Acharya Movie Review: Chiru, Charan’s screen presence cannot save this bland actioner

acharya has been marketed as a great multi-star movie that reunites chiranjeevi and his son ram charan in the lead. Koratala Siva is a filmmaker who tells stories through complex characters and fills them with bold ideas on social issues. In his interviews leading up to the release of Acharya, Siva repeatedly said that it is not difficult to write a story for a big star like Chiranjeevi and this time he played it safe. he also stated that the social messages in his films are conveyed through entertainment. I entered the theater strictly with these clear expectations, but the film was clearly disappointing! is a strange movie that takes you on a slow and shaky journey and when you reach the destination, you will surely feel tired.

movie: acharyacast: chiranjeevi, ram charan, pooja hegdedirector: koratala siva

The film begins with the voiceover of mahesh babu, who narrates the backstory of an 800-year-old siddhavanam forest, home to yogis and sadhus. When the demons began to attack these people, the goddess manifested on earth in Padaghattam, a village of 100 families near a temple town called Dharmasthali. The Padaghattam people are known for their Dharma and Ayurvedic prowess. Dharmasthali is reeling under the evil clutches of its Basava Mayor (sonu sood). He enlists the help of a ruthless Rathore businessman (Jisshu Sengupta), who wants to seize Siddhavanam for illegal mining. A stranger named Acharya (Chiranjeevi) enters the temple town to put an end to the anarchy of Basava and his minions. who acharya is and how he is connected to the lives of these people form the crux of the film.

Predictable from start to finish, the film unfolds at an excruciatingly slow pace and throws no surprises. you even see the twist in the penultimate scene looming. the protagonist’s journey to save people is covered so frequently that we can’t help but wonder if the director was as disinterested in the proceedings as we are! good intentions don’t translate into a gripping narrative.

as a director, koratala siva has failed to strike a chord and has created a smooth and unimaginative writing. it’s depressing to think that he would use chiranjeevi’s star image to make such a mediocre movie. it also gives us the feeling that the movie was made to fit all the clichés and tropes of the 1980s.

The second half is where ram charan introduces himself as a siddha, a student of gurukul, and the film begins to take the suspense route. the director here reveals the backstory that connects the characters of siddha and acharya. their first meeting in the forest, the bhale bhale banjara song and the emotional foreshadowing of the climax are the highlights of the film. In contrast to the rest of the film, it was nice to see the combination of father and son on screen and the film rests entirely on his shoulders.

With her incredible screen presence, chiranjeevi gives a mature performance in a role that requires restraint and subtlety. It shows his style and grace in the songs and is equally impressive in the emotional and action sequences. on the other hand, the visual effects sequence showing a young chiranjeevi looks embarrassingly amateurish.

if you thought charan is brilliant at rrr, wait till you see acharya. he is powerful and flashy as a siddha. although it has limited screen space, it clearly steals the show.

pooja hegde looks beautiful on screen, but made little impact. Tanikella Bharani and Ajay make her presence felt in crucial roles, while Nasser was seen in a cameo. sonu sood is reduced to a mere caricature and jisshu sengupta is almost fine in a role that gives him no room to act.

production designer suresh selvarajan wonderfully creates the beautiful sets of dharmasthali and padaghattam, while s thirunavukkarasu deftly captures them with his lens. even the siddhavanam forest has absolute beauty. the background music and score by mani sharma are a huge disappointment and do not provide any drive to the narrative.

Acharya’s story doesn’t have the depth or ability to engage viewers. it might have worked if it had been better packaged with contemporary and imaginative writing.