Virupaksha (2023)

In 1979, in the village of Rudravanam, Venkata Chalapathy and his wife are lynched by the villagers, who believe their eerie rituals (black magic) caused multiple deaths. As she dies, Chalapathy's wife curses the village with destruction in 12 years. Their son, Bhairava, is spared and sent to an orphanage by the village head, Harishchandra Prasad.

In 1991, a week after the mysterious disappearance of a villager named Siddhayya, Anasuyamma returns to Rudravanam with her son, Surya, and nephew to donate land for a school and attend the annual carnival honouring the Hindu deity Modamamba. Surya's encounter with Nandini, Harishchandra Prasad's daughter, results in love, and she apparently reciprocates but hesitates to accept his proposal.

During the festival, Siddhayya, who has developed a severe pox after being mauled by a supernatural crow, returns to the village temple and dies in the inner sanctum, which is considered sacrilege. The head priest declares that the village is desecrated and must be sealed off for eight days in eight directions. Surya and his family are allowed to leave as they have been away for over 12 years. However, Surya reenters the village to deliver medicine to Nandini, who suffers from convulsions, rendering him incapable of leaving the village for eight days.

Sudha, Nandini's friend, attempts to elope with her lover Kumar, but tragically witnesses his accidental death when he is run over by a train. Upon returning to the village, Sudha is killed by a swarm of bees. Her parents conceal her death to avoid shame. Soon after, the milkman Suri and Surya's cousin Parvathi are found dead under mysterious circumstances. Surya, aided by an RMP (Registered Medical Practitioner), investigates and uncovers a disturbing pattern: each victim witnesses a death before their own demise, passing the curse onto the next person. An Aghora warns the villagers that they made a mistake by imposing the lockdown.

Surya discovers Sudha's body and uncovers the truth behind the chain of deaths. He realises that Nandini is the next target. As she contemplates suicide, Surya intervenes and saves her. Surya learns about the tragic events that befell the Chalapathy family in the past and suspects that Chalapathy's son, Bhairava, is behind the killings. Meanwhile, the head priest suggests that sacrificing Nandini will end the curse, but Surya sedates her and vows to find a way to stop it.

Surya investigates Bhairava's whereabouts and learns that Bhairava fled the orphanage after paralysing its founder. With the help of the Aghora, Surya locates Bhairava's hideout in a cave, where he finds Bhairava's belongings and the original village edict, which had been replaced by a fake one. Surya concludes that Kumar is actually Bhairava and that someone from the village has been aiding him in executing the curse. Surya also uncovers that Nandini's sacrifice is part of a larger plot to destroy the village. As Surya rushes to stop the ritual, superstitious residents of nearby villages block his way, fearing the curse will spread to their homes. Despite the obstacles, Surya manages to return, only to find that the villagers of Rudravanam have already been possessed and are performing the ritual.

Surya suspects Harishchandra Prasad is involved but learns that Nandini is actually Chalapathy's daughter, whose identity was hidden by Harishchandra Prasad. Confronting Nandini, Surya discovers that she, along with her brother Bhairava, has been seeking revenge on the village for wrongfully accusing her father of black magic. Nandini reveals that Chalapathy was an Atharvana Veda practitioner who was trying to cure his paralysed wife, but the villagers misunderstood his practices. Nandini refuses to stop the ritual, but Surya reminds her of their love. Bound by a talisman that prevents her from harming him, she hints that he must kill her to stop the curse. With great reluctance, Surya stabs Nandini, ending the curse and saving the village.

After Nandini's cremation, Surya urges the villagers to abandon their superstitions and transform Chalapathy's house into a school. As he holds the talisman, his eyes glow with a supernatural light, hinting at a possible sequel.