[Movie Review] Akira: A Slap of Reality

Director:       A.R. Murgadoss
Writer:          A.R. Murgadoss
Cast:               Sonakshi Sinha, Konkana Sen Sharma, Anurag Kashyap

As much as Sonakshi Sinha has too many people who think she cannot act or perform in films, Akira was more of a breakthrough in her career. It’s not a feminist film as the trailer directed the viewers towards thinking so. However, it certainly is one of the best films directed by Mr. Murgadoss after Ghajini, Jai Ho, and a repertoire of Tamil and Telugu films, Akira represent or rather reports the levels of corruption in the different aspects of the society.

Akira not only shows a very different perspective of individuals in the society who try to identify the loopholes in the governance of the country but also work towards making things right. The film deals with various social issues in the society, right from acid attacks and the other every day violence against women to the levels of degeneration in the political and legal population of the country. The four main female protagonists chosen in the film are the ones that are marginalized from the Indian population and society on various aspects in reality. A girl who has brilliant self defence skills with a criminal record and fighting abilities that usually boys acquire to impress women; a mentally ill transgender who has better rationalizing skills than most of us; an abused sex worker who fights against crime; and a pregnant police officer who symbolizes justice and truth; four women in the film who are unlikely to make a change in the society, go ahead and do make one as shown in the film. That’s something that was brilliantly written and performed by the actors.
akiraOn the other hand, the professions that are looked up to in the society like, a police officer, a priest, the Commissioner of Police, a patriarchal daughter-in-law and a psychiatrist have been shown as villainous in the film which not only breaks the ridiculous stereotypes regarding these professions and how men are superior in patriarchal communities, but also shows the audience a brand new perspective on how the society actually functions. The first half of the film was intriguing and certainly left everyone at the edge of their seats, waiting impetuously for what would happen in the second half.

However, as in the trailer, the film portrayed a woman’s self defence abilities like in Mardaani where it’s a woman’s fight against male chauvinism and patriarchy. But to our surprise, Akira was much more than a fight against male dominance and justice. The second half of the film is a little stretchy but the climax is twisting and certainly unpredictable. Just when the audience is expecting the film to end with good and justice, it’s right then when reality strikes in and Murgadoss explains the point of the whole film in a gist where a woman, no matter how strong or influential is always either forced or is willing to sacrifice herself for her environment.

Unfortunately, the ticket seemed to be only Rs. 160 in Inox which in itself remarks a lot about our society. Films like ‘Prem Ratan Dhan Payo’, ‘Happy New Year’, ‘Housefull 3’ and other ridiculously pointless and nonsensical films that make 100 crores in a weekend also declares the amount of debris and waste that fills the brains and minds of the audience which allows them to enjoy this garbage every day. So why don’t we have more films like ‘Mardaani’ or ‘Lajja’ or ‘Gulaab Gang’ despite having the best actors in the Hindi Film Fraternity? It’s probably because films still continue to remain an escape from reality only for the men I suppose. Akira was a brilliantly written and executed film with the performance of the actors, cinematographers, writers and the director and it isn’t just a one-time watch film. The film is best enjoyed with family and parents especially who must be educated about the position of women and other marginalized citizens in the society. Regardless, so would you go watch Akira and rate it good or would you still stick to rubbish films containing comic porn or irrelevant family drama?

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