Movie Name :  Cheekatilo
Streaming Date : Jan 23, 2026
Streaming Platform : Amazon Prime Video
123telugu.com Rating : 2.75/5
Starring : Sobhita Dhulipala, Viswadev Rachakonda, Chaitanya Visalakshmi, Esha Chawla, Jhansi, Aamani, Vadlamani Srinivas, Ravindra Vijay
Director : Sharan Koppisetty
Producer : D. Suresh Babu
Music Director : Sricharan Pakala
Cinematographer  : Mallikarjun
Editor : KSN

Related Links : Trailer

After a long gap, actress Sobhita Dhulipala has returned to Telugu cinema with Cheekatilo, a web original that marks her debut in the Telugu OTT space. The series is directed by Sharan Koppishetty. Cheekatilo was released today in Telugu, Hindi, and Tamil, on Amazon Prime Video and here is our take on how it fares.

Story:

Sandhya (Sobhita Dhulipala), a journalist who quits her job over TRP-driven ethics, starts her own podcast. When her colleague Bobby (Aditi Myakal) and Bobby’s boyfriend are murdered, Sandhya uncovers a pattern linking multiple similar killings. Determined to expose the truth, she investigates the case and shares details through her podcast Cheekatilo, with support from Amar (Vishwadev Rachakonda). Who is behind the murders and why forms the core of the story.

Plus Points:

Sobhita Dhulipala takes on a role that is relatively new for her and handles it with ease. She convincingly portrays the inner pain of a woman haunted by unresolved truths. Vishwadev Rachakonda has limited screen time, but he makes good use of the scope given and leaves an impression.

While crime thrillers often reveal the antagonist early, Cheekatilo keeps the culprit hidden until the pre-climax. However, although the mystery is preserved, the film does not generate the tension required to make that reveal truly gripping.

Director Sharan Koppishetty attempts to explore the idea of unknowingly suppressing trauma through a few scenes, and the narrative from pre-climax to the climax works reasonably well. Aamani, despite limited screen presence, performs effectively. Vadlamani Srinivas gets a neat role, and seeing him in a different shade is refreshing.

Minus Points:

The core issue with Cheekatilo lies not in its concept but in its execution. In serial crime thrillers, sustained tension is crucial to keep viewers engaged. While the story offers ample scope for suspense, the narrative unfolds in a largely flat manner.

Because of this approach, the sense of urgency, what happens next and who could be the next target, rarely comes through. Scenes follow one another, but very few moments create genuine anticipation.

The police investigation, in particular, lacks seriousness and feels artificial, reducing its impact on the narrative. Similarly, the film does not convincingly establish how Sandhya’s podcast gains massive popularity in such a short span, making certain developments feel rushed and overly cinematic.

Several supporting characters, including those played by Ravindra Vijay, Jhansi, Suresh, and Vishwadev, are underwritten, limiting the emotional depth the story could have achieved. At certain points, repetitive scenes make the narrative feel stagnant, as though the film is reluctant to move forward.

Technical Aspects:

While Srikanth Pakala’s background score attempts to create a tense atmosphere, the flat writing prevents those moments from fully landing. Editing by KSN is passable, though trimming a few portions could have improved the pacing. Mallikarjun’s cinematography is adequate and suits the mood of the film. Production values are decent.

Director Sharan Koppishetty, along with co-writer Chandra Pemmaraju, presents a familiar story in a different setup. However, inconsistent execution and the lack of engaging narrative beats make the final result feel routine.

Verdict:

On the whole, Cheekatilo is a crime thriller that works in parts. Sobhita Dhulipala delivers a sincere performance, and the underlying message is clear and well conveyed. However, weak execution in a few portions, a lack of sustained tension at places, and some repetitive moments prevent the film from becoming a compelling thriller. If you enjoy thrillers, you may give it a try, but keep your expectations in check.

123telugu.com Rating: 2.75/5
Reviewed by 123telugu Team 

With her nomination for the cinematography of “Sinners,” Autumn Durald Arkapaw becomes the first woman of color — and only the fourth woman ever — to be recognized in the category. The recipient of a record-setting 16 nominations, Ryan Coogler’s vampire film set in the 1930s was advanced in every category for which it was eligible. Arkapaw previously collaborated with Coogler on 2022’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”

Arkapaw got on the phone on Thursday morning from her home in Altadena — thankfully spared from last year’s fires — that she shares with her husband, Adam Arkapaw, also a cinematographer.

“It’s nice to have an understanding of what each other does because it’s a hard job and making films isn’t easy,” said Durald Arkapaw of having two cinematographers under one roof. “But we also have a family, so usually when I’m working, he’s watching our son and vice versa. So it’s kind of a team effort. But there is an understanding. I wouldn’t say we talk about it all the time because it gets exhausting. You get enough of that when you’re at work.”

