Cheekatilo: A film built on restraint

A moment from the trailer captures the film’s tone with quiet precision.

- Darshim Saxena

Sobhita’s character, unsettled and seated at her desk in a blazer, is casually crowned by her intern.The gesture is celebratory, almost awkward. The space does not respond. The film does not frame the contrast as irony or triumph. It simply moves on, leaving the moment unresolved.

That withholding is central to Cheekatilo. The title loosely translates to “in the dark,” and the film lives up to it structurally. Meaning is rarely illuminated directly. It accumulates slowly, sometimes ambiguously. The film trusts the viewer to notice shifts without being guided toward them.

The story tracks a journalist negotiating authority and credibility, but the film avoids giving its environments emotional instructions. Rooms remain neutral. They don't underline moments or soften characters. While individual stories may reach limits, the environments and systems around them remain unchanged.