Sharan Koppisetty takes a familiar set up of a police procedural but gives some interesting touches. A special mention must be made of how the movie questions society’s attitude towards sexual assault victims. The blame entirely placed on them and also the voyeuristic gaze of media channels. The movie also dwells into what real journalism means
Starcast: Sobhita Dhulipalia, Vishwa Rachakonda, Krishna Chaitanya, Vadlamani Srinivas and others
Genre: Thriller/drama
Director and writer: Sharan Koppisetty
Additional writer: Chandra Pemmaraju
Producer: Suresh Babu
Production company: Suresh Productions
Cinematography: Mallikarjun
Music director: Sricharan Pakala
Running time: 2 hours and 6 minutes
Streaming site: Amazon Prime
Cheekatilo streaming on Amazon Prime jigsaws in different directions. The film begins with a crime scenario like a template serial killer movie. From there we are introduced to Shobhita Dhulipalia’s Sandhya. She is a Television journalist who is going through immense suffocation. The reason being her boss attitude towards news presentation. The game of TRP with tragedy staged as a spectacle is weighing her down. Sandhya is going through a major inner conflict on the disconnect between her personal beliefs and the work she is doing. Simultaneously a series of murders are happening in a particular pattern. Things take a massive turn when Sandhya decides to quit her job and do real journalism through a podcast. She chooses the format of long-term investigation rather than just a clickbait. The identity of the serial killer and how Sandhya helps the police putting her personal life at stake forms the core of Cheekatilo.
There is no denying that Cheekatilo takes a while to get going. The initial portions of police investigation take a bit to warm up but things start to get interesting when Sandhya quits her job and starts podcast. How she does investigation and discovers a distinct pattern makes the viewers anxious on who this dastardly person is and what are his motivations.
The suspense of the killer has been kept well. When the revelation comes its indeed shocking. Not much can be said here but its hair raising which the viewers don’t see coming. The conversation between Sobhita and the antagonist when the latter talks about his modus operandi with an important flashback gives the movie its best moments.
Through the back story of the villain Sharan Koppisetty along with his additional writer talk about unresolved trauma. How this can have an extreme effect is both solidly written and enacted. Yes, the flashback in no way justifies the violence nevertheless it makes the movie more interesting.
Another highlight of Cheekatilo is the depiction of women alone being shamed for the act of rape. How they are made to feel guilty has come out in a hard-hitting manner through two survivors coming forward to share their stories.
Mention must also be made of how Shobita’s character has been written. There is a groundedness to Sandhya with the right mix of vulnerability and fighting spirit. At one point Sandhya accepts defeat shutting down the podcast. Shobhita pulls off the different shades with finesse making the viewers root for Sandhya to win.
Krishna Chaitanya as the cop lends able support but Valdamani Srinivas steals the show in the supporting cast. His character has a major 360 degrees turn the details of which are better seen than me saying.
The cinematography of Mallikarjun adds to the movie’s eeriness especially in the portions of the serial killer hunting down his targets. The background score adds to the thrills too.
Final word: Cheekatilo is a gripping watch for how it intermingles a serial killer story with societal elements.