 "Nushrat Barucha's “Akelli”")
Akelli depicts a survival drama focused on an Indian woman caught in the midst of war-torn Iraq. The story unfurls around a regular Indian young lady pushed into the nerve racking realm of life-and-death decisions to sustain her family's livelihood.
Directed by Pranay Meshram, Akelli attempts to create a cinematic work that reveals insight into the grim realities of war and the suffering of people trapped and deliberately targeted. The film is to be released in theatres on 25 August.
'Akelli': Insights
A teenage and unaided girl is standing in the street, with explosives strapped to her chest. Her mom remains at a distance, calling for help. The bomb squad is attempting to diffuse the time bomb to save her. A moment later, there’s a blast, with dust and fire engulfing the scene. Everybody standing close by gets as far away as possible. In that horrific moment, you know that Nushrrat Bharucha-starrer Akelli won't be a simple watch.
This thriller drama is Pranay Meshram’s directorial debut where Nushrat is found in the solo performance in the lead role. About the starcast, this film totally relies upon Nusrat's shoulders. Apart from her, there is no other big name involved in it.
Inspired by the true story of a Middle Eastern woman, Akelli is a story of courage, conviction and survival. Likewise, it portrays the atrocities the women faced while being held captive by the terrorist association ISIS. Meshram tries to portray violence and gore with an intention to shock the audience, desperately trying to create an impact. Akelli is shocking, frightening, however, rarely convincing.
What's Akelli about?
The film begins with Jyoti (Nushrratt) caught in a battle zone in Iraq. In a flashback, the scenes show her Punjab household, where she resides with her mom and niece. She needs to pay off her family loans. In desperation, she is tricked by a job agent(Rajesh Jais) and consents to fill in as a factory supervisor in Mosul, Iraq.
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After arriving there, her co-worker turned-companion Rafiq (Nishant Dahiya) tells her how ISIS members show up in the factory and take away women workers to transform them into their sex slaves. Jyoti's destiny meets unexpected twists when she arrives at ISIS leader Asad's (Tsahi Halevi) house, where she meets more victims whom the latter frequently sexually abuses. Can she really make it out of the hellish place?
Nushrratt Bharucha’s films
This isn't the first movie where Nushrratt can be found in a solo lead role. Earlier, she was also in the lead role in 'Chhori', released in 2021. It was a remake of the superhit Marathi film 'Lapachapi' and she played as a pregnant woman.
Nushrratt's last few movies did not perform well at the box office. Her past movies like 'Huddang', 'Ram Setu', 'Janhit Mein Jaari' and 'Selfie' failed to impress the audience and performed miserably at the theatres.
The film ‘Akelli’: Overview
• Theatrical Release Date: 25 August, 2023
• Cast: Nushrratt Bharuccha, Nishant Dahiya, Tsahi Halevi, Amir Boutrous
• Movie Time: 127 minutes (2 hours, 7 minutes)
• Showtime: As per the ‘BookmyShow’ in Delhi/NCR; the time starts from 11:55 AM- 7:40 PM in multiple theatres.
• Ticket: As per the ‘BookmyShow’ in Delhi/NCR; the prices start from Rs 180-Rs 1200 in multiple theatres.
• Story: Jyoti, a young lady from Punjab lands up a job in Mosul, Iraq, and rapidly ends up in the midst of ISIS terrorists, battling for her life and survival.
