Ooru Peru Bhairavakona

Basava (Sundeep Kishan) is a stunt double who is also a petty thief. He is in love with Bhoomi (Varsha Bollamma). Basava along with his friend John, steals bridal jewellery during a wedding and escapes in a stolen vehicle. On the way, they come across Agraharam Geetha (Kavya Thapar), who pretends to be met with an accident and they try to save her. Escaping the police, they enter a mysterious village Bhairavakona. As they face paranormal experiences, they try to uncover the mystery i.e. Bhairavakona and it's residents. Why Basava chose to steal the jewellery and what is the story of Bhoomi, forms rest of the story.

VI Anand definitely gets the first half right with a decent blend of mystery and humor. The non-linear narrative too tries to work in the film's favor. As the first tries to keep the mystery alive and build the Basava - Bhoomi story, the pre-interval scenes make the right impact. It is the second half that largely suffers from the writing. The entire sub-plot involving Rajappa (Ravishankar) is underwritten. Adding to that, the love story of Basava - Bhoomi lacks the emotional impact it aims for and in the end, the proceedings look all too convenient. Despite decent performances and narrative pace, the second half doesn't match the first half.

No spoiler Alert.

A brilliantly made Fantasy Thriller and an edge of the seat experience!

Ooru Peru Bhairavakona exceeds my expectation in all departments and certainly a must watch theaterical film of this year. The director Vi Anand has comeback strongly to entertain us and proves yet again that he is a Master of such genres which are rarely touch based in Telugu Film Industry. Screenplay was top notch with decent twists and turns required for this movie.

The entire cast starting from Sundeep, Varsha, Vennela to Viva fits perfectly into the world of Bhairavakona. There is an extra ordinary bonding between Vi Anand writing and Vennela Kishore characters which creates a comedy swirl in theatres.

Songs and BGM, no doubt will be one of the highly talked about positives of this film. Nijeme Ne is certainly a crowd puller. DOP is a masterpiece considering 90% of the movie is shot in night.

For this budget film, the VFX is out of world experience. At times we can see glimpses of Marvel Cinematic Experience, which is a major feet for this film. The trust that the director had in the VFX team needs to be appreciated considering 1/3 of the movie has CG sequence.

The production value is high and defintely looks like a 50-60 cr movie, though it is not. Bhairavakona world is well designed and thought out without any confusion.

Overall if you are a movie lover and wished to see industry taking positive changes including all commercial aspects, this is a perfect theaterical watch for you with your family.

Story is quite unique blended with a touch of folklore. Especially Bhairavkona, the village which is a prison for souls soughting revenges. The story revolves around Bhairavkona and the actor. Casting actors have well portrayed their characters. I wished the story could have been knitted more properly as the subject was good. 2nd half could have been more detailed. Though it's not a romantic film, yet in my view, it wouldn't have spoilt the main subject. A little bit of more romance could have made it even more engaging. It sure that one will not regret after watching the movie. It's more then an average movie.

Ooru Peru Bhairavakona goes wrong in many aspects. The first and foremost thing is the love track upon which the entire movie revolves. There are not enough scenes between Sundeep Kishan and Varsha Bollamma, making it tough to connect to their emotion. The key scene/twist reveal in the second half featuring the lead pair should have been emotional and shocking, but the presentation here made it inconsequential. There are two chartbuster songs, but they don't add much value to the proceedings due to their placement.

Multiple genres are incorporated into the film, but enough justice isn't done regarding execution. From the opening scene, the director tried to project that there was some mystery behind Bhairavakona, but the suspense was not built properly. The stakes were never high, so we would hardly be interested in knowing the enigma surrounding Bhairavakona.

The fun moments in the first half are passable, but the actual story is brought in during the halfway mark. The interval episode is neat, but as the staging of scenes and world-building aren't done well, the impact is minimal. There are no high moments or thrills in both the halves. There are some really good, fun moments, but the movie somewhat disappoints on the whole due to a lack of emotional depth and flat narration.

Everything regarding the second half looks very rushed, and one would get a feeling that the movie ended abruptly. The heroine's backstory is a beaten-to-death concept, and the makers tried to blend it with fantasy, comedy, horror, and suspense elements, but these elements look somewhat contrived.

The film presents a promising story but falls short in its execution. The screenplay struggles, leading to a narrative that often feels uninspired and lackluster, although it does have its moments with a very few standout scenes. Unfortunately, the dialogue fails to elevate the material, lacking depth and impact.

Musically, the film manages to deliver two nice songs.

Sandeep Kishan delivers a commendable performance, consistent with his reputation for solid acting. Varsha Bollamma shines in her role, Kavya Thapar adds a spark to the film with her presence. Kishore and Harsha are fun.

The supporting cast turns in acceptable performances, doing what they can with the material provided. The cinematography is competent, offering some visual appeal, though the film's VFX elements do not meet the same standard, detracting from the overall experience.

While it may not justify the price of a movie ticket, the film could be an option for streaming on OTT platforms for those who find the premise intriguing enough to overlook its shortcomings.