Anali Movie Review: When Shakthi Vasudevan walked into the screen with that cold, violent energy, there was a moment of sheer surprise in the theatre, such as when you are leaning back in your seat and suddenly stop. That change is exactly what Anali is seeking to accomplish all throughout the duration of the film. The film, helmed by Dinesh Dena, is in intense need of explosive, brutal and emotional energy that it desperately seeks and to be fair, it has some of that energy. The villains are menacing, the action is performed with a raw, exasperating intensity and Cynthia Lourde is so into the act of the physical that she is a delight to watch.
But the acting, the bloodshed, and the survival drama has little to do with surprises when it comes to storytelling. There are moments when the film carries the promise of drama and emotional depth and moments where it’s on the verge of gripping the viewer with edge-of-the-seat tension, but too much of the time it fails to deliver with the loudness over the impact.
The narrative is rather simple. A gang of thugs captures Jhansi and her 8-year-old daughter. These men are not ordinary criminals, they are shown to be ruthless predators that can be terrifyingly brutal. The movie then tells the story of Jhansi’s desperate attempt to escape, survive and then fight back. The film gradually reveals her enigmatic past, how she learnt to fight and why the gang is doing what they are doing. The movie flashes back to show how this seemingly normal mom becomes a force that can bring down an entire criminal network.
I was truly amazed at the power of the villains in the movie. The acting of Kabir Duhan Singh is absolutely terrifying, leading one to believe that there has never been such a menacing atmosphere. He’s the kind of physical screen presence that makes it a no-brainer that it’s dangerous. I was really taken aback by Shakthi Vasudevan. I did not recognize him when I saw his name in the advertisement but on the stage I remembered, “Oh! this is our Shakthi Vasu.” He has been a hero but here he’s a darker, more violent one. His playing is savage, unpredictable, into it. Abhishek Vinod and Mathew Varghese also add some credence to the gang and do their bit to make them feel like a legitimate threat as opposed to merely a standard gang.
There’s definitely some action going on in this movie. Nearly five significant fight scenes, and the producers have invested a ton of blood, sweat and tears into making them look good. One shot fight sequence is so out there that it’s like a challenge to the mass action film style that Balakrishna movies usually embody. The stunts are sometimes too loud and tiring, but I really liked the idea. I could still tell that the filmmaking is sincere even when the fights were hard to watch due to being too long and too over-done.
But, Cynthia Lourde doesn’t make it easy. She is definitely up to par with her earlier film pieces as compared to her newer ones, particularly the stunts she performed. She is all in during the action scenes and that’s something to be proud of. In my heart, I just felt that isn’t me. Her facial expressions, reactions and dramatic change is a bit restricted. She sometimes plays emotions within a very narrow range, but there are lots of moments that demand raw emotion. Though the film keeps inviting us to hope for the survival of Jhansi as a character, I don’t feel a sense of investment in the character Jhansi.
Anali’s biggest bug is its writing. It’s not extremely hot and fast, but it’s not really a slow romance either. I just kept getting the feeling that I had seen it in a couple of other survival thrillers before. The screenplay doesn’t usually throw us any curve balls. Prediction of most major developments comes well before they actually occur. While the present day survival story is lacking in some of the aspects of a good story, the flashbacks to Jhansi’s backstory make the movie at least interesting.
There is a constant desire for the film to be incendiary and only some scenes are really flammable. There are moments that make this story interesting, and the evil does occasionally provoke some sort of suspense, but it’s a very underwhelming story. There’s not much in the way of narration. There are only a handful of scenes that aren’t predictable, and that’s what kills a thriller. Never had the sense of “what will happen next?” that is found in this genre.
I would still say that the film is better than the director’s previous attempt. There was some improvement in staging, scale and ambition. Though the emotional writing is still a long way to go, Dinesh Dena seems more of a surety this time. Those who love the survival genre, mostly action and a lot of intensity on the bad guys may find enough fun to watch once. However, if you want to experience emotional depth and unexpected plots, you might not get your fix from this film.
Rating: 2.5/5
