'Axone' movie review: This Sayani Gupta starrer fails to deliver the goods

Director: Nicholas Kharkongor

Cast: Sayani Gupta, Adil Hussain, Vinay Pathak and Lin Laishram

Rating: 2/5

The eagerly-awaited Axone, which released on Netflix a few days ago, is a mediocre attempt at storytelling that fails to hit the right notes despite having its heart in the right place. The film, starring Sayani Gupta of Four More Shots Please fame, is set in Delhi and revolves around what happens when some young folks from the Northeast decide to cook axone, also spelled akhuni (a popular dish), for a wedding.

The basic premise is interesting and touches upon the sensitive issue of racial discrimination, which is rarely discussed in mainstream cinema. The promising plot, however, fails to live up to its potential, due to the underwhelming execution.

The screenplay lacks depth and ends up spreading itself thin. The narrative also focuses more on telling rather than showing, which makes Axone a superficial experience.

The characters come across as caricatures, which seem to make it difficult for the audience to connect with them. This also dilutes the impact of the otherwise hard-hitting market sequence, involving a key character being slapped. Similarly, the scenes highlighting the racist attitudes of certain sections of society would have worked better had the writers given the characters a proper backstory.

All that said and done, some of the emotional sequences between the friends have turned out well and strike a chord with realistic presentations. Moreover, Axone has an indie feel at several points, which might help it click with a niche audience.

Coming to performances, Sayani puts her best foot forward and tries to do justice to a challenging role. Lin Laishram is sincere and handles some of the scenes with maturity. Dolly Ahluwalia is her usual self and elevates her character to new heights. Seasoned performers Adil Hussain and Vinay Pathak are underutilised and get no scope to showcase their abilities. The supporting cast is decent.

The cinematography is up to the mark and does a fair job of capturing the sights and sounds of Delhi. Similarly, the background score ups the recall value of some of the softer scenes. The other technical aspects have also been handled well.