Secret Soldier is in the news because the film was earlier titled China Piece, but the makers changed the title following a censor objection. Apart from that, one of the lead actors, Nihal Kodhaty, made headlines with his comments that if the film failed, he would travel by auto in Punjagutta. He later went home and cried for two days. Surya Srinivas is the other lead actor, while Akki Viswanadha Reddy is the director and producer of the film. The film was supposed to be released a long time ago but finally hit the screens on Friday.
Director: Akki Viswanadha Reddy
Cast: Nihal Kodhaty, Surya Srinivas, Deeksha Panth, Sireesha Nulu, Harshitha Bandlamuri, Kamal Kamaraju, Vamsi Nekkanti and others
The story revolves around two friends, Prudhvi (Surya Srinivas) and Meera Vali (Nihal Kodhaty), from Nellore. Meera Vali wants to join the Army and showcase his patriotism towards India. He tries in different ways and eventually gets a chance to work as a secret agent. He becomes part of a secret mission, but during a country’s rocket launch, a secret code goes missing. Chief Param (Kamal Kamaraju) finds Meera Vali’s involvement in the missing code and starts investigating him. He learns that Meera Vali is a friend of Prudhvi and takes Prudhvi into custody.
What exactly is Meera Vali’s job and whom is he working for? Who is Bhakthal (Vamsi Nekkanti), and what is his mission? What do agents Sarah (Harshitha Bandlamuri) and Sheethal (Sireesha Nulu), along with Kanika Kapoor (Deeksha Panth), do, and what is their role in this spy thriller?
Director Akki Viswanadha Reddy made his debut with this film. On paper, the story looks interesting, but when it comes to the narration, he completely goes wrong. It is not easy to join an agency like the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), but the director makes a joke out of it with scenes such as Raghu Babu being shown as a RAW agent.
The film is supposed to be a spy thriller, but the director spends almost the entire first half on the friendship between Prudhvi and Meera Vali. The story fails to move forward, with some silly scenes, including a sequence in which the police arrest a person assuming him to be a terrorist. Meera Vali then pretends to be a terrorist to extract the truth from the arrested person. These scenes feel very silly and unconvincing.
Generally, a secret agent carries out missions without revealing his identity, but this film turns several such situations into comedy. Even joining the Army involves a proper process, but the director doesn’t seem to have done enough research about it or the other agencies shown in the film.
The first half goes by without an interesting story or engaging scenes. The second half is somewhat better and makes more sense. However, too many characters are introduced, along with a few twists that can be confusing. The director also wrote the story, and if he had concentrated more on the writing, he could have come up with a decent spy thriller. Instead, the film is weighed down by cinematic liberties and illogical scenes. The friendship track is stretched too much, and because of that, the director struggles to get into the actual spy-thriller zone.
Surya Srinivas creates some humour with his Nellore accent in the first half. Another drawback is that the protagonist wants to become a spy but never takes an individual decision, as he is always working on someone else’s orders. He never really gets to showcase his individuality as a spy. A RAW agent would generally require intense training, but the director takes too many cinematic liberties here. Perhaps due to the censor issues, RAW is referred to as TAW in the film.
Nihal Kodhaty is good as Meera Vali and plays the character well. However, the highlight is Surya Srinivas, who brings a certain humour to his character, particularly with his Nellore accent and punch dialogues. Senior actor Tulasi and Raghu Babu are wasted in their respective roles. Sireesha Nulu and Harshitha Bandlamuri are convincing as agents and deliver good performances. Vamsi Nekkanti is effective as Bhakthal, while Kamal Kamaraju looks good as Param. The other actors support the film well.
The good thing about the film is Suresh Ragutu’s cinematography. His visuals give the film a rich look, while the action sequences are also relatively realistic and natural. Karthik Rodriguez’s background score is another positive. His music adds some interest and intensity to several scenes.
Secret Soldier is supposed to be a spy thriller, but director Akki Viswanadha Reddy narrates it in a mediocre way, with several silly and illogical scenes. The second half has a few interesting moments, but overall, this is a failed mission.