Hyderabad, Nov 15 : A dark and gritty crime-thriller, the trailer for 'Atharva' is filled with suspense, action, and mystery as actor Karthik Raju is investigating a string of mysterious murders, one of which includes the death of a Telugu heroine. Soon discovered to be a kind of depraved game, these murders are forming a web which has one connecting branch, but what and where it lies is trickier than it looks as there is a whole dark web of corruption, and secrecy. Investigating this string of murders, it is initially believed that the actress was killed by her boyfriend who later killed himself. However, the leading detective of the case is not convinced. Searching for evidence, the killer is a very smart and elusive one as this person has left no trace of anything, be it fingerprints, hair fibres, or pieces of clothing. But the protagonist is convinced that this murder was pre-planned, and soon he is proven right as a bunch of other killings begin taking place. However, being an officer of the law while investigating the case, Karthik Raju's determination to catch the criminals leads him to violating rules and stepping outside his jurisdiction. As the bureaucracy is bound by regulations, the protagonist is suspended. But being a clever person, he is still pushing forward and chasing every lead available, and he begins connecting the dots to see that there is some pattern and connecting factor to all these killings. Violent, dark, serious, 'Atharva' is a no-holds-barred murder-mystery-crime-thriller-drama movie directed by Mahesh Reddy and stars Karthik Raju, Simran Choudhary, Ayraa, Arvind Krishna, Kabir Duhan Singh, G.Marimuthu, Anand, Kiran Macha, Shiva Kumar Vijaya Rama Raju, Gagan Vihari. /IANS