‘Cheekatilo’ Movie Review: Sobhita Dhulipala Gently Anchors This Simmering Murder Mystery

Telugu crime thriller Cheekatilo doesn’t begin very differently from the serial killer dramas we’ve seen before. Women are slain in the city, the pressure begins to mount on the police to solve the case swiftly, political big guns are mixed up, and a pattern begins to show itself. But unlike its predecessors, Cheekatilo doesn’t have the hygiene of a detail-obsessed police procedural or a gory slasher film. It brings in a fresh, gentle edge, and instead unfolds in the form of a simmering true-crime podcast, led not by a swaggering police chief but a stubborn, soft-spoken journalist. It is delicate in its approach and holds our attention, even as it hits a few bumps on the way.

Sandhya (Sobhita Dhulipala) is a television host who is sick of infantilising her viewers for TRP. Repulsed by the cheesy wordplay and the titillating subtext on the teleprompter, she quits her job to do meaningful journalism and puts her criminology degree to better use. But a personal tragedy rocks her world, going on to give her a newfound purpose in life. She finds help in her boyfriend (Vishwadev Rachakonda), who accompanies her in her pursuit of the dreadful killer, even as her life is under threat.

The film, set against the backdrop of new media and murder, delves into the buffoonery that often passes as television journalism when a “promiscuous” young woman’s murder becomes the talk of the town in Hyderabad. Sandhya, who is pushed to piggyback on police intel and tenderly breaks some laws to scour evidence, is convinced that a podcast is the only way to get these women justice. A murder in the city connects her and us to a dark web of murders in the Godavari district, where women, after having spent time hiding in fear and shame, come out to tell their story.

For a film, largely revolving around a whodunit, Cheekatilo has much to say about women and the intersectional nature of the prejudices they’re subjected to. While we don’t get to know much about the survivors — apart from the fact that the killer leaves them with jasmine flowers — we see Sandhya carry the weight of patriarchy and a troubled childhood, shape her personality and her career. “Don’t forget that you’re a woman,” her mom chides her when she movingly asks how a woman can ever forget that in a society that crudely reminds her of reality every second. While much of it unfolds on a surface level basis — Sandhya has a killer to catch, obviously — it is still refreshing to see such touches in its writing. Dhulipala infuses the stoic Sandhya with strength, her anger and reactions gradually simmering to the brim, just like the podcast.

The procedural part of the film, too, lends some depth to the story, leading us to peel the onion and look for the killer. Along the way, we're also subjected to typical depictions of sexual assault on screen. While not overtly voyeuristic, it still doesn't reverse the gaze all that much. Cheekatilo rushes to its ending, and once we're made aware of the killer's identity, the film struggles to keep us affected. The film might have worked even better as a series—along the lines of Prime Video’s Suzhal: The Vortex—had it been given more space and time to breathe. Even so, it makes a visible dent in the genre.