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#Akira, the story of a trained martial arts young girl from #Jodhpur, promises but doesn't quite deliver in its entirety!
Sonakshi, as an unusual kid, is a saviour to many a young harassed girl in #Jodhpur, but her Richie Rich brother with his arrogant, aloof and urbane wife, summons the mother-daughter duo, for entirely selfish reasons and they move to Mumbai. As a college kid in Mumbai she unwittingly becomes an eyewitness to the shenanigans of Mumbai Police officers, who have chanced upon big time money and have to eliminate any one who comes between them and the catch. What follows is a gripping first half, revolving around the dark underbelly of commercial capital Mumbai, replete with drugs, sleazy call girls, cold blooded shoot outs and some interesting campus brawls, but thereafter the script falters.
Post interval, Sonakshi, the firebrand fighter, black belt and all that finds herself heavily drugged and incarcerated in a mental asylum. The film makes little sense after this, as too many characters are introduced, without fully developing their character or justifying their existence through a supporting sub plot. One such role is that of Konkana Sen Sharma! What did the Director, Murugandoss, a veteran of films like #Ghazni do to her character? Yet another police officer, succumbing to pressures or what? If Konkana is irrelevant and easily replaceable in the film, you can imagine the plight of several other minor characters in the film, including Amit Sadh! Infact the entire Mental Asylum twist is bizarre, too many loose ends and without any hint of credible denouement arising from there. The biggest weakness of the film, really!
But the movie is still gripping and watchable, for two reasons! One is of course Sonakshi, who looks great and acts well, carrying the burden of this social pariah in a rather stoic and strong manner, without any melodrama. Probably this is her coming of age film! That a woman lead in Bollywood can kick butt and smash bones, despite carrying a scar on her temple that resembles the male chromosome, Y, is in itself a coming-of-age film for Bollywood; In a crime thriller version after social dramas like Queen! Kudos to Sonakshi @@sonakshisinhaofficial, for shining so bright!
But guess who steals the show? Anurag Kashyap as the smacky, sleazy, pervert, evil thug in uniform, ACP Rane, and that's why I have reserved my comments on him for the end! One has seen his directorial brilliance in films such as #DevD and #GangsofWasseypur, but who would have thought that he packs such a powerhouse of acting talent as well in him! As ACP Rane he typifies all that is wrong and hateful with the uniformed services and he delivers to perfection! A case in point is the scene where the call-girl dies without revealing the entire mystery to him! You should see his expressions in that sequence! I just wish the second half had played more on his character than it did! Then I would justifiably have rooted for the film to be renamed Akira and Rane or more creatively, #AkiRane!
