'Akhanda' hit the screens this Thursday. In this section, we are going to review the latest box-office release.

Story:

Murali Krishna (Nandamuri Balakrishna) has his task cut out when a no-holds-barred mining baron named Varadarajulu (Srikanth) stops at nothing for profit. When precious lives are endangered, the hero swings into action. But Varadarajulu is a step ahead. When human forces can't save the day, it falls on a super-hero to take the baton forward. The super-hero is a divine soul (Balakrishna as Akhanda) who now wages the good war. How the actual hero of the movie pulverizes the main villain and his minions forms the crux of the story.

Analysis:

First things first. 'Akhanda' is an 'oora' mass entertainer that is unapologetically pro-Balakrishna fans. It knows that it has got a paper-thin storyline. It also knows that the theme of Good Vs. Evil has been done-to-death in the commercial cinema format. Director Boyapati Srinu comes equipped with a powerful spin nevertheless.

As an Aghora, Balakrishna has delivered his best performance since 'Legend'. His fitness is commendable, his dialogue delivery is magical, and his screen presence packs a punch. Enabled by M Ratnam's animated dialogues, the actor saves the film single-handedly. He looks classy as a mercurial Murali Krishna, who is also a reformer, we are told.

Srikanth's performance is not one for the ages. He is superb in a scene and that is all. The rest of the cast has nothing much to do. Pragya Jaiswal's talent needs to be explored in songs by filmmakers; her dancing skills are alright. 'Kalakeya' Prabhakar is routine. Poorna is better than other character artists. There are too many faces whose names we don't know of. One wonders why the casting is not tight.

Thaman's background music is uplifting. It is both stylish and befitting a Boyapati movie. It's not entirely atypical, but the sound design makes the impact feel distinct. C Ram Prasad's cinematography is an asset; the colour palette in the second half makes the action blocks feel different. AS Prakash's production design also needs to be mentioned in this context. The Editors (Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao and Tammiraju) have taken the bold choice of not chopping several portions. So, the length of the film is a helpful 167 minutes.

The second half is singularly about how Akhanda brings the antagonists to their knees. The story doesn't explore what can be done about the Murali Krishna track. The director seems to have felt that resorting to regular tropes like abductions and blackmailing might put the audience off. So, he makes it all about Akhanda and his mission.

The fights are many and they are violent. Such scenes were typical of 'Legend' and 'Simha'; the glorious tradition is continued here. The stunt masters (read Ram-Lakshman and Stun Shiva) uplift Balayya's inimitable heroism. They deliver a dekko without a full stop.

It would have been better had the romantic track been more real. There should have been a couple of calm interludes in the heavy-duty second half.

Verdict:

'Akhanda' is a hardcore Balakrishna-Boyapati movie for the mass audience. It's an unapologetic commercial film.