Odela 2 is a 2025 Telugu Language supernatural thriller written by Sampath Nandi and directed by Ashok Teja. The film has Tamannaah Bhatia, Hebah Patel & Vasishta N Simha playing the lead roles while Yuva, Naga Mahesh, Vamshi, Gagan Vihari, Surender Reddy, Bhupal, Pooja Reddy, Vishika Kota, Sreedhar Reddy & others are seen in important supporting roles. The music is composed by Ajaneesh Loknath while the film is produced by D Madhu under Madhu Creations and Sampath Nandi Teamworks banners.
Story:
Tirupati (Vasishta N. Simha), a cruel man who would abduct, rape, and kill brides on their first night gets killed by his wife Radhika (Hebah Patel). Meanwhile, the villagers collectively punish Tirupati by burying his body and believe they are free from Tirupati’s terror. However, during two weddings in the village, Tirupati’s ghost possesses another body and resumes his gruesome acts, targeting new brides. How does Bhairavi (Tamannaah), a powerful naga sadhu, who arrives to rid the village of this supernatural menace, solve this situation? What unfolds between Tirupati’s spirit and Bhairavi? How is Radhika connected to Bhairavi? The answers need to be seen in the theatres.
What about on-screen performances?
Tamannaah Bhatia puts up a decent performance as Bhairavi. Her attempt to come out of her glamour image is appreciable, and her getup as Shiva Shakti/ Naga Sadhu suited her well. Although her character enters just before the interval, her heroic entry scene and her emotional act in the climax portions make it a passable role for her.
Vasishta N. Simha shines as Tirupati, bringing fear and intensity to his terrifying villain role. His performance as the ruthless man-turned-ghost leaves a good impact on the story. Even though he appeared on screen briefly, that serious voice reminds me of him every time.
Hebah Patel gives out a weak performance as Tirupati’s wife Radhika. She failed to give out the right kind of expressions needed for her part, and her Telugu dubbing never suited her role, due to which her appearance in the serious scenes turned into comedy.
Yuva, Naga Mahesh, Vamshi, Gagan Vihari, Surender Reddy, Bhupal, Pooja Reddy, Vishika Kota, Sreedhar Reddy & all the other supporting cast also fail to leave a lasting impact in their limited portions.
What about off-screen talents?
The story by Sampath Nandi is quite routine with a regular Devil vs God plotline. Even Tamannaah’s role, which needed to be powerful, looked pretty ordinary on screen. The devotional and emotional aspects of her character could have been handled with more nuance and depth.
The screenplay too is very predictable and lacks the engagement these types of scripts need. The film looks like it is heavily inspired by films like ‘Arundhati’, ‘Ammoru’, ‘Akhanda’ & ‘Hanuman’ as Odela-2 has too many reference scenes similar to these successful films.
Director Ashok Teja does an underwhelming job with his whole presentation. Stories of this kind need extraordinary treatment, which is lacking in this film. His execution lacked novelty, and his narrative is flat without any high moments or emotional depth. Especially the way he handled the second half is poor, and the climax sequences looked stretched unnecessarily.
The dialogues by Sampath Nandi are ineffective. His effort for rhyme in the words is troublesome at places, and a few lines are overly written.
The songs by Ajaneesh Loknath do not create any impact, nor does his background score in the film. Except for the villain theme music, none of the score succeeds in impressing.
The camerawork by Soundararajan is good while the edit by Avinash needs to more more sharper.
The production values by Madhu Creations and Sampath Nandi Teamworks are not up to the mark.
What’s Hot?
* Tamannaah Bhatia’s Performance
* Vasishta’s Performance
* Lord Shiva Reference Scenes
* Good First Half
What’s Not?
* Routine Plot & Predictable Screenplay
* Flat Execution & Lacks Gripping Narrative
* Dragged Out Climax Portions
* Underwhelming Background Score
* Forgettable Songs
* Poor VFX/Graphics
* Overly Written Dialogues
Verdict: Overall, Odela 2 is an average supernatural thriller that works fine in the first half but falls short of expectations as it fails to deliver a wholesome cinematic experience towards the end. Can give it a try if you like watching supernatural thrillers with a devotional touch and also for Tamannaah’s sincere efforts.
Telugubulletin.com Rating: 2.5/5