BOTTOM LINE
Unmitigated mess
OUR RATING
2/5
CENSOR
‘U/A’ Certified, 130 mins.
What is the film about?
Akhil is basically a regular love story where hero is after heroine to win her love. The only difference here is the ‘Jua’ angle that has been shoehorned into the typical proceedings. What is this Jua and how hero wins the love of heroine is what the film is all about.
How is Akhil’s performance?
The first thing that registers in our minds when we get out of cinema is how little hero has done as a performer in the film despite an all out presence. It also simultaneously registers how much of care is taken to just focus on the positive aspects of Akhil. Simply put all that one can mention about hero are his dances and action sequences. Akhil is clearly prepared in those areas and he showcases it with great earnest. On the rest like screen presence and performance there is a visible uneasiness that can be felt. It could be accorded to the fact that it’s his big screen debut and there is bound to be jitters. Overall Akhil gives confidence to fans with his commercial package but needs something more to win the general audience mandate.
Direction By VV Vinayak?
With the direction of VV Vinayak there are two aspects that one needs to look into as far as Akhil is concerned. First it’s all about Akhil and his presentation and secondly the story and it’s execution. Vinayak clearly has failed on the latter aspects in Akhil. As mentioned above the screenplay is developed only to showcase the hero in best possible manner, unfortunately in that process the story telling of the film is lost.
There is not a single moment in the film where one is actually engaged in the story. The setup of Jua and African backdrop all serve no purpose at all given the way things unfold on the screen. Still for what it’s worth first half of the film is fine in typical hair-brained commercial potboiler fashion. It’s the second half where even the routine fun ceases to exist where one loses interest completely. As a director strictly looking at the content and it’s execution Akhil is one of VV Vinayak’s weakest films.
Sayesha Saigal and other artists?
Sayyesha Saigal too makes her debut with the film. Since all the concentration has been put on hero, there is nothing much for her to do but in whatever little she gets, it’s manageable. The best performing actor of the film however is undoubtedly Rajendra Prasad. It’s not that he is given good content to work with but being the kind of actor he is things stand out, especially with the debut talent all around. Vennela Kishore and Sapthagiri do their usual acts which can be said about Brahmanandam too, only the latter gets loud cheers even for his routine act. Mahesh Manjrekar is not fully used. The rest don’t make any sort of impression.
Music and other departments?
Musically (Anup Rubens and SS Thaman) the film is alright. They are designed to help accentuate the strengths of debut hero and they do just that. Background score by Mani Sharma is good in action sequences. Cinematography is good. Editing is problematic in that lots of footage seems to be edited that leaves the film soulless. Choreography of songs is dancers delight in two songs. Dialogues by Kona Venkat with all that rhyming is getting boring.
Highlights?
Nagarjuna cameo
Dances and fights
Cinematography
Grand production values
Drawbacks?
Poor screenplay
Direction
VFX
Second half
Alternative Take
Instead of the regular hero loves heroine track with hero saving heroine in trouble angle, the Jua backdrop could have been given more space.
Did I enjoy it?
No
Will you recommend it?
No
Akhil Review by Siddhartha
