Oka Chinna Viramam

Story: Deepak (Sanjay Varma) is a businessman immensely in love with his pregnant wife Sameera (Garima Singh). But when his idea of raising profits for his business puts her in trouble, he teams up with Balu (Naveen Neni) and Maya (Punarnavi) to save her.

Review: Suspense thrillers are most often than not filled with heavy plot points and sometimes too many characters. Oka Chinna Viramam is one such film which is fresh and simple, but thrilling. Director Sundeep Cheguri creates an environment that neither puts you on the edge of the seat nor bores you. He keeps raising the suspense and ends the movie on a satisfactory note without any lows. And that’s not an easy feat for any debutant director.

The film begins with Deepak attending shady calls while driving on a national highway, and with a beginning like that, no time in wasted in dropping you right into the middle of things. When his car breaks down, Balu and Maya join him on the journey and you wonder where this is all heading. While the dialogues between Balu and Maya could’ve definitely been written better, by the time the interval rolls around, you’re definitely curious for the second half of the film.

And this is where things get really interesting. Sundeep brilliantly connects the dots and fleshes it out into an interesting tale. While it’s a little uneven to watch, the second half makes you realise how draggy the first half was. The comedic scenes between Balu and Maya never really land, but they don’t disturb the plot either. But what should not be missed are the scenes that transpire at the pre-climax till the end. The way Sundeep wraps up the film makes you realise his potential. Music by Bharat Machiraju is engaging and definitely adds to the experience.

Sanjay Varma, who plays the role of a greedy yet innocent and loving man, delivers a decent performance. He emotes well and is definitely thriller movie material. Garima Singh also doesn’t disappoint with her performance while Punarnavi plays an interesting character. She has an expressive face and an ability to perform, not to mention, clearly good taste in selecting a script. Naveen Neni too delivers.

Oka Chinna Viramam is a small movie when it comes to its budget and duration both, but the way the film is pulled off is laudable and definitely worth watching. If only the first half had tighter editing, this one could’ve been something else!