Akelli Movie Review: Gripping story lost in the maze of illogicality

Language: Hindi  Cast: Nushrratt Bharuccha, Tsahi Halevi, Rajesh Jais, Amir Boutrous, Nishant Dahiya Director: Pranay Meshram Heart wrenching story of an Indian girl trapped in Iraq could have been filmed well. Nushrratt Bharuccha has done justice to the role. But the story of Akelli, I somehow felt was not stitched well. Too much of creative liberties failed the film. It’s based on a real incident which occurred in Iraq in 2014. There are reports that says,  39 Indians were abducted in Iraq by ISIS along with 46 nurses who safely returned to their home country. It begins well, but couldn’t  captivate the audience. Not a very convincing script, the film starts with Jyoti ( Nushrratt Bharuccha ) trying to get a job in a foreign country and finally lands up in Mosul, Iraq. She takes this life threatening decision to support his family. As she arrives in Mosul, she sees a girl being bombed. Her life takes a harsh turn when she and other workers of the other workers of the garment company where she had picked up a job gets captured by the ruthless Syrians, who rapes her and the other girls regularly. Akelli could have been an intense, emotionally charged cinematic experience, but it failed miserably. And this is not because of the performance of the actors, but because of the way the story was weaved. An unconventional story which could have been done well, but the immature method of direction and the noticeable gaps failed the film. Jyoti ( Nushrratt Bharuccha ) is seen to be trapped in the midst of a war zone in Iraq. She is struggling to escape the chaos and her struggles are real. What didn’t work for the film are the unrealistic depictions and her method of escape. You cannot hide on the jet of the engine and fly from Baghdad to Delhi, it is just impossible. There is no logic applied. Akelli could have been a good story on human resilience, but what I felt was the film failed because of the inconsistent script and because of the under-experience of debutant filmmaker Pranay Meshram. The intention of the film was good where the director has made an attempt to highlight the dangers of traveling to dangerous zones like Iran in search of better jobs and plump salaries. Rating: 2.5 out of 5