‘Acharya’ a lacklustre action drama

Hyderabad: Megastar Chiranjeevi’s cult stardom never ceases to entertain the masses. His presence on the silver screen only make audiences want more. After teasing fans over the months, ‘Acharya’, under the direction of Koratala Siva, has finally arrived. ‘Acharya’ starts with Dharmasthali, an 800-year-old temple town which is revered for its rich culture and preserving […]

Hyderabad: Megastar Chiranjeevi’s cult stardom never ceases to entertain the masses. His presence on the silver screen only make audiences want more. After teasing fans over the months, ‘Acharya’, under the direction of Koratala Siva, has finally arrived.

‘Acharya’ starts with Dharmasthali, an 800-year-old temple town which is revered for its rich culture and preserving ‘Dharma’. The legend has it that a woman deity descended upon Dharmasthali from heaven to save the forest clan from destruction, and to establish dharma, she stayed with them forever. And the clan living at the foothills of Siddavanam has been practising Ayurveda for ages, preserving a culture they inherited from their ancestors.
As Dharmasthali grew popular over time, the temple attracted the evil eyes of the outside world. A mining company drills out a piece of land to find Uranium treasure here and negotiates with village heads promising development and industries to make Dharmasthali a rich town. This is opposed by people tooth and nail.

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Basava (Sonu Sood) who grew up studying in Gurukula in the town, along with his friend Siddha (Ram Charan), eyes for an opportunity to take over the land. The atrocities committed by his men often send chills down the spine among the public.

At a time when people are looking for a miracle, comrade Acharya (Chiranjeevi) steps into Dharmasthali and bashes up the Basava’s men. Acharya sets the village in order. Basava then devises a bigger plan. What Basava has in store? Why was this revolutionary Acharya sent to Dharmasthali? What’s his relation with Siddha?

The film takes its own sweet time to set the mood. The Megastar’s introduction is with a song featuring actor Sangeetha and then comes a fight sequence elevating the character Acharya.
The storyline of mining companies eyeing uranium deposits has been tried and tested in the past. The recent one was Balakrishna’s ‘Akhanda’. But apart from the performances from Chiranjeevi and Ram Charan, the effectiveness of ‘Acharya’ is watered down to some extent by its lengthy screenplay.

Movie: Acharya
Director Koratala Siva
Cast: Ram Charan, Megastar Chiranjeevi, Sonu Sood