Ahimsa Movie Review: This archaic and repugnant creation is a brutal test of patience

Very early in the film, Raghu (debutant Abhiram Daggubati) rescues an ant that falls into a small pond. And then, he refrains from eating meat because he can't stand goat slaughter. All this because he is an ultimate practitioner of Ahimsa. However, there comes a day that challenges his principles. His fiance, Ahalya (Geetika), a chirpy and extroverted girl is raped. Oh, if you think the film will be a sensitive take on the issue... think again. When we first meet Ahalya, we see a close-up shot of her hip, lips, and of course, cleavage, before seeing her face. That's how a heroine entry should be right?

At a time when many creators are understanding and embracing sensible and sensitive filmmaking pursuits, here comes Ahimsa, which not only brutally tests our patience but also makes us squirm at the inferior male gaze.

Director: Teja
Cast: Abhiram Daggubati, Geethika, Sadha

Ahimsa is problematic on many levels. Firstly, it made me realise that although, in recent times, there has been a consistent and stern voicing out against endorsing misogyny and the toxic male gaze in cinema, it is unfortunate that it does not reach all ears. In Ahimsa, almost every shot featuring the heroine is intended to feed the male fantasy. And that is not enough. The makers also roped in the 'Hysterical Woman' trope by featuring a buck-toothed mentally unstable woman who behaves abnormally at some of the "crucial" junctures in the film.

Secondly, the narrative of the heroine wanting her soft-spoken man to turn into a testosterone-fulled macho saviour was just excruciating. Let me give you an idea of how much the story is shoddily and mindlessly curated. Ahalya has a long-standing desire to make her fiance give her a French kiss, which she calls a "foreign kiss".  And he refuses to do it till... he has to resuscitate her at the hospital. If you think this is the height of imbecility, wait... In another scene, Geethika challenges Raghu that she will make him put a Maang tika before marriage. Guess what...she wins the bet as he kills one of the villains, and the bloodshed darts as a maang tika on her head.

Oh, Ahalya gets raped because two urban boys think it is easy to abuse a village girl. And the rest of the story answers a set of questions like will the girl get justice? How far will the hero go for his love? In the almost three-hour film, there are multiple subplots that just go nowhere. However, all of them are unnecessarily convoluted and add no value to this already stale tale of love, rape, justice, Ahimsa, and whatnot. While the performances of both actors are very dramatic and amateurish, the film also features experienced actor Sadha as a lawyer. But she does not make any difference to the film, except be part of a particularly horrific scene where she tries to create what could have potentially happened at the crime spot. How I wish I could forget that scene in its entirety. Let's not even get to the series of lacklustre and elongated action scenes that just don't seem to end, especially in the climactic sequences. Amidst all of this, the makers have also included an unwarranted special number, which just adds to the extremely clangorous and annoying soundscape.

Ahimsa wants to be a lot of things, but all it ends up being is a damp squib of a film that finds itself down and out with almost no redemption.