Anand Devarakonda is back with a new project that really has my attention – it’s called Takshakudu. Word from the makers is that the movie will be going straight onto Netflix, breaking free from the standard theatrical run. Netflix has just dropped a pretty compelling trailer that poses a pretty unsettling question: What are you looking for in the face of darkness? Is it retribution, love or even forgiveness?
Trailer Breakdown: The teaser starts off with Anand, a young fella dressed in a white wedding outfit, lying injured in a forest – pretty dramatic stuff! The villagers do save him, but we soon realise that something is seriously off. Clutched in his hand is this weird locket and there’s this tattoo on his chest that says “Karuna”. What’s interesting is Anand’s character is blind (that’s right; no sight) and yet he’s hell bent on getting revenge for something that went down to his family just after his wedding – but that’s not the only thing to make you sit up and take notice. The catch is, he has lost his vision in the attack and now he has to track down the people who did this to him without being able to see them. The scenes of blood on a jeep window and the bride in agony give a pretty clear idea that we’re looking at a dark and violent crime drama.
To Be Honest – I’ll be the first to admit, the teaser looks pretty promising. Anand Devarakonda is growing fast as an actor. I think Anand makes some smart choices with his scripts, unlike his brother Vijay Devarakonda, who tends to go all “Mass” all the time. He’s a lot more down to earth and looks for roles that’ll let him put in a good performance – like Suriya and Karthi, who kick started their careers in Tamil film. On the back of the huge success of Baby, he seems to have really found his groove.
The production standards are pretty good, given it’s a medium budget film. The background music really gets to you and creates a pretty tense atmosphere. It’s been directed by Vinod Anantoju, who had given Anand a hit with Middle Class Melodies earlier, and it stars Prabhakar – one of the people who worked on Baahubali – as the baddie and Nitashi Goel as the leading lady.
Takshakudu was produced by Sithara Entertainments and Fortune Four Cinemas and will be streaming on Netflix soon in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi. If the movie lives up to the quality of that trailer, Anand might well have a hit on his hands.
