Akira | Film Review

Director A.R Murugadoss’ ‘Akira’ hits the screens today. And, when we say hit, we literally mean hit with all the force that Sonakshi Sinha can muster in one breath and break your shins.

Akira (Sonakshi Sinha) is first introduced as a young girl (Mishiekka Arora) who learns early on that one must correct the wrong and fight it out in the world themselves. As a result, her father (Atul Kulkarni) encourages her to learn martial arts, while her female peers are busy with dance. Way to go Dad, self-defence is the key! Akira gets into a messy situation early on and is send to a children’s reprimand home for a couple of years. As she grows up, now fatherless, she moves to Mumbai with her mother, to stay with her elder brother. And things begin to happen.

She starts a new college, probably hoping for a fresh start. But, not only does she get into the bad books of the college bully, but also manages to get involved in this massive situation involving the Mumbai Police, led by this coke-snorting, almost-always stoned ACP (Anurag Kashyap). Thereafter, the movie focuses on how she struggles to prove her innocence, one 'Akira' style slap at a time. 

 As the movie progresses, there is a lot of bone crunching from Sinha, as she crushes the stereotypes and becomes this badass female version of a Ghajini. Kashyap gets progressively stoned, but is definitely the comic relief among all those slaps and kicks. An interesting addition to the screen was officer Rabiya (Konkona Sen), who is portraying an honest police officer. 

While the first half of Akira keeps you on your toes, the second half is when the story loses its plot. The drama escalates and there are plot twists galore. But having said that, it is commendable that AR Murugadoss decided to make this movie woman-centric, when the original Tamil version was the opposite. Clearly, the women kick ass, whether it is via Sinha’s leaping kicks or Sen’s need to find the truth.  Sinha is probably the only one who could have pulled this off, with the right expressions and some seriously amazing kicks, punches. Kashyap makes for a fine, 'stoned' cop.

Akira is not for those who want some intellectual stimulation and feel the need to leave a cinema hall with morals and values. This is one helluva bone crunching, high energy drama, with just the right tinge of laughs. 

Verdict: Sonakshi Sinha crushes it in this energetic, action-packed and highly entertaining flick!