In ‘Ashwathama’, the hero does it all

Aswathama mostly reminds us of Rakshasudu. If there is any plus point to the film, then it is the action scenes by the hero. Time and again in his promotional interviews, Naga Shaurya has emphasised that he needs a story that can establish him as a mass/action hero. So here, the story written by Naga Shaurya is ridden with lot of predictability — be it the screenplay or the clues that are laid out on a platter for the audience. Aswathama deals with a burning issue of rape — a case that’s so confusing and gruesome that the victims don’t know how it happened. Some are kidnapped, and return home as if nothing happened and some are killed to wipe out clues. Now with such strong content, one expects a strong emotional connection between the main players but that is missing. There’s also scope for suspense and Ramana Teja succeeds in building the tempo till a level, but it eventually amateurish.

Stories such as this usually rely on the supporting cast in tracing and tracking down the villain. Here, right from scene one to the last, without even a cop’s help, the hero is a one-man army. When he is told that the ambulance he is hunting for is right behind a building, he jumps over several buildings to reach it. He can crack passwords, he can uphold the family honour, he can be a good boyfriend, can pin down kidnappers and beat the pulp out of a psychopath, all without a crease or stain. That can be tiring, as the audience needs a shift in gaze from the hero’s face now and then.

His side kick played by Satya has absolutely no role and we wonder why Mehreen was roped in for an inconsequential part. Her opening scene seems like a joke; she is portrayed as some kind of maniac lusting after her boyfriend. The intro scene begins with the hero running from inside the airport till the car park and we wonder what could be the reason. He wants to be on time for his sister’s engagement.

Post engagement, it is revealed that his sister is pregnant but she doesn’t know how it happened. The brother gets a clue on that and gets on a mission to track down the guys and the main culprit who is a psycho-pathologist.

Music is disappointing and BGM by Ghibran gives you a déjà vu feeling. Jishu Sengupta does a convincing job. One expected, the story will be in tune with the times as the promos hinted at, but the story is rounded up with a sub-plot that is not new. A disappointing fare