Like a majority of the films made in this industry, Akhil is no less a victim of the ‘praasa’ (alliteration) syndrome. The writers go on to indulge, at length, in a series of rhyming words comprising punadi-samadhi, bugger-burger, Cambridge-Howrah bridge, fire-fear and the desperation sets in obviously when you get to hear the word play with something like Jubilee Hills and Banjara Hills too.
The story otherwise is derived from age-old mythological fables where a protagonist crosses the sapta samudras , braves the wildest of forests, fights the baddies mid-air to save the world from destruction. You wish the makers tried as sincerely to weave in a solid plot. The love thread gives a glossy topping and lets the male protagonist take centrestage in this context.
In what was expected to be an ideal launchpad for a young actor with stunts, gravity-defying dance moves, some romance camouflaged with humour, barely anything works, but for the moves. That’s best understood, when Rajendra Prasad, initially called a ‘bakra’ by Akhil so conveniently turns a ‘nanna’ in an unexpected yet melodramatic turn.
It’s that kind of a film where the actor jokes that the only difference between the white blood cells and red blood cells is the colour. Later, it’s the same man, who helps Divya (Sayyeshaa) perform an operation on a rabbit. The hopes on Akhil and the young energy it was to offer as a result wane too early. You expect things to pick up soon but alas, you’re too tired to feel otherwise, not even when Nagarjuna’s special appearance in a song ensures some relief.
The film is unmistakably lavish, the aesthetics, the locales, the costumes all impress, but the soul never appears. There are lots of faces who turn mere caricatures; Mahesh Manjrekar, Brahmanandam, Vennela Kishore and Saptagiri. However, it’s the film’s treatment that sets the trap for them to fall into.
The curse of the big budget, the dialogue overplay, the lack of a sincere emotional string to bind a not-so-bad story, you have enough to let the effort down. You smile when Brahmanandam’s line in reply to Vennela Kishore starts like this, “Maatalu baane unnay, kani logic-le koncham ...” His role is moreover is a parody of MS Narayana’s part in Manam , where he mistakes Akhil to be a church father.
Akhil and Sayyeshaa, as first-timers have not much assistance with the flimsy material they’re put up with. You see them lacking emotion and the personality-less characters only do more disservice to their eye-catching presence. Their moves complement each other well, especially in a couple of energetic numbers, ‘Hey Akhil’ and ‘Akkineni Akkineni’.
Akhil especially has to do so much of the larger than life courtesies that actors in their late 20s and mid 30s do, the underwater escapes, the aircraft fight and the laughable CG-animal stunt, you see the wavelength being overstretched. V V Vinayak should have hit the caution button when Alludu Seenu fizzled at the box office. It really looks like he has to learn it the hard way.
Akhil-The Power of Jua
