Akhanda 2 movie review: Nandamuri Balakrishna and Boyapati Sreenu’s epic roars too loud

A jeep continues to go its merry way well after its driver has gotten off. The leading man addresses four members of a nefarious drug syndicate in their respective local tongues – the Kannadiga gets schooled in Kannada, the Tamilian gets a mandatory MGR reference, and so on. A neighbouring country’s army general (it’s not Pakistan again, don’t worry) unleashes mayhem on India when he finds out that his son, a rookie soldier, was killed by a single, solid punch from an Indian counterpart.

Also Read | Akhanda 2 Movie Release LIVE Updates

Another army chief from the ‘enemy nation’ announces that courage is deeply ingrained in Indian DNA, and the only way to smother it is by attacking its very source: the power of God and the Sanatana Dharma. A major bio-war is unleashed at the Mahakumbh Mela to stir a massive panic in the Prime Minister’s office, and through some crooked intervention, a new kind of pandemic comes to the fore in which the people have turned against God himself! It is the Boyapati Sreenu universe, after all, where each bait is bedazzled to have us hooked with a chuckle.

If the cross-country combats and internal politics aren’t enough to get going, Akhanda 2: Thaandavam also suffuses an emotional core featuring a mother and her estranged son, and an Aghori and his niece. A DRDO facility, too, comes into focus where an antidote to the deadly ‘band virus’ injected into the Ganga is being prepared. At the centre of it all is Akhanda (played by Nandamuri Balakrishna, in one of his two roles) himself, who wields the Trishula with the same impassioned fury and grace that we saw in the previous instalment, albeit with a higher sense of purpose this time around.

What’s admirable is the film’s ambition to pack so much in and not second-guess at any point about the density of the material. The drama seamlessly shuttles from Tibet to New Delhi to interior Andhra Pradesh to the snow-capped Himalayan terrain, and while a lot of it feels implausible, Boyapati Sreenu rushing headlong makes us want to strap up for the ride. The plausibility is questioned further when real-world measures and techniques are relegated to the backdrop, and the divine powers supersede everything around them: the stage only belongs to Akhanda who is more prepared than ever for his mythic thaandavam or ‘dance of rage’, and he is sure to engulf corrupt politicians, large army battalions, occultist dark lords, and so much else in his stride.

While this sets up a fascinating battle at first glance, the film soon gets carried away and resists creating a compelling narrative worth the pitch. The first half is a whirlwind with imagination that includes many outlandish yet entertaining fight sequences. However, as things proceed, Akhanda 2 starts to sermonise and dispense long monologues about divinity, the Sanatana Dharma and a mystical energy that will provide answers to the actual war that is unfolding within the country and at the border. It is noteworthy that one of the main antagonists is an Indian himself, and Boyapati Sreenu (sort of) avoids being chauvinistic for as long as he can, even while the overall temperament of the film is loud and unrestrained. But just as you tell yourself that this worldview feels different, the film starts to castigate other cultures in order to prop up its own value system.

There is a scene in which the protagonist asserts that Indian children recite the Vedas, while the other country feeds them worms and insects (you can guess which culture or country this is targeted at). Another scene addresses a large agnostic crowd to preach the essence of the Sanatana Dharma and how it has been diluted over time. The problem isn’t with these specific scenes, per se, but more so in the fact the writing doesn’t grow with the audacious nature of its imagery and Thaman S’s soundscape. Akhanda 2 boasts some impressive VFX work as well as production design that lend it a distinct visual texture. What it direly needed was a more purposeful script that didn’t want to so heavily rely on its boisterous voice and its equally boisterous leading man.

Also Read | The Devil movie review: Challenging Star Darshan returns with an archaic, problematic extravaganza

Nandamuri Balakrishna commands good screen presence, and he is briefly accompanied in the task by Aadhi Pinisetty, who plays an evil practitioner of the dark arts. The rest of the cast, though, is perfunctory. Samyuktha, as a DRDO leading scientist, doesn’t get enough screen time to leave behind a strong mark. Kabir Duhan Singh, Saswata Chatterjee and Bhutanese actor Sangay Tsheltrim are decent, but the writing behind their characters feels like it’s following a rulebook of some sort. Harshaali Malhotra gets a few good scenes alongside NBK, but the film could have certainly done more with her role.

And that, more or less, summarises Akhanda 2: Thaandavam, which could have become a better film through all the tools it had at its disposal. What begins as an amusing, self-aware film quickly loses its way under its own heavy hand; it should have been far more fun.

Akhanda 2 movie cast: Nandamuri Balakrishna, Samyuktha Menon, Aadhi Pinisetty, Harshaali Malhotra, Jagapathi Babu, Saswata Chatterjee
Akhanda 2 movie director: Boyapati Sreenu
Akhanda 2 movie rating: 2.5 stars