Cheekatilo

Thriller Telugu

When crime anchor Sandhya’s best friend is found dead under suspicious circumstances, she embarks on a dangerous investigation that collides with a dark past. As secrets unravel, Sandhya must face her trauma and rise as a fearless voice for the silenced.

Cast:	Sobhita Dhulipala, Vishwadev Rachakonda, Chaitanya Visalakshmi, Isha Chawla, Jhansi, Aamani, Vadlamani Srinivas, Ravindra Vijay,
Director:	Sharan Koppisetty
Writer:	Chandra Pemmaraju, Sharan Koppisetty
Editor:	KSN
Camera:	Mallikarjun

Guild Reviews

Sobhita's thriller bites into cliches despite valid lessons

Janani K | India Today

Sun, January 25 2026

Directed by Sharan Koppisetty, Cheekatilo is a murder mystery headlined by Sobhita Dhulipala. With valid lessons on patriarchy, the film bites into cliches of an investigative thriller.

Murder mysteries and investigation dramas always rely on thrills, suspense and high-stakes drama. Most whodunnit thrillers have a male hero leading the investigation from the front. The Telugu film, Cheekatilo, has the feisty Sobhita Dhulipala leading a murder mystery, thereby standing out from a crowd of films of the same genre. Did Cheekatilo manage to crack the formula? Let’s find out!

Sobhita Dhulipala anchors a crime drama that occasionally thrills

Sangeetha Devi Dundoo | The Hindu

Fri, January 23 2026

Sharan Kopishetty’s Telugu film works more as a compelling social commentary than an edge-of-the-seat whodunnit

There are two strands to Cheekatilo (In the Darkness), the Prime Video original Telugu film directed by Sharan Kopishetty. On the surface, it is a crime drama that attempts to build an edge-of-the-seat whodunnit. At its core, however, it is a social commentary that urges silenced voices to speak, heal and find closure to long-buried wounds. In a film led by Sobhita Dhulipala, this second strand proves far more compelling.