Akhanda 2 Thaandavam Movie Review: A grand mass saga with effective highs and notable gaps

Akhanda 2 Thaandavam continues the story of the eponymous spiritual warrior, shifting the scale from localized conflict to a national crisis. A foreign backed bio-warfare plot unfolds during the Maha Kumbh Mela, threatening millions with a deadly virus. Scientist Janani (Harshaali Malhotra) develops an antidote but becomes a target. Akhanda (Nandamuri Balakrishna), who once vowed to protect her, returns to confront these threats and restore dharma. While the premise gives the film scope for grandeur, its narrative is undermined by a weak and scattered screenplay that struggles to maintain coherent logic or emotional resonance, a major drawback identified early on.

The first half lays out stakes and intent but often feels uneven. Akhanda’s entry is staged for impact: a familiar Boyapati Sreenu tactic, but the rest of this portion moves at a lethargic pace, with too much time spent on setup and insufficient character development. Many sequences designed for drama lack grounding in believable stakes, making it difficult to fully invest in the story’s unfolding tension. The narrative occasionally feels pieced together rather than organically building momentum.

The second half improves in pace with several action blocks and devotional set pieces that appeal to fans of the original. However, the attempts to evoke spiritual intensity and patriotic fervor often feel overstated, and some dramatic turns lack the necessary payoff. The shift from action to preachy dialogue, especially around dharma themes, sometimes undercuts the narrative drive rather than enhancing it. There are moments of energy, but they rarely coalesce into a consistently engaging arc.

Balakrishna remains the film’s core strength. His assured presence, forceful dialogue delivery and physicality anchor the chaotic momentum, keeping the audience engaged even when the script falters. Harshaali Malhotra brings sincerity to Janani’s role, though the character’s emotional journey lacks depth. Samyuktha appears briefly but adds a subtle variation, while Aadhi Pinisetty’s grounded performance stands out amid the film’s heightened tone.

Thaman’s score is bold and ambitious but inconsistent – while some cues enhance key scenes, others are overly loud and distract from the drama. The cinematography by Ramprasad – Santosh Detake is polished and grand, capturing the scale the film desires, but visual effects are often subpar, weakening some major set pieces. Editing by Tammiraju keeps the film mostly steady, yet structural issues in pacing are evident. The production design reinforces the film’s epic ambitions, but technical polish cannot fully compensate for narrative weaknesses.

Overall, Akhanda 2 Thaandavam offers moments of mass appeal and devotional spectacle, anchored by Balakrishna’s screen presence, but is ultimately hampered by weak narration, uneven pacing, and characters that feel underdeveloped. While the story feels predictable and several arcs lack depth, the film offers enough high energy moments to appeal to fans of the Akhanda universe. A slightly lesser impact than the first, but still functional for its target audience.

Akhanda 2 Thaandavam Movie Rating: 2.75/5