Aake: Fear gets better

With a smart script already with him, thanks to Ashwin Saravanan, who wrote the script for the Tamil hit Maya, director KM Chaitanya has pursued fear up to the hilt. Aake comes out as a film which seems to have been made without breathless haste. The director’s attempt with horror after a thriller like Aatagara, is one where we should appreciate his skill of creatively conveying the story in ample darkness, through expressions, dramatic lighting and capturing of emotional moments.  Fear is not all about just being scared by watching shadows of the unknown. It can also be a threat that comes from within, which is another highlight point of Aake.

The film is a classic narration, which goes backward to understand and moves forward to build curiosity. It revolves around Shiva residing in London and Sharmiela, a single mother living in Bengaluru. The two have a connecting factor with Mayadevi - a woman from the royal family who has been staying in an asylum after having murdered her husband. An unsatisfied soul, she falls to a gory death and is buried near a forest close to the asylum. What leads Shiva into the forest and how does Sharmiela end up there is something that needs to be watched to know.

While Chaitanya builds the film through the first half, he actually develops the film in the second half. There are some episodes which drag, but he manages to create curiosity.

Gurukiran’s music and cinematography by Ian Howes and Malharbatt Josh technically up the ante. Chiranjeevi and Sharmiela have gone into the skin of their characters, which lends immense support to the film. It is obvious that both have evolved as mature actors. With limited characters, everyone’s presence and importance is felt, including Prakash Belawadi, Achyuth Kumar, Balaji Manohar, Sneha Acharya among others.