Kollywood star Ashok Selvan is coming to entertain movie lovers with Aakasham and it stars Aparna Balamurali, Ritu Varma, and Shivathmika Rajasekhar as the female leads. The film which is bilingual is titled Nitham Oru Vaanam and is directed by Ra. Karthik. The film is releasing on November 4 and let us see what impact it made on the viewers.
Akasam story is all about how a youngster deals with failures after reading short stories. Arjun (Ashok Selvan) misses his flight from Bubhaneswar to Kolkata due to a cyclone and decides to go by bus. There he meets Subhadra (Ritu Varma). After the initial reservation, Arjun decides to share his secrets with Subhadra. The shocking twists and turns in Arjun's life and how they are connected to Veera (Ashok Selvan ) and Meenakshi (Shivatmika Rajasekhar), Prabhakaran(Ashok Selvan) and Mathie (Aparna Balamurali), her father Balu (Azhagamperumal), Dr. Krishnaveni (Abhirami) form the crux of the story.
Akasam story selected by Ra Karthik on debut speaks of his passion for filmmaking and penchant for coming out with feel-good films rather than routine commercial entertainers. He selected a different entertainer, tried to touch up on an interesting, important, and emotional point and with a unique climax. However, despite all the hard work, passion, and intent, he failed with his script, screenplay, and direction. After an interesting start, the story drags for quite sometime before the introduction of characters Veera, Meenakshi, and then Prabhakaran and Mathie. Despite all the highs and Mathie's elevation, the slow pace tests the patience of the viewers. Many get a feeling that serials are better than these scenes. Karthik should have elevated and highlighted Arjun's character more as he is the protagonist. The first half ends on an interesting note but the second half drags on and on irritating the viewers before ending it on a predictable note. Karthik's story is similar to many earlier romantic entertainers but he added a fresh feel to it blending it well with emotions and romantic elements.
Ashok Selvan who donned three roles did full justice to all of them. He as an introvert Arjun looked realistic and natural as timid, obsessed with cleanliness, and unable to open up. As Veera, he transformed completely into the rough and tough mass avatar and surprises all his fans. Then as Prabhakaran, he takes his performance to another level as a drunkard and also as DCP.
Ritu Varma performed well as a bubbly girl and as an extrovert and played the supporting part of Ashok Selvan quite confidently. Shivatmika Rajasekhar made her presence felt like a homely, traditional, and timid girl who overcomes her fears by breaking social barriers. Aparna Balamurali stole the show with her performance elevating the scenes to another level. She with her expressions, mannerisms, and dialogue delivery carried the film on her shoulders. Azhagamperumal performed well as the father of Mathie. Jeeva's cameo comes as a surprise.
Gopi Sunder's music is melodious and songs are situational. The songs are well-shot in picturesque locations. His background music made a thumping impact taking viewers into the film. Vidhu Ayyanna with his cinematography beautified the film capturing the scenic locations of Fort Kochi, Kulu Manali, and Coimbatore in an elegant manner. The editing of Antony could have been far better especially in the second half as there are many drags that impacted the film. Production values are grand.
Ashok Selvan is known for his feel-good entertainers. The presence of Ritu Varma, and Shivatmika Rajasekhar attracted Tollywood movie lovers and Aparna Balamurali also created hype on the project directed by Ra Karthik. Karthik came up with an interesting plot and his intentions are right. But he failed with his screenplay and direction and his penchant for detailed narration at a snail's pace impacted the film in a big way, especially in the second half. Overload of emotions, repetitive scenes, and missing connectivity undid all the good work. Considering all these elements, Cinejosh goes with a 1.5 rating for Akasam.