Revenge is a negative and morally questionable emotion. It's an 'eye for an eye' or a 'jab for a stab' kind of theory. You killed my maa, I will skin you some day (maa kasam!). But why revenge action thrillers seem to resonate with many is because 'getting even' by returning a wrong with a mightier wrong has a soothing effect. And this is precisely what Akira hopes to capitalise on. Opening with a rough translation of an ancient Sufi saying - 'Life always tests you for the virtue that exists within you' - this one can surely test your tolerance for violence. But if that isn't a bother, Akira packs in some jaw-altering punches and flesh-butchering jabs.

Based on MOUNA GURU - the 2011 Tamil action thriller directed by Santha Kumar, the small gem that worked big for debutant Santha Kumar and its lead actor Arulnidhi, AR Murugadoss does the Hindi version of this song less but in no way pointless thriller with the same passion and commitment. Changing the game by having a female protagonist instead of male in the original, AKIRA is destined to prove a game changer for actress Sonakshi Sinha who makes head turn more seriously after LOOTERA. And she doesn't need to break bones for that now.

Whoever has panned Sonakshi Sinha for her style quotient and acting mettle earlier, Akira is a tight slap on their face. Director A R Murgadoss brings you a thrilling entertainer which highlights the issue of self-defence. Akira (Sonakshi Sinha) is a simple girl who stays in Jodhpur with her nuclear family. Her life changes when a local vagabond throws acid on the face of her fellow college goer.

Yeah yeah, I know A.R. Murugadoss and Sonakshi Sinha have not openly expressed themselves in precisely these words, but nothing encapsulates the spirit of Akira better than that breathless statement I could almost hear them making in my head as I watched this film. Ever since the December 2012 Delhi gangrape sparked off anti-rape protests across the country, genuine feminists - men and women who are committed to gender equality - have been targeted for marketing purposes by a burgeoning mass of fakes in public life, from product manufacturers and advertisers, to filmmakers, politicians and even journalists.

One of the greatest gifts of marketing is to conduct business with an air of social purpose. Whether it's blending tea and public awareness, soda and inspiring bravado or an action drama around women empowerment, the aim is often to make the audience care and believe they're investing in a cause and not in a creation. Akira, directed by A R Murugadoss, is one such 'relevant' proposition. Mostly though, it's a done-to-death script of misunderstood outrage versus malicious authority wherein the central protagonist saddled with a history of violence is needlessly dragged inside a greedy cop's mess.

Director AR Murugadoss' third film after Ghajini and Holiday is an attempt to establish Akira as the new Shiva, the excellent student protagonist in Ram Gopal Varma's 1989 film. But a lousy script, tedious length and over the top acting restrict it from becoming even a patch on it. Akira Sharma (Sonakshi Sinha), explained as gracefully strong, chooses martial arts over dancing when she is 11 years old after realising the value of physical power. A local hero in Jodhpur, Akira decides to come to the big bad world of Mumbai for higher education.

Our screen ki Akira is Khan, Kumar and Kapoor rolled into one. She punches and defends better than most khiladis. Her progressive, school-teacher father, Atul Kulkarni had her enrolled in karate classes instead of dance classes that girls her age frequented. But Akira learns that a Durga avatar cannot help you fight a regressive society and corrupt administration. So instead of being given a medal of honour for trying to save someone early in life, she is sent to a remand home. Not only does she lose three precious years of her life; she also loses her doting father.

About 20 minutes into Sonakshi Sinha's Akira, there's a protest sequence in front of the Asiatic Steps in Mumbai. The sequence encompasses all the elements from a college protest - a mob of students, a few havaldars, a nostril-flaring sub-inspector animatedly yelling into the walkie-talkie about how he needs tear gas, stones, and finally a gunshot that disperses the crowd. As the crowd is dispersed, we see Sonakshi Sinha (the hero) still seated in the middle of a now-deserted road. She walks towards the cops in slow-motion with heavily distorted electric guitars blazing in the background.

Sonakshi Sinha is an eye-catching action star and director-turned-actor Anurag Kashyap evil incarnate in A R Murugadoss' intriguingly titled Akira. Both pull off their roles with astonishing aplomb. The film as a whole is, however, patchy. Its facile genre sleights - rogue cops, wronged innocents and bloody confrontations - hit home only sporadically.

A little girl learns early that submitting to wrong-doing is not right, even if you have to suffer for it. Good tip, and Akira (the remake of a Tamil actioner) begins with promise, showing us how girls can choose karate over 'kathak' and flower. Akira (Sonakshi Sinha), no relation to Kurosawa, makes the journey from a colourful Rajasthan 'chota shehar' to 'mahanagari' Mumbai, and runs slam-bang into a convoluted plot involving a murder and missing cash and a bunch of corrupt cops, headed by the vicious ACP Rane (Anurag Kashyap, enjoying himself hugely and being extremely effective, even if very far from a Marathi-speaking native: I wouldn't like to meet Rane in a dark alley).

Fox Star Studios' AKIRA, which happens to be an official remake of the Tamil hit film MOUNA GURU, is essentially a story of a daredevil woman and her fight for survival amidst a bunch of brutal and corrupt cops who can plunge to any level in order to save their skin. The film begins with the 'vocal introduction' of Akira Sharma (Sonakshi Sinha), by Inspector Rabia (Konkona Sen Sharma). The story starts off with a 14 year flashback of Akira's childhood in Jodhpur (Rajasthan).