Akira (2016) Review!!

Synopsis – A gripping action thriller about a college girl Akira, who has grown up with the ideals of being self reliant. Her life spirals out of control when she becomes unwittingly involved in a crime involving four corrupt police officers.

My Take – It seems actress Sonakshi Sinha has finally found herself a role in which she plays more than a damsel in distress or just the typical Bollywood heroine who would rather stay at home and let the macho male do all the hard work. In a recent interview, Sonakshi stated she would choose a film like Lootera (arguably her best performance till date) over the typical Bollywood masala films aka her whole filmography, and with this A.R.Murugadoss film it seems she is out to prove a point. Which she does, well to an extend. Here, she is fiery, feisty, breaking bones, breaking spirits with a candor unforgettable and canter, so confident that you want to applaud. It surely is shocking why would filmmakers take five years to use her right. But unfortunately despite hers & the antagonist played by filmmaker / occasional actor Anurag Kashyap’s efforts, the film never seems to know which direction it wants to go. The fun aspects of the film are completely diluted by director Murugadoss’ ambition to make a woman-centric film although he seems clueless about women.

A remake of the Tamil film Mouna Guru (2011), the story follows Akira (Sonakshi Sinha), a diligent daughter, do-gooder, karate expert, and juvenile delinquent. Years ago, a young Akira testified against an acid-thrower and ends up receiving a deep cut to the side of her head. In order to help her defend herself, her father (Atul Kulkarni) enrolls her into karate classes and on seeing lechers at a bus-stop eve-teasing girls, ends up teaching them a lesson, one tries to fling acid at her and receives a taste of his own medicine. She is sent into a remand home for three years. Once back, she just wants to live her life quietly, but has to contend with a brother wanting her and their mother to desperately move to Mumbai with him. In order to distance herself from the selfish brother & her uninviting sister in law, Akira moves into a hostel. Circumstance drags her deep into a mess of wrongful accusations and arrests, mental hospitals and entrapment by corrupt policemen led by the uber-shady ACP Govind Rane (Anurag Kashyap). Rane and his team have stolen a huge stash of cash from an accident scene. Akira’s family is completely unconcerned for the most part, or quickly convinced of her mental instability. A possible romantic interest, in the form of Siddharth (Amit Sadh), an aspiring finance PhD candidate who also works with a non-governmental organization, is added in, yet none of these people, or Akira, are able to fight back when it really matters. The system summarily destroys her life. The one dutiful presence is the pregnant inspector Rabia (Konkona Sen Sharma), whose systematic investigation brings her close to the truth. The film has what you would expect from an ARM film – a fast and furious screenplay, swiftly switching between characters, sans any drag or drift. It’s also the typecast Bollywood action flick with a female lead throwing the verbal and physical punches for a change. Somehow Muragadoss’s idea of making this subtle change has worked well, showing us a difference that could be described as something like finding out your handwriting with the left hand is better than the right hand’s! But like every Murugadoss film, this too has its fair share of writing frailties. There is no doubt that the first half is nail biting brilliant. But as soon as the second half begins, we are forced to go back to the initial moderate expectations from the film as the story unspools with judicious share of silly offerings. Sonakshi‘s character is overwritten. Every breath she takes, every move she makes, has a backstory that deserves to be told. No wonder the film treads at an exhausting 137 minutes run time. Even as the director establishes her mean streak, he doesn’t fail to reiterate that she is humane (probably feminine enough). She is caring and warm and kind and all of that, so what she punches and pummels. The second half goes flaccid. Though the action is shot with flair, this could make you reminiscent of a typical 80s formulaic film. Sonakshi’s Kill Bill avatar, the grim face, flaring nostrils could all indicate that way. But the film has its moments. A lot of them come from Kashyap, especially the terrific one that involves him and his girlfriend (Raai Laxmi). He convinces you that he is heartless and oh well, the sinister look he wears couldn’t have been more authentic. Since it is a thriller, there is little we are allowed to divulge. But the twists and turns are conveniently done, making you want to guffaw.

As refreshing as it is to see a woman take charge and do what has been chalked out and reserved for wrinkled fifty year old heroes, you can’t deny the jingoism is on the face. Touted by Sinha as the first woman-centric film, director Murugadoss runs the risk of treating the film’s woman-centricity as a hook and a gimmick rather than seeing women as people just like men. Murugadoss does this throughout Akira. You cannot replace a male protagonist with a woman without recognizing that the change in gender could impact every aspect of your story. You cannot take violence as a solution, especially when you project your film as being realistic. In an early scene, after she has begun self-defense training, Akira’s father is shown prompting his little girl to single-handedly take on hooligans who are harassing young women on a crowded street. Yes, you heard that right – Daddy does not deal with those thugs himself, nor does he call the cops to fight the creeps; instead, shortly after his child witnessed a gruesome acid attack, he prompts that same under-age child to walk up to a group of male adults and initiate fisticuffs with them. Does Murugadoss think this is female empowerment? Does he hope to inspire female viewers to indulge in such dangerous stupidity? Or does he just think he is being cool? No kidding, the director seems at a loss about how to deliver a credible female character. So he gives her some neat fight scenes and builds her up as a Hulk-type creature who is best left unprovoked. The film is also too shoddily edited. At two-and-a-half hours, it’s anyway too long. There are way too many loopholes. What does Akira’s mute but otherwise hale-and-hearty father die of, in the three years that she’s in juvie? Why does Akira’s brother never make the effort to make his wife understand why his sister went to juvie? Why does the mother who knows what Akira’s been through, so readily believe she’s gone insane? And who in their right minds believes strangers/questionable doctors over their own children? How does the transgender in the mental asylum (she’s been there two years possibly) have the presence of mind to get a hold of the keys to Akira’s lockup and then help her out and basically have a free run of the place? Murugadoss’ intent is commendable but like his Bollywood debut Ghajini, his execution is just too flimsy. Director A.R. Murugadoss also pays service to the plight of acid-attack victims, the mentally ill and the hearing-impaired while triple-underlining the message of women’s empowerment. For every stereotype Murugadoss sets out to break, he leaves one behind—the short-haired girl with multiple body piercings has to be a rebel, the urban sister-in-law is wicked, the mother is whimpering and benign, and the spirited and strong heroine will make the ultimate sacrifice. Despite its flaws, catch this film for Sonakshi. Every kick and punch she lands, proves that she’s grown in leaps and bounds since that joke of a boxing match in Murgadoss’s earlier film (the awesome) Holiday. This is her most sincere performance since Lootera. The lady kicks some solid butt as she takes on a bunch of immoral cops. Anurag Kashyap is perfectly cast as her slimy, shrewd and callous nemesis. He is sheer evil and does a marvelous job at making you cringe. The coke snorting Satan adds depth to this thriller, going after the titular character with an unfathomable vengeance. The group dynamic between the four policemen too is convincing, as is the build-up of suspense. Konkona Sen Sharma is remarkably restrained and effectively adequate in what can best be described as a limited role for this talented actress. Amit Sadh is wasted. On the whole, ‘Akira’ is a typical film which leaves a lot to be desired, but with an interesting role reversal and a fast-paced screen play, this is a satisfying one-time watch for action-junkies.