Akhanda – 2 Thaandavam Review: Same Template But Scale Upgraded

Akhanda 2: Thaandavam is a 2025 Telugu-language action drama written and directed by Boyapati Sreenu. The film has Nandamuri Balakrishna & Samyuktha Menon playing the lead roles while Harshaali Malhotra, Aadhi Pinisetty, Poorna, Sangay Tsheltrim, Saswata Chatterjee, Ronson Vincent, Achyuth Kumar, Kabir Duhan Singh, Vