Akelli Movie Review: Nushrratt Bharuccha Is Outstanding But The Film Is Not

Nushrratt Bharuccha has repeatedly proved that she can take a film on her shoulders. After gaining appreciation for Chhorii and Janhit Mein Jaari, she is now back to rule screens once again. This time, with Akelli. The film is all set to hit theatres on August 25, 2023, and here’s our review of it.

Directed by the debutant Pranay Meshram, Akelli presents the life of an Indian girl (played by Nushrratt Bharccha) who gets stuck in war-prone Iraq. She battles all odds, fights terrorism, and succeeds in returning to her homeland – India.

To begin with, the film is solely a Nushrratt Bharuccha movie. She shines bright in this film and makes it clear that she can do much more than being just glamorous on screen. Nushrratt has portrayed several emotions as Jyoti Arora in the movie with utmost ease, confidence, and perfection. She has stepped out of her comfort zone with this movie. She is fighting terrorists, making them chase her till the end of their life, keeping her and others’ spirits alive, jumping off buildings, and even taking hold of guns. Her acting prowess keeps the audience glued to the screen. She keeps the intriguing factor alive within the viewers and does not let you blink your eye even for a minute. One might differ but for me, this is Nushrratt’s one of the best performances so far.

Even though Nushrratt is outstanding, the film is not. It has several loopholes in its writing and direction. The first half looks very forced and has been executed in haste. In less than 5 minutes of the film’s beginning, you see a love angle developed between Jyoti and Rafeeq (played by Nishant Dahiya) without any in-depth conversation or love scene. The background story of Jyoti’s transaction from India to Iraq has also been given minimal relevance despite the fact, it plays a crucial role towards the end of the movie.

In one of the scenes, Nushrratt takes a terrorist at gunpoint and asks his fellow men to let her go. Though she locks most of them in a room, she asks two for car keys. Obviously to run away. They throw keys at her. While you find yourself speculating that she will be caught now, the scene is cut. In the next frame, you see Nushrratt driving the car. It takes away all the excitement and leaves you with a lot of questions.

Another disappointing scene in the movie was a terrorist’s (played by Amir Boutrous) death by accident by Nushrratt. He just falls on the floor, hit his head on a wall, and dies. The scene is a big disappointment and makes you wonder if the writers made no effort in writing it. Also, the too-soon end of Amir Boutrous’s character was upsetting. He was good to watch but was given significantly less screen time.

It is only the second half of the film which keeps you engrossed, excited, and intrigued. It makes your heart skip a beat with its twists, which are largely predictable but presented in a brilliant way.

However, what again disappoints you is the climax. SPOILER ALERT. Jyoti aka Nushrratt travels back to India by hiding in the landing gear compartment of an airplane. I have zero knowledge about if this is even possible and therefore, I do not wish to point the discussion towards that. However, the film shows how she falls off the compartment when the airplane lands. This looks so stupid, and unrelatable, and spoils the entire rawness of the film.

Overall, Akelli can be watched once. It isn’t boring and won’t make you regret buying this film ticket.