Cheekatilo, by Sharan Koppisetty, starring Shobhita Dhulipala, is a suspense drama that revolves around the investigation of a serial killer and reflects on society's prejudices against women. The rape and murder case of a young couple garnered media attention, but for the wrong reasons. The news anchors focused on questioning the woman's morality, as sex toys were found at the crime scene.
Sandhya Nelluri, a television journalist, was frustrated with the mainstream media's constant need for sensationalism. She had recently quit her job for that very reason, and felt she had to speak up after Bobby was raped and murdered. Bobby was an intern at the company where she worked, and had suggested to Sandhya that she consider starting her own podcast. Bobby's dream was to work on a podcast with Sandhya, but her life was abruptly cut short. Sandhya had witnessed the crime scene, and since the police seemed baffled and the media uninterested in finding answers, she felt she had to step in to bring justice for Bobby. Soon, Sandhya discovered that Bobby wasn't the only victim of the rapist; the culprit was likely a serial killer.
Sandhya started a podcast and named it "Cheekatilo," which translates to "in the darkness," a fitting name, considering that "Sandhya" in Sanskrit means "twilight" (or the transition between day and night); therefore, in a way, she was the last ray of light/hope in this dark quest to find the truth. Her goal was simple: she wanted to thoroughly investigate Bobby's case and find the culprit. Sandhya felt it was high time someone asked the right questions and took matters into their own hands to bring justice to the victims. On the podcast, she not only discussed the progress of the case but also highlighted the challenges women face in everyday life. Initially, Sandhya suspected the building's security guard might be the killer. She had seen him cleaning his shoes outside the building on the day of the murder, and later the police discovered that he had stolen Bobby's necklace. Although the case was considered closed, when the watchman's wife approached Sandhya and told her she was completely wrong, Sandhya wondered if she had indeed made a mistake. Later, the killer contacted Sandhya and confirmed that her investigation had not been thorough enough.
Sandhya realized that Bobby wasn't the only victim when she received a call from Vani. She subsequently met with Vani and learned that twenty years earlier, when she was alone at home with her young son, a man had broken into her house and raped her. She believed the man would have killed her, but he got scared when her young son started screaming and crying. The strangest detail was that the rapist had left a garland of jasmine flowers. Vani didn't file a police report because she was afraid of being humiliated, especially after her husband shamed her for the incident and their marriage fell apart. Sandhya suspected there must be other victims of the attacker in the Godavari district, and with the help of Inspector Rajeev, she began to study all the rape and murder cases that had been reported in that area. Sandhya contacted more and more victims; some were willing to talk, while others were so terrified that they had no interest in reliving what they had experienced.
When Sandhya mentioned the possibility of a serial killer, both the police and ordinary people demanded proof. Sandhya had concluded that the serial killer operated at night; he would observe his victims for a while and knew exactly when they would be alone at home. He always left jasmine flowers, and in the case of Lalitha and Rajesh (Lalitha was raped and Rajesh was murdered), the killer had also tied cowbells around Rajesh's neck. Sandhya remembered seeing jasmine flowers and bells at the crime scene of Bobby and her boyfriend. She believed the cases were related and encouraged the victims to come forward and join her for a press conference. But most of the victims backed down, and just when Sandhya thought she had no chance of proving her theory, Lachi and Rani came to her aid. Lachi had been raped by the same man, as the attacker had also left jasmine flowers in her case. She believed the killer thought she was dead, but luckily she survived. They tried to file a complaint with the police, but because they were dancers, the police officers humiliated them. Lachi and Rani suspected that the politician Chinna Babu was involved, and he was protected by Rajamani, who was now the sub-inspector.
After Lachi and Rani told their stories, Sandhya became suspicious of Chinna Babu. Meanwhile, the killer continued to murder more people. His latest victim was Asmi, who had spoken publicly in support of Sandhya. In Asmi's autopsy report, they found a lock of hair that they believed belonged to the killer. Sandhya decided to meet with Chinna Babu and, cleverly, stole his toothbrush to perform a DNA test. The politician was obviously unhappy that Sandhya showed up at his house unannounced, and soon Officer Anandita, who was in charge of the case, warned her not to do anything without her permission. Sandhya was surprised to discover that Chinna Babu's DNA did not match the killer's. While he was a terrible man, he wasn't the killer they were looking for.
The ending of Cheekatilo revealed that the killer was Sandhya's father-in-law, Ramu Anand Ojeti. Sandhya almost abandoned the case after Vani's son tried to scare her by throwing a Molotov cocktail at her car. He hated Sandhya because her decision to investigate cold cases had severely affected Vani. Although she could never overcome her traumatic past, she tried her best to live in the present, but when Sandhya started investigating, Vani became obsessed with the incident again.
Sandhya tried to focus on her personal life and married her boyfriend, Amar. But soon, Sandhya's mother-in-law, Padhma, was murdered, and when Sandhya suggested an autopsy be performed, her husband flatly refused the idea. She knew it was the same killer, but she didn't understand why he had killed Padhma. Suddenly, Sandhya saw the Russian nesting doll that her mother-in-law adored and decided to take it home. She opened it and discovered an ankle bracelet and the earring that Bobby had lent Sandhya and that had gone missing from her apartment. Sandhya wondered how the jewelry had gotten into the doll; Perhaps Padhma was trying to leave a clue that only Sandhya could find. Meanwhile, the police had been working on a comprehensive list of all government employees who had been transferred to the Godavari district during the time of the crimes. They also included employees who were in Trichy in 2020, where similar cases of rape and murder had been reported. Anandita and Rajeev found the name of Ramu Anand Ojeti on the list. Sandhya had also reviewed the list after finding the jewelry in the Russian doll, and she too suspected her father-in-law.
