Amid high expectations among the fans, star father-son duo Chiranjeevi and Ram Charan’s social drama, Acharya has hit the screens today. Let’s see how it fares.
Story: Set in temple town Dharmasthali backdrop, the film revolves around the lives of tribal people who will be leading a panic life at a place named Siddhavanam nearby Dharmasthali due to illegal activities by Basava(Sonu Sood). Why a comrade named Acharya enters Dharmasthali? How is Acharya’s (Chiranjeevi) story interconnected with Siddha’s ( Ram Charan) life? How will Acharya face off with Basava to safeguard Dharmasthali, forms the main USB of the film.
Performances: Megastar Chiranjeevi impresses with his commendable screen presence but his character is not designed properly. While the star’s typical trademark mannerisms, dialogue delivery and simple yet graceful dance movements will be loved by his fans, the poorly characterization fails to connect with the audience.
Ram Charan did an extended cameo role as Siddha. Though Charan is impressive with his getup, his character lacks a solid detailing. The romantic portions between Pooja Hegde and Ram Charan provide some relief to the audience in this serious drama. Pooja is cute in the half saree attires.
Other artists such as Sonu Sood, Jithu Sen, Tanikella Barani among others are okay in their respective roles.
Technicalities: The songs composed by Mani Sharma are decent but lack a spark to attract the contemporary generation. His background score is okay but not as expected. The cinematography by Thiru is good as presented the entire Dharmasthali set in a colourful manner. He should be given major credits among all the technicians. Editing work by Naveen Nooli is okay but fails to register.
Production design and the values are rich for this high budget film. The artwork is superb as the Dharmasthali set along with a few minor sets are erected nicely.
Analysis: Written and directed by Koratala Siva, Acharya has too many loopholes in the narrative. Firstly, the slow-paced proceedings with unengaging moments come as the major defect of the movie. Adding to it, Chiranjeevi and Ram Charan are not handled in a proper manner.
While the combination scenes between the father-son duo run on a dull note, the individual episodes on the respective stars also lack a gripping presentation. The Naxalite backdrop showcased in the movie has no proper detailing due to which those scenes look like an artificial setup on screen.
To summerize, Acharya is a social drama that has an ages-old storyline and routine template treatment. Though Chiranjeevi and Ram Charan tried to elevate a few scenes with their screen presence, the pace of the film dilutes the audience’s mood completely and makes it a disappointing watch.
Verdict: Outdated attempt!
Rating: 2/5