What do these historic firsts mean to you?

Autumn Durald Arkapaw: I’m trying to take a moment to kind of let it sink in. I’m just so honored every time I get to stand next to Ryan and make a film with him, because what I think he does and says is very unique. And we’re always doing something for the first time and with a very unique group of people. Like having all heads of departments be women of color and these are women that inspire me every day. I think now to be a part of that because [production designer] Hannah [Beachler] and [costume designer] Ruth [E. Carter] have also been able to do some work that’s been recognized. Now being a part of that group, I feel very honored, especially for a film like this. That it’s for this film, means a lot to me.

What is it about this film in particular that makes it even more special?

Arkapaw: I think for myself and most of the team members, we have a lot of history and culture rooted in this story. My family’s from New Orleans. My father was born there, my great-grandmother was born in Mississippi. So when I read the story, it felt very close to home. And I think that allows you to be able to pour yourself into it. And there’s a lot of meaning in it and you want to make your ancestors proud. This film has so much love that was poured into it on set and I think it really connected with a lot of people. And I think that’s how you do really great films. You pour as much as you can of yourself into it.

The film was such a success when it came out earlier this year. What is it that you think audiences were responding to?

Arkapaw: I’m an operator so I love to have my eyepiece to the camera and Ryan sits right next to me. So a lot of the stuff that we photographed, I was there in the moment. It was very felt. And I always said, “If I don’t feel it, then I don’t feel the audience can.” So I’m very much someone who shoots from the heart and wants to make sure that emotion is being conveyed. Ryan is the same way. There was a lot of that going on on set, where there were moments where you felt like you actually weren’t making a movie. Things were unfolding in front of you in a very unique way. Like it felt like a real space at times. That matters. If you feel that way on set, it is, it does feel communicated all the way up until the audience sees it in this dark room. And then they don’t feel like they’re watching a movie anymore. And it’s nice when that translates. It doesn’t always happen. And with this film it did, on an insane level.

Michael B. Jordan as Smoke and Stack in the movie “Sinners.”

(Warner Bros. Pictures)

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When did you and Ryan start talking about shooting in 65-millimeter Imax?

Arkapaw: He had envisioned it to be 16-millimeter. So originally, I made some lenses with Panavision that I shot “The Last Showgirl” with before this. And so I was kind of testing those in hopes that it would be something we would use. And then the studio called Ryan and said, “Have you guys thought about large format?” And he called me immediately after and he was like, “Let’s talk about it.” And we got a bunch of different formats together and when you’re talking about large format in a film context, it means 65-[millimeter]. So we tested all these different formats. And obviously we fell in love with the [Imax formats] 15-perf and the 5-perf. And putting them together for the first time was unique. That was fun to do because we tested it and then we kind of put an edit together and looked at it as a team and it all felt very right. So it’s nice to do something historic like that and have it work and have the audience enjoy that big shift of ratios.

Just from a workflow aspect, what was it like having to adjust to these new technologies?

Arkapaw: I always feel like with Ryan, he always gives me a big challenge. He likes to think big and outside the box. We did that on “Wakanda Forever.” We shot a bunch of our scenes underwater with actors, for real. And in this film, there were a lot of different sequences, moving the Imax camera around in the studio, treating it like it wasn’t necessarily a large-format film, but shooting like we would if it was a smaller camera and being true to how we like to move the camera. It’s a lot of logistics involved. You have to have an amazing team. My team personally is fantastic and they did a great job. Focus-pulling is not easy on a film like this.

So it was a challenge. But I think because everyone’s so inspired by Ryan, he’s a great leader on set and everyone really likes him, so they want to do a good job for him. I see that every time we do a film, I have the same crew that I use. It’s like a family. And they respect him. So when you give us a challenge, we really want to make sure that we do it well so that it’s a good experience for the moviegoers. Because he’s always reminding us on set about that: “Big movie, big movie.” We’re making a movie for the theaters.

When the movie was coming out, people really liked that the explainer video that Ryan made about all the different formats. How did you feel about that video and that, for something that felt so technical and nerdy, it got really popular.

Arkapaw: I remember the moment that he brought it up, we were at the Playa Vista Imax headquarters and we had just done a screening to look at the prints. And he was like, “I want to talk to you guys.” And so myself and Zinzi [Coogler], our producer, and our post-producer Tina Anderson, we went and talked for a second and Ryan said, “I want to shoot a video that explains all the formats so that people can understand what we did and what it means and all that stuff.” And his eyes lit up and I thought it was such a cool idea. Fast-forward to it coming out and everyone really embracing it because it was so thoughtful. It was really cool.

