Akshara, starring Nandita Swetha in the titular role is billed to be a social drama which is based on education mafia and its effect on modern-day students. We have been to a special screening of the film and scroll on to read our review of the Chinnikrishna directorial.
Story:
Sanjay Bhargav (Sanjay Swaroop) runs multiple educational institutions with the name Vidya Vidhaan. His only motive is to ensure that his students are ranked top in competitive exams and goes to any extent for the same. He doesn’t care one bit even if many students succumb to his pressure and commit suicides. This is when Akshara(Nandita Swetha) joins his college as a lecturer. One day, Akshara‘s colleague Sri Teja who develops feelings towards her proposes to her and incidentally, she shoots him dead. The rest of the story unveils why Akshara shot Sri Teja and the real reason why she joined the college.
What about on-screen performances?
Nandita Swetha plays a challenging chatcater which has dark shades. She looks cute and emotes well. Shakalaka Shankar, Madhu, and Satya play comical roles but the comedy scenes featuring them are poorly written. Sanjay Swaroop plays antagonist and he puts in his best efforts. Noted chatcater artist Harshavardhan is the pick of the lot as be delivers an excellent performance.
What about off-screen talents?
Akshara has a plot that deals with a contemporary and underlying point pertaining to education mafia and it is relatable to almost everyone. But things go haywire when it comes to presentation. The entire story is based on the flashback portion which has been executed fairly well. However, the scenes preceding and succeeding this episode are lackluster and have very little novelty. The main drawback of the film is the outrageously bland screenplay. The entirety of the first half has been dedicated to pointless sequences which have no contextual prominence. The story doesn’t progress one bit. The flashback episode in the second half is good but it takes forever to get to that point. Too much cinematic liberty has been taken in the climax portion and the ending seems rushed.
The director Chinnikrishna’s basic storyline packs a punch but he fails miserably in executing it. He opts to fill the film with outdated comedy which irks the viewers. Let alone entertainment, these scenes test the patience of the audience. Suresh Bobbili’s music is okayish. Ahiteja Bellamkonda and Suresh Varma’s production values are impressive.
What’s Hot?
Story-line
Interval Episode
Flashback episode
Social message
What’s Not?
Presentation of the story
Slow narrative
Least bit exciting screenplay
Pointless scenes in first half
Rushed and half-baked climax
Cringe comedy
Verdict:
Akshara was promoted as a relevant film with a strong social message but the film does not have what it takes to elevate the core point or keep the audience engaged. Outdated screenplay and poorly written comedy scenes act against the cause. The director tries go explore a good point but has no clue of how to pen a good plot around it.
Watch or Not?: A big NO
TeluguBulletin.com Rating: 1.5/5