Movie Review: ‘Lenin'

Cast: Akkineni Akhil, Bhagyashri Borse, Pramod, Shivaji, Brahmaji, Eeshwari Rao, Sunil, Vadlamani Srinivas, Getup Srinu, Saranya Pradeep, and others.

Music: Thaman

Cinematography: Leon Britto

Producers: Naga Vamsi, Akkineni Nagarjuna

Writer & Director: Murali Kishore Abburu

Struggling to prove his mettle as a dependable hero over the last 10 years, Akhil Akkineni is finally coming with the film “Lenin”. Directed by Vinaro Bhagyamu Vishnukatha fame Murali Kishore Abburu, the film is hitting cinemas today. Let’s have a look if the Akkineni heir scored a blockbuster or not.

STORY:

In Chittoor district’s Bharthammitta village, orphan Lenin (Akhil) is taken care of by Vasanth (Pramod), who raises him as his brother in the family. The whole of the village likes Lenin big time. From the same village, Bharathi (Bhagyasree Borse) falls in love with Lenin and wants to marry him. In a twist of sorts, Pramod gets ready to tie the knot with Bharathi. Did Lenin give up on Bharathi? What happened to Bharathamitta village due to this wedding? forms the rest of the story.

NARRATION:

No hero will click like a star immediately, unless his films click and win him that image. Despite coming from a reputed family, surely one needs to score a hit to stand out as a star hero. Akhil Akkineni is the best example of that. Though he got huge hype before his debut, the lack of proper films pushed him off the pedestal. Realising his mistake, he kept mass-elevations and massive-ideas aside, and came up with a rooted rural drama. Lenin’s story gives feelers like the story is not about the hero, but the hero is a part of the story. Though films like Lenin are not new, this one tried to create an impact with thriller-like twists. But with the drama not exploding as expected, Lenin hasn’t had a great experience. At the same time, the film doesn’t induce boredom either.

Using the backdrop of Mahabharata stage shows that are hosted in the district of Chittoor every year, the director created characters that are based on the epic. The kind of friendship, deceit, backstabbing, doubts and insults that are there in Mahabharata are shown in Lenin too. Though all the characters in Lenin are designed well, the connection between them isn’t impactful. Characters are good, but conflicts are poor. The role of the villain and why he seethes for revenge aren’t clearly shown. That makes the audience disconnected from the destruction he brings to the village, and the final twist in his character is also not impressive. Rather than designing this role for that twist, they should have crafted a role that would find the empathy of the audience rather than their doubts. Had the villain been logical and meaningful inside Lenin, some sequences would have exploded. At the same time, the hero and heroine’s connection is also lacklustre, thus weakening some heart-wrenching episodes.

While the drama fizzled in many places, some sequences sound better individually inside Lenin. After an impactful opening sequence, the love-track bores the core, but Yetta Yetta and Vaareva songs are enthralling. Right from pre-interval, Lenin carried a good tempo, as the interval twist was well presented, and it worked out like a banger. Though the second half is bit slow, the twists are interesting, and the climax fight hugely engages. By presenting Akhil in a new avatar, creating a twist that reveals a new avatar inside him, and linking that twist to the story, the director did a good job. However, if the pre-climax emotion is high, then Lenin would have been on another level of film. In the end, the film feels okayish with all the flaws as those twists work out. Akhil’s intense performance, Bhagyasree’s glamour, beautiful visuals, well-made songs, heavy-duty action sequences make Lenin deliver the needed tropes from a commercial film. If we compare it with Akhil’s previous films, Lenin is much better, but otherwise a watchable film if one goes into theatres without expectations.

PERFORMANCES:

Changing his avatar completely away from the roles he has done in the past, Akhil Akkineni looked different in Lenin. Sometimes it feels like Nagarjuna’s President Gari Pellam inspired him. He came out of the mould of his previous films and tried to appear as a village guy. In many crucial sequences, his acting prowess is impressive. In the emotional scene leading up to the climax and the action sequences of the climax, Akhil did exceptionally well. He bettered his previous performances.

Bhagyashree Bhorse is a growing actress in Tollywood, and she impresses with both glamour and acting chops. An actress who’s in the early stages of her career rarely impresses with such acting potential, and she did well. Kannada actress Pramod, who played the role of the hero’s friend and whose character is almost the main lead, has impressed. Sometimes he dominated the hero as well. Sivaji is superb in Ettirajulu role, while Eeshwari Rao is also impressive. Sunil’s character has no substance, though the actor did well. Vadlamani Srinivas, Getup Sreenu and other actors did justice to their roles.

TECHNICIANS:

One of the biggest assets for Lenin is SS Thaman’s music. The songs Yetta Yetta and Varevva are both visually and musically good, while the placement of songs is a little jerky. The timing of their arrival is a bit bad. Thaman’s background score is good, giving elevations to the hero a bit more than needed, but then strengthening many sequences. Leon Britto’s visuals are pretty impressive. Production values could be seen in every frame, as we feel like watching a big-budget quality film.

Writer and director Murali Kishore Abburu has impressed with the story by making sure that it wouldn’t be woven around the hero’s character, but by making the hero a part of the story. The way he adapted Mahabharat to weave this story is enthralling. However, he stumbled when it came to creating emotional connections between the characters. Had he made the villain’s role more powerful and logical and crafted strong bonding between hero-heroine roles, surely Lenin would have given a top-notch experience. While he’s good at conceiving scenes, he should have put in more effort.

Lastly: Lenin is an okayish rural ‘Bharatam’

Rating: 2.5/5