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Akhil Movie Review - 2.5/5 - Wait for Home Edition



Cast: Akhil Akkineni, Sayesha, Mahesh Manjrekar, Brahmanandam and Others
Directed by: VV Vinayak
Produced by: Nithin
Banner: Sreshth Movies
Music by: Anup, Thaman
Release Date: 2015-11-11


Akhil, one of the most awaited movies of the year released amidst high expectations. Nagarjuna's younger son Akhil who looked promising from the outset has made an impression that he is a star material. Nagarjuna handed over the responsibilities to Nithin (Producer) and Vinayak (Director) to launch his son. Nithin did his best by pumping in lots of money on the debut hero's movie. Akhil scores brownie points with his dances and attitude. Vinayak however has miserably failed as a director.

What is it about?

Akhil is a street fighter who falls in love with a medico Divya (Sayesha). He cheats her by saying that he is a veterinary doctor and also pits a plan to break up her marriage. After executing his plans successfully, Akhil is now on a mission to impress Divya. Meanwhile there is a Russian don who wants to possess Jua a powerful thing that protects the earth from dangerous rays of the Sun that are emitted during Solar eclipse. His men kidnap Divya as they believe that she knows where Jua was hidden. Now Akhil has to save Divya and the earth from these bad guys.

Performances:

Akkineni Akhil:

We have seen a glimpse of Akhil in Manam and he has done few ads before making this grand entry. He got the looks and confidence. He has the zeal to prove himself as a star. His dances are superb and he will be right up there among our best dancers. He should work a bit on his expressions and dialog delivery.

Sayesha and Others:

Sayesha is beautiful and has a very good screen presence. She is an okay actress too. Mahesh Manjrekar plays the role of a frustrated billionaire. He is alright. Brahmanandam comes only during the second half and fails to live up to expectations. Rajendra Prasad is good in an extended cameo. Vennela Kishore is fine. Saptagiri's scene is funny. Rest of the cast are okay in their respective roles.

Technicalities:

Direction:

Except for the fantasy element there is nothing new about this story. Vinayak's screenplay couldn't lift the weak plot that is not exciting at any point. Vinayak is known for showing his heroes in a powerful way and blending the action and comedy to enthrall masses. One gets a feeling that Vinayak suddenly lost all the weapons in his arsenal and the result is a bland film that ends up as a huge disappointment.

Music scored by Anup and Thaman is passable. Akhil's dances are a treat to watch. All the songs are visually appealing. Background music scored by Mani Sharma is good in parts. Kona Venkat's dialogues lacked punch. Cinematography is alright but the editing is poorly done. Nithin has spent a bomb on this film without any compromise on the quality.

Thumbs Up:

Akhil Dances

Sayesha

Songs

Thumbs Down:

Screenplay

Direction

Second Half

Analysis:

Akhil starts off on an interesting note with a monologue about the Jua and that African tribe. We expect a different kind of experience with that start but the movie shifts to regular commercial format with hero's attempts to woo the heroine. First half of the film is completely focused on this uninteresting love track but it is passable to some extent. Songs and fights were rightly placed to keep us entertained.
           
One would expect a thrilling action ride in the second half. Vinayak surprisingly let us down with poor screenplay by introducing Brahmanandam and wasting a lot of time on the journey to Africa. Even two hours run-time seems like an eternity with this pathetic narration from the ace director.

He could have make up for his mistakes with an exciting finish to the movie. But there comes a knockout punch from the director with a climax that is absurd to the core. Those graphics are pathetically done and there is not a single exciting moment in the hero's adventure during the climax. Nagarjuna's cameo appearance in Akkineni song will please the fans. Akhil dances and confidence will impress the audience. Akhil chose a wrong script for debut and sadly an experienced director like Vinayak messed it up big time.

Verdict: Akhil Akkineni Is Here To Stay