Odela Railway Station

Odela Railway Station is a 2022 Indian Telugu-language crime thriller film directed by Ashok Teja and created by Sampath Nandi. Produced by K. K. Radhamohan's Sri Sathya Sai Arts, the film has an ensemble cast of Hebah Patel, Pujita Ponnada, Vasishta N. Simha and Sai Ronak. Odela Railway Station is based on the real incidents that happened in Odela, India. It was premiered on Aha on 26 August 2022.

Plot
The film revolves around a serial killer who kills all the newly married women in a village named Odela. A young trainee IPS officer, who is posted to the village, is assigned the case of finding the perpetrator behind the murders. Whether he finds the killer and who the Serial Killer is the rest of the film.

Production
Vasishta N. Simha was cast in the film in 2020 which was reported to be his debut in Telugu cinema. But due to the delay in the production, his next film in Tollywood, Narappa (2021) became his debut Telugu cinema release. Speaking about his character in the film with The Times of India, Simha said "When the team narrated the story that revolves around a true incident, I was immediately sold and agreed to do it. They told me that they were ready to shoot the moment I gave a go ahead. Soon enough, I was on a flight to Hyderabad and prepping for this film. It was a good experience, as the team was very passionate. I speak a dialect of Telugu from Telangana in the film, so that added to the challenge".

The second schedule of shooting began in October 2020 after being halted due to heavy rains in Telangana.

Release
After several delays in production, the film premiered on Aha on 26 August 2022.

Reception
Narendra Puppala of The Hans India wrote that "Dipping into real-life happenings, the realistic crime thriller set in a rural milleu maintains the suspense till the climax, without resorting to the worn-out cliches normally associated with the genre". Shyamala Tulasi of Sakshi Post gave a rating of 3 out of 5 and stated:"Odela Railway Station is a  movie which has its high moments. The film does pique the curiosity of the audience but fails to deliver in some places predictable movie at some points." In contrast, 123Telugu wrote that "Odela Railway Station is a badly made crime thriller. Except for a couple of scenes and the lead cast performances, there is nothing exciting about this film".

Sequel
Odela 2, the sequel to Odela Railway Station, is currently in production. Written by Sampath Nandi and directed by Ashok Teja, the supernatural thriller stars Tamannaah Bhatia in the lead role. Hebah Patel, who played the lead in the original film, returns in a supporting role. The cast also includes Vasishta N. Simha, Yuva, Naga Mahesh, among others. The music is composed by B. Ajaneesh Loknath, and cinematography is handled by Soundararajan. The release date is yet to be announced.