AKHIL MOVIE REVIEW

After a cameo in the much acclaimed family film Manam, Nagarjuna's younger son Akkineni Akhil turns into a full time action hero with a fantasy adventure entertainer Akhil: The Power of Jua directed by the mass masala director VV Vinayak. With a well-cut power-packed trailer, the film had generated some positive vibes among the audience. Will it satisfy their expectations? Will it be an ideal Diwali cracker? Glance down to know.

A fantasy adventure is something that we don’t come across much in Telugu. Here we have a film which doesn’t resort to the usual clichéd pattern in terms of its storyline. That said, it is still a commercial film filled with clichés and typical heroisms.

The script looks pretty enthralling, but had the execution been marginally better, it would have been a more complete and an enjoyable ride to witness. The team could have given more importance to the screenplay and also to the finale because the preceding scenes had created good impact. The songs are distracting, the placement of most of them is out of sorts. One feels a couple of songs could have even been done away with as they dampen the proceedings when they are becoming serious and tense.

Though the songs are passable and not that attractive, the re-recording is terrific, especially in the first half. Amol Rathod’s cinematography is sleek and enticing while the CGI towards the climax is a little appalling. But overall the production quality looks good.

Coming to the hero, Akhil makes a promising debut as an action hero. He scores high on the action and dance sequences. His voice sounds matured for his age and does resemble his father’s voice to an extent.  He should have concentrated a little more on his lip sync. His expressions are pretty functional and one feels he could add a couple of more expressions to his cartridge. Nevertheless, it’s not a bad show for a debutant.

Sayesha Saigal, the female lead who also makes her acting debut looks very pretty and does a decent job too. The comedies do keep coming at regular intervals and they are among the biggest plus to the film. Thanks to Brahmanandam and Vennela Kishore.

Overall, Akhil has got its own share of positive moments but a little more tightening in the execution could have helped the matters more.