Virupaaksha Movie Review- Telugu (2023)

 Movie: Virpaaksha- 2023

Director: Karthik Varma Dandu

Producer: BVSN Prasad

Cast: Sai Dharam Tej, Samyuktha Menon & Others

Screenplay: Sukumar

Music: Ajaneesh Loknath

Editor: Naveen Nooli

Cinematography: Shamdath Sainuddeen

Language: Telugu

Platform: Netflix

Release Date: 21/03/2023

Censor: U/A (Horror Content, Violence & Adultry)

1.5/5

"Did this really worth all that hype?"

01. All about Virupaaksha in short.

Virupaaksha is a horror content film that focuses on supernatural powers, blackmagic & ghosts that have no sense according to me. I know everyother has a different perspective to view a film, maybe my perspective may not appeal to other but still read on to get other side of a coin. I'll brief the story without many spoilers- go ahead.

Virupaaksha opens to a very terrific scene of manslaughter of a couple who are accused of 'Black Magic' crime & that is really horiffic to watch. Later, abruptly cut like in all horror genre filoms, the hero comes to this village along with hsi mom who happens to be born & brought up there in her childhood. After few lags & dull dumps- the story again shifts a gear when the village witnesses a death right in the temple infront of the diety. Then the villagers & the priest decide to curfew the village for eight days claiming the sign of death in temple to be most unauspicious. But, to their bad luck the deaths keep coming in & that increase the insecurities in people. The hero here laerns the reason for deaths in his ways & they try to bring up a solution with lot of twists & turns.

02. Direction & the story.

I don't find any logic in this film at all. Why should the village be so afraid of an uninvited death first of all? Ok, as they had already experienced such things before- they cannot take any chance, but are they really solving by adding up few more problems to the problem itself. How is a problem a solution to a problem? Ok for suppose let's think lockdown is helping them fight against the evil, why is that not saving them as a shield? When so many ill-logical things are reasoned just for sake, why should'nt we ask that why is'nt that lockdown really helping those people who really abided by the rules honestly. 

I personally cannot give a view either side, cause we in cities really don't know such events exists or the villagers really follow such things & what sort of mindset is really troubling them etc, but still watching this film did'nt offer anything logical to me. Even if I was not asked for logic, I still did'nt like it as it was.

The director starts the story by showing us a slaughter & connecting it towards the climax which is much likely predicted by everyone, but black magic, killing people, sucides, atharva veda, death plague- my god!! All the fancy stuff to confuse the audience that's all! I think the director is very smart to just make up this story with his tactics. Otherwise it's the same old revenge-horror-ghost drama like in everyother horror film, you all can connect the story to any Lawrence films, the ghost first creeps in to anyone & troubles them in the first half- say entertainment or story both & in the later half the justification thing starts on why did the ghost behave in such a manner?- so, this film too is very much similar to that revenge story kind genre & ends up confusing audience with so called fancy stuff as mentioned above. 

The reason used for justification is too silly. If that was the reason to kill the villagers, why all the intermediate interuptions in between? I don't understand the need for Sai Dharm's & Ajay's character at all. If it was only to reveal the flashback & bring an end to the problem in village, then we don't necessarily need to have these characters- it can be said, narrated or some other thing can be assured. If Sai Dharam was Virupaaksha, what really did he do to end that death plague? Just he went along with the story like an audience in the film through all the clues, problems, hustles & revealed the suspense that's it. If he had superpowers like said somewhere in between of the film, what was the reason for his superpowers & why didn't he get to know about his superpowers & what connection does he have with that problem in the village & that haunted family? So many questions kept beating in my mind, but enough- I cannot accept this film, it isn't my cup of tea- I did'nt like the film- straight away!

03. Characters, performances & technicalities.

Sai Dharam Tej as Surya- as he forgotten his basics in acting? What is really wrong with him? I understand the mishap in his life which affected his vocal chords but did it affcet his acting skills too? He was too bad. At places where his expressionless eyes, clarityless dialouges & interest oozing acts made me nauseous. Why was he so dull, is the biggest question. He murmered almost by 3/4rth of the film- no clarity at all! Atleast expect him to come back to his normal in his next film! The unwanted romance scenes that come in everytime in the first half were a typical headache to audience & all those scenes where Sai Dharam Tej forces the female lead to love him is just forcing only! It did'nt appear like he's attracting the heroine but it appeared like he's forcing her like a villain. I could'nt figure it out, if it was the scene visionised so bad or else Sai Dharam Tej was at his worst.

Samyuktha too has a similar problem, her acting never impresses. But, comparitively she was better than the hero. Other characters did justified. Ajay stnads out. Editing & Cinematography are ok. Music & score doesn't help much.

Watch with reservations. I didn't like it!