, but the villagers misunderstood his practices.

Nandini refuses to stop the ritual, but Surya reminds her of their love. Bound by a talisman that prevents her from harming him, she hints that he must kill her to stop the curse. With great reluctance, Surya stabs Nandini, ending the curse and saving the village.

After Nandini’s cremation, Surya urges the villagers to abandon their superstitions and transform Chalapathy's house into a school. As he holds the talisman, his eyes glow with a supernatural light, hinting at a possible sequel.

The exteriors and the streets of the fictional Rudravanam village were shot in and around Araku and Paderu in erstwhile Visakhapatnam district, where Karthik Varma also wrote the script.^[4][5] The haunted house and sarpanch's house were sets built in Hyderabad.^[5]

Karthik Varma Dandu being a fan of the horror genre was prompted to make an out-and-out horror film amid the trend of horror-comedies, after he read a newspaper article about a Gujarati woman being stoned to death by people who suspected her of being a witch and doing black magic on villagers. Feeling she could have easily killed her killers instead, had she really known black magic, Dandu decided to write the film's story where, according to him, no ghost exists but its presence can be constantly felt.^{[citation needed]}

According to Sai Dharam Tej, the film which takes place from 1979 to 1991, is more about the mystery behind deaths in a village than the horror element.^[6] Samyuktha has described the film as a "mystical thriller" and not a horror film.^[7]

External audio
Audio Jukebox on YouTube

The film score and soundtrack is composed by B. Ajaneesh Loknath. The first song "Nachavule Nachavule" was released on 24 March 2023,^[8] while the second song "Kalallo" was released on 17 April 2023.^[9]

The film had a theatrical release on 21 April 2023 in Telugu. The film was dubbed and theatrically released in Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam languages on 5 May 2023.^[10] The digital and satellite rights of the film were acquired by Netflix and Star Maa respectively.^[11] The film premiered on 21 May 2023 on Netflix.^[12] It premiered on television on 25 June 2023 on Star Maa.^[13]

Virupaksha received positive reviews from critics.^{[citation needed]} Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu praised the story and work by Karthik Varma Dandu. She further praised the production design, editing and cinematography done by Srinagendra Tangala, Navin Nooli and Shamdat Sainudeen.^[14] Raghu Bandi of The Indian Express also praised the direction, and story written by Karthik Varma Dandu along with performances of lead actors, particularly Samyuktha Menon's.^[15] Neeshita Nyayapati of The Times of India wrote "Virupaksha is a well-crafted film – the kind that makes you look at the characters beyond the actors because the film has a suffocating atmosphere that'll draw you in."^[16]

Latha Srinivasan of India Today gave 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "While the climax of the film may appeal to some and not to others, the film focuses on superstitions which some people in the country still believe in. It should be food for thought. On the whole, the film is a good entertainer."^[17] The Hans India wrote that story, screenplay, sound design and performance of lead actors, are the major positives of the film.^[18]

• Virupaksha at IMDb