Director: A R Murgadoss
Cast: Sonakshi Sinha, Anurag Kashyap, Konkona Sen Sharma, Amit Sadh
Whoever has panned Sonakshi Sinha for her style quotient and acting mettle earlier, Akira is a tight slap on their face. Director A R Murgadoss brings you a thrilling entertainer which highlights the issue of self-defence.
Akira (Sonakshi Sinha) is a simple girl who stays in Jodhpur with her nuclear family. Her life changes when a local vagabond throws acid on the face of her fellow college goer. Affected by this incident, her father helps her in learning the art of self-defence by enrolling her in a martial arts school. Meanwhile, Akira turns rebellious and decides to take revenge from the gang of trouble makers. Unfortunately, the law finds her guilty for her act and sends her to a children remand cell for three years.
Fast forward to 14 years, the story moves on and Akira is all grown up now. Meanwhile, Akira loses her father and has to now move in with her brother who lives in Mumbai with his snobbish wife and a kid for her higher studies. On her first day in the new college, Akira is ragged by her classmates. After ignoring them for a few days and minding her own business, Akira loses her calm and revolts against them.
On the other hand, Govind Rane (Anurag Kashyap), is a corrupt ACP who is a chain smoker and a pervert. He rules the hidden rotten system with his three disciples. Incidentally, these four police officers come across an accident on their duty which changes their lives forever. Akira and Govind are dealing with their own mess but what leads them two to cross paths is the entire mystery. Rabiya Sultan (Konkona Sen Sharma), SP, Crime Branch, is appointed to solve that mystery. This is what director A R Murgadoss has narrated in his 2 hours 20 minutes thriller.
Known for making content driven films like 'Ghajini' and 'Holiday', 'Akira' is surely an addition to the midas touch of A R Murgadoss. He worked really hard on the screenplay of the film along with Santha Kumar which is applaudable. He makes sure that the film doesn’t bore the audience at any single point. Story by Santha Kumar is engaging that makes Akira an out and out edge-of-the-seat thriller. The best part of the film is that it is probably one of the few films that isn’t bound to a male protagonist. One must say, films like 'Kahaani' and 'Queen' have opened doors for female centric films in Bollywood. Though the movie is a Hindi remake of a Tamil flick 'Mouna Guru', 'Akira' stands out in several aspects.
Sonakshi Sinha, who is knight in shining armour of the film, has truly arrived! It is so good to see her breaking bones and kicking butts so effortlessly. Her power packed performance in the film is an answer to those who don’t consider her as a good actor. She debuted with 'Dabangg' and went on to do entertainers like 'Rowdy Rathore', 'R Rajkumar' and many more such films where she was used as a filler. It won’t be wrong to call 'Akira', Sonakshi's her real debut. Anurag Kashyap just steals the show with his intense and flawless performance as a corrupt ACP. Konkona Sen Sharma has a small yet striking role of an investigative officer. The rest of the cast, which includes Amit Sadh, Atul Kulkarni and Smita Jaykar does a fair job.
Although the music is composed by Vishal-Shekhar, no songs are featured in the movie. For me, a no song film is always a preference. 'Akira' doesn’t have scope for any music because of its intriguing plot which keeps the viewer completely hooked. R. D. Rajasekhar has beautifully captured Mumbai throughout the film. The film is pacy, all thanks to the narrative but A Sreekar Prasad, which should be applauded for his crisp editing skills.
The film will surely remind you of Aamir Khan’s Ghajini but thanks to Akira’s gripping plot which is so absorbing that one doesn’t have enough time to ponder upon the comparison. There are few scenes that look unreal; the one where a fellow mate helps Sonakshi to escape from the mental asylum, which is slightly dreamlike. Akira is a great effort by director A R Murgadoss. Watch it for its layered mystery and Sonakshi Sinha’s finest performance by far!
