Virupaksha

Karthik Varma Dandu's 2023 Telugu film is set in a village called Rudravanam in the early 1990s. Surya returns there with his mother after many years away. At the same time unexplained deaths begin; the villagers believe an occult practice is behind them, and fear turns quickly into panic. As Surya tries to find who is responsible he runs into the village's own past. The film takes the village and superstition material Indian horror uses often and joins it to an investigation structure, so how mass hysteria works is as much a part of the story as the horror. Its period design and use of colour stand out. It did strong business in Telugu cinema and drew fresh attention to the genre. Who it's for: viewers who like Indian horror and mystery and village-set narratives. Who it's not for: anyone wanting a rational explanation and superstition put under scrutiny; the film accepts that world's rules.