If you see it in Dolby, it’s special, but if you go see it this way, it’s even more special because the screen opens up. So I think putting that in the hands of audiences is very thoughtful. And that’s how Ryan is. He wants them to have this information because when he was a kid and going to theaters, we all felt that same way, where that one night you walked to the theater or you drove and you waited an hour to see it and it was a whole experience. And so I think that’s why it went viral because people wanted to be a part of that.

Do you have a preferred format?

Arkapaw: My preferred format is the origination format, because I’m framing the movie for Imax 1.43:1 and then also with the 2.76:1 Ultra Panavision format. So my best way of seeing the film would be the Imax 70mm full-frame print. And obviously, there are only about 40 theaters in the world that project that. I don’t think we had it in all 40, maybe we only had 11, I think, across the world. But I was very much telling everyone that if you can get a ticket, please go see it in the 70-[millimeter] projection of Imax, full-frame. It’s so beautiful.

Oscar nominations are out, kicking off seven weeks of conversations about what the Academy got right (and wrong) today and predictions about what voters might still get wrong during the awards on March 15.

Here’s what struck me when the lists were announced this morning.

Sinners dominated, followed by One Battle After Another 

Before this year, no movie had ever gotten more than 14 Oscar nominations. Three films — All About Eve, Titanic and La La Land — shared the top spot. This year, Ryan Coogler’s brilliant vampire story Sinners bested that by two, landing 16 nominations. If it had been 15, you could argue that the new category honoring best casting (in which Sinners, yes, was nominated) was the difference. But with 16, that’s a straight-up record-breaker. Of course, nomination numbers do not always equal wins, let alone wins for a big category like best picture.

One Battle After Another, with 13 nominations, is also formidable on numbers alone. But Sinners was nominated in every category in which it was competing, which is a stunning accomplishment. Since each branch of the Academy votes on its own nominees (and everyone votes for best picture nominees), that suggests that the film has strong support across every single group of Oscars voters. And it’s fair to ask: If every element of a movie is top-notch, from its design to its performances to its script to its music, how does it not deserve to be best picture?

Non-English language features continued their strong showing

Four non-English language acting performances were nominated this year, three from Norway’s drama Sentimental Value (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Renate Reinsve and Stellan Skarsgård) and one from the Brazilian political thriller The Secret Agent (Wagner Moura). That’s a record. Both of those films were nominated for best picture as well, which continues the pattern from recent years of non-English-language films like Parasite, I’m Still Here, Emilia Pérez, Drive My Car and others earning nominations in the top category. Consider this: 10 such best picture nominations happened between 1938 and 2017; 12 have now happened between 2018 and 2026. (On the other hand, it’s worth noting that the highly-regarded Korean movie No Other Choice from filmmaker Park Chan-wook was shut out, disappointing its many supporters.)

F1 overperformed

The car-racing movie F1, which felt a lot like a promotional film for F1 racing itself, received what will be, for some, an eyebrow-raising best picture nomination in addition to nominations for editing, sound and visual effects. Both the Broadway drama Blue Moon and Iranian thriller It Was Just An Accident received original screenplay nominations, Blue Moon landed a lead actor nomination for Ethan Hawke, and It Was Just An Accident was nominated for best international feature (for France, which submitted it); neither appeared on the best picture list. People really like cars going vroom vroom, apparently.

New Avatar and Wicked stories lost steam 

The first Avatar received nine Oscar nominations; the second, Avatar: The Way of Water, received four; this morning, the third, Avatar: Fire and Ash, received only two, for costume design and visual effects. A year ago, Wicked received 10 nominations; this year, Wicked: For Good received zero. Avatar: Fire and Ash still made a mountain of money and Wicked: For Good made plenty, but the one-two punch of big box office and awards sparkle has worn off for both.

Diane Warren is Diane Warren, now and forever

The least-surprising possible news on Oscar nomination morning is a nomination for Diane Warren, who received her 17th nod, this time for the song “Dear Me” in the documentary Diane Warren: Relentless. She has never won — except for an honorary award in 2022 — which perhaps makes her the Susan Lucci of best original song, in honor of the All My Children actress nominated 21 times for a Daytime Emmy for playing Erica Kane. But one fact should be foremost in the mind: Susan Lucci eventually won. Yes, it took until her 19th nomination, but it happened. This year, Warren is nominated for a song she wrote for a documentary about herself; wouldn’t it be fun if this were her year? If not, she should not lose heart, because let’s be real: She will be nominated again next year.