‘Anek’ receives mixed review; opens to packed house in Nagaland

Our Reporter
Dimapur, May 27 (EMN): The wait was finally over for movie lovers as “Anek”, which marks the entry of Naga model Andrea Kevichusa into Bollywood, hit the screens on Friday. As expected, it opened to packed house in Kevichusa’s home state Nagaland.

Directed and written by Anubhav Sinha, the action thriller has Ayushmann Khurrana playing an undercover officer and other cast include JD Chakravarthy, Manoj Pahwa and Kumud Mishra. It drew much attention, especially in the Northeast as it is set in the region and has Kevichusa playing the female lead role.

In Dimapur, both the theatres — Hillstar Cinema and Fun Cinema – recorded good audience on the opening day. The movie opened to packed house at Fun Cinema. It received a lukewarm response in the 11 am morning show at Hillstar Cinema but tickets were sold out for the 2 pm and 8 pm slots.

The in-charge of Hillstar Cinema told Eastern Mirror that the tickets are usually sold out in Dimapur on Sundays and not on weekdays, including the first day. “Anek” received good audience on day one and the trend is expected to continue as it is set in the Northeast, besides the lead actress being from Nagaland, it was informed.

However, the movie received a mixed review from the audience who watched on the opening day.

“Very simply and nicely put forward on our issues and the actors used and of course the dialect and songs. It was a good start,” said a girl after watching the movie, adding that she wanted more. On Kevichusa’s acting, she said she did a good job and that she would improve with more roles.

I’m proud of what she had done in the movie although her screen time was limited, she added while giving the movie a rating of two out of five stars.

“I like it (movie) and how the sensitive issue of Northeast was portrayed; it was brilliant,” said another viewer. She said Kevichusa’s performance was good for her first movie and the same goes to other actors from the Northeast.

However, she was all praise for the child actor who played the role of Niko. She said that she would watch the movie again.

“A great political movie to watch; that Indians can understand what we Nagas are going through,” said another person who came out of the theatre from the afternoon show.

However, another person said that the movie was “Ok” but wouldn’t watch twice. He lauded Kevichusa’s performance, especially in emotional scenes.

Dreamz Unlimited, a theatre and film production house from Nagaland, commented that they “glad to see lots of Northeast actors in the film”, which also has one of its members. They gave one star rating out of five stars, observing that the movie has a good storyline but failed to take the momentum till the end due to bad screenplay.

Eastern Mirror’s take on “Anek”

With a run time of 2 hours and 27 minutes, “Anek” is not a typical Bollywood movie with romantic songs and dance sequences, so it is doubtful if people from outside the Northeast will receive it well. Also, there are possibilities of some people finding difficult to relate to the story as it is set in political conflicts in the region.

Khurrana’s performance in the movie is good. In one of the scenes, he asked how people can decide which part of the country one belongs to through one’s proficiency in Hindi language. Such statements will not only send across a message to the audience but also can win the hearts of many.

Kevichusa did a descent job but her screen time is lesser than expected. The movie ends with her in the boxing ring after winning a bout, representing India, but she wears a dejected look, leaving the audience wondering why.

“Anek” may make many realise how little they know about the Northeast and inspire them to learn more about the region. It also has a fair representation of Nagaland state, including use of names like Lima, Oren, Niko, and Botoka; Nagamese language; an Ao song; and more.

Watch the movie for more!