Ahimsa is Too loud, over-sentimental and messy!

Story:

Raghu (Abhiram Daggubati) and Ahalya (Geethika Tiwary) are in love with each other. The former refuses violence, liplocks, and overt romance. Ahalya, on the other hand, is playful and cheerful. The good days come to a sudden halt when an unspeakable horror strikes them. What is that horror? Why does Raghu feel that non-violence is not an option for him anymore? What happens when he takes the path of righteous violence? Answers to these questions are found in the second half.

Performances:

Abhiram Daggubati needs to work on his physique. He looks like the `Swathi Muthyam` guy next door, but his body language is dull even when it is supposed to show urgency. Director Teja`s banal treatment doesn`t help either. He makes his hero substitute impotent rage, angst, and dejection with just one expression.

Debutante Geethika talks and talks and talks in the first 30-40 minutes, repeatedly giving us the opportunity to decipher the lip sync. Her characterization takes a beating, eventually dragging down her performance. 

Manoj Tiger and Rajat Bedi, the two bad guys, are phenomenally underwritten characters. Their performances are poor. Kamal Kamaraju, recently seen in `Virupaksha`, is wasted. Ravi Kale and Devi Prasad are stuck in a time warp.

Technical Departments:

Music: RP Patnaik`s songs are largely mediocre. `Neethone` is an honourable exception.

Background score: Anup Rubens has delivered his weakest work. Enough said.

Cinematography: Sameer Reddy seems to have done the film feeling obligated or something.

Editing: Gone case.

Action: Clueless

Analysis:

The structure of the story is not bad. The setting up of the love story, the tragedy, and the injustice meted out by the system complete the first half. This would have been a weighty build-up to the second half.

But it is the second hour that becomes too much to take. Cops, lawyers, doctors, rapists and their relatives, victims and their relatives seem to live within a range of one sq km. Every scene, every instance of injustice, and every morsel of malevolence are aimed at propelling our hero to over-emote.

Teja`s characterizations are stuck in a black-and-white binary. Even a nurse behaves like a vamp just because she is on the villain`s side. A baddie goes on a murderous spree and the whole thing is choreographed as if it is some budget-light rural film made by R Narayana Murthy.

Merits:

The broad storyline, although the story is mediocre.

A few moments that define the bonding between Raghu and Ahalya.

Demerits:

Loud action and too many fights.

One-dimensional villains.

An age-old revenge plot.

Poor technical quality and visuals.

Overall Rating: 1.5/5

Box-office Verdict: Bloodbath!