Sandhya intentionally stopped by her in-laws' house; perhaps she wanted to make sure Ramu was home when the police arrived, or perhaps she hoped he would react, and they hoped to catch him red-handed. As soon as she entered the kitchen to make coffee, the lights went out, and Ramu's true intentions became clear. He had realized that Sandhya knew his secret (when he noticed a call from Inspector Rajeev), so he was already plotting how to kill her. While Ramu managed to overpower Sandhya, she fought back, stabbing him with a fork. By then, Rajeev and Anandita had also arrived at the scene, and Sandhya was rescued.
During the ending of Cheekatilo, Ramu confessed to his crime when Sandhya showed him a picture of his aunt. It turned out that the motive for Ramu's crimes was revenge. Ramu had been sexually assaulted by his aunt when he was young. After his parents' death, his aunt and uncle offered him shelter, food, clothing, and education. He was grateful to them, and even after seeing his aunt's worst side, he tried to convince himself that she was actually kind-hearted. One day, when his aunt was trying to abuse him, his uncle caught them, and she pretended that Ramu was trying to assault her. When his uncle attacked him, Ramu lost control. He overpowered his uncle and ended up killing him. Then he raped his aunt and slit her throat. But that wasn't enough to satisfy his desire for revenge. Every time he encountered women with jasmine in their hair or who danced with anklets, he felt the need to punish them. He attacked Lachi because she was a dancer, just like his aunt. He raped Vani because she wore bells on her ankles to entertain her young son. It turned out that he and Bobby knew each other, and he killed her after she showed him the anklets she had bought for her classical dance class. Asmi wasn't killed for making a video in support of Sandhya, but because she was wearing bells on her anklet.
During the unfolding of the Cheekatilo case, Ramu confessed his crime when Sandhya showed him a picture of his aunt. It turned out that the motive for Ramu's crimes was revenge. Ramu had been sexually assaulted by his aunt when he was young. After the death of his parents, his aunt and uncle offered him shelter, food, clothing, and education. He was grateful to them, and even after seeing his aunt's worst side, he tried to convince himself that she was actually kind-hearted. One day, when his aunt was trying to abuse him, his uncle caught them, and she pretended that Ramu was trying to abuse her. When his uncle attacked him, Ramu lost control. He overpowered his uncle and ended up killing him. He then raped his aunt and slit her throat. But that wasn't enough to satisfy his desire for revenge. Every time he encountered women with jasmine flowers in their hair or who danced with anklets, he felt the need to punish them. He attacked Lachi because she was a dancer, just like his aunt. He raped Vani because she wore ankle bells to entertain her young son. It turned out that he and Bobby knew each other, and he killed her after she showed him the anklets she had bought for her classical dance class. He had murdered Asmi not because she had made a video in support of Sandhya, but because she wore ankle bells on her bracelet.
Throughout his life, he had been punishing women who reminded him of his aunt because he believed they deserved it. He also confessed to the murder of Trichy and stated indifferently that it had been the best night of his life. But he also regretted leaving so much evidence, and he thought he had to stop if he didn't want to get caught. Ramu took a short break from his killings; he thought he could live a "normal" life after being diagnosed with stage three dementia, which meant he would gradually forget his past crimes.
But she soon realized it was impossible to forget her monstrous aunt, so when Bobby flaunted his anklets, she felt the desperate need to quench her thirst again. He admitted to killing his wife because she had discovered his dark side. She stumbled upon the box where he kept his mementos from the murders, and he knew he had no choice but to kill her. Padhma had already realized he wouldn't spare her, so she quickly hid Sandhya's earrings in her wrist, hoping she would be able to connect the dots.
The irony of the revelation lay in the fact that the culprit was absolved of guilt due to his dementia. He was aware that he would soon forget all the crimes he had committed, and Sandhya and his other victims were condemned to live with the trauma forever. Perhaps the only positive thing is that Ramu ended up behind bars; moreover, considering the severity of his crimes and his lack of guilt and remorse, it is hoped that he will receive a harsh sentence (his dementia diagnosis will likely prevent the death penalty).
Sandhya did not divorce Amar; she believed he was nothing like his father, so he didn't deserve to be punished. In the final scene, we see Sandhya entering a movie theater, but instead of feeling overwhelmed and frightened as usual, she overcame her fear and watched a film. Sandhya was assaulted as a child during the premiere of a popular movie. Amidst the crowd, she felt violated. She wanted to report the film club that had organized the screening, but her family didn't support her.
Since childhood, she had been taught to remain silent because speaking up meant bringing dishonor to her family. But Sandhya broke free from this invisible chain. She realized that her voice had immense power, and if all women backed down for fear of the worst, then monsters like Ramu would go unpunished. Through this arduous journey, Sandhya finally found the courage to take a step towards overcoming her trauma, reclaiming the space she feared the most.
Comments
Post a Comment