Acharya movie review: Chiranjeevi, Ram Charan, Pooja Hegde film is a masterclass in what not to do in a star vehicle

Language: Telugu

A coal mine, created and framed as if it is located in   _KGF_, the place and the film. People in sullied white clothes are working beyond their capacity. Kids, abused and enslaved, are put to work so the greedy can stay greedy.

This is not the main plot of Koratala Siva’s  Acharya,  but only one among the many subplots. Even if the setup — a blessed people and their blessed village in danger — is promising, and can create many potential moments where the star can be equated to a literal goddess, the writing is too distracted. That is the central issue of the film —thinking that many small ideas are better than one good idea.  

Unlike the villains that populate it, Telugu commercial cinema viewers are not greedy. When they buy a ticket, all they expect is a film that allows them the opportunity to hoot and whistle. Instead of giving them moments worthy of the actors’ fandom, Siva wastes time on elaborate and unexciting exposition. Many minutes into the film, someone in the theatre shouted: “Hero ni introduce cheyandi ra,” and I am with him. And when the hero finally does enter, the introduction — one of the cornerstones of a successful masala film — is thoroughly underwhelming.

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Anyway, back to the coal mine. Two men enter the scene pretending to be security guards, and mild hilarity ensues. Chiranjeevi and Ram Charan share great chemistry that is naturally respectful and comfortable. This sequence uses that very well, but it also effectively makes the viewer nostalgic for Chiranjeevi’s comic timing. This is one of the rare moments in the film where the otherwise robotic and comatose veteran actor comes alive onscreen.  

Speaking of chemistry, Siddha’s (Ram Charan) and Neelambari’s (Pooja Hegde) romance, as bland as it is, works. The few beats of him teaching her kushti sparkle with potential. The charm wears off quickly since the characters, even the leads, are thoroughly underwritten with banal motives, weak setups, and weaker payoffs — the sequence where Acharya helps move the chariot is the exception. Siddha, whose whole personality is his rigid moral code of conduct, is not above eavesdropping on a woman in her bath.

No amount of Lal Salaams can straighten up a crumbling screenplay.  

I can complain that someone as talented as Regina Cassandra should not be relegated to special numbers, but I am sure she had more to do in the film than Hegde’s character. The usual suspects of character artists are present —Nasser, Tanikella Bharani, Sonu Sood, Kishore, and Jisshu Sengupta — and they do what they should do, what they always do. Ajay is particularly impressive as the tribal leader.    

Suresh Selvarajan’s production design is the only thing that works in this film set in a temple town. The traditional artefacts and the colourful markets add depth to an otherwise shallow affair. Mani Sharma’s score is not at fault, but it barely cuts through the trite filmmaking. The same goes with Navin Noolis’ editing and Tirru’s camerawork: Decent but rendered ineffective by the script underneath.  

Given the many constraints, it is probably hard for a high-budgeted star vehicle to experiment with the content. But Koratala Siva did manage to innovate within the template with films like  Mirchi  and  Srimanthudu.  Even if  Acharya  shares many similarities with  Mirchi  and  Janatha Garage, it is not half as entertaining or involving as either. Things happen, big things, but the film is never inviting enough for the viewer to invest their emotions.

One reason could be the predictable storyline. When I saw Satyadev’s name in the ‘Thank you’ credits, I knew he was there to die, even if it is a good role. What would have been better is if the film casted him as the young Acharya instead of the laughable VFX.  

Predictability is still okay, but uninspired writing is not. To show that someone is evil, a woman has to get raped. The main villain has to play golf at some point. Good people need to be trashed after the film reaches a saturation point. Our hero’s Naxalism will only go as far as accessorising himself with a red scarf and camouflage. If you are basing a film on the lives of an Adivasi tribe, do it properly. Acknowledge their culture, language, and rituals instead of making them medicinal men and mouth shlokas in Sanskritised Telugu.

Not everything is a trend. Not everything should be used as a trend. Respect the people you are trying to represent, or leave them alone. Remember the coal mine I talked about in the beginning? Well, the good news is the kids are fine. The film, on the other hand, not so much.  

Acharya is playing in cinemas.

Rating: **

Sankeertana Varma is an engineer who took a few years to realise that bringing two lovely things, movies and writing, together is as great as it sounds. Mainly writes about Telugu cinema.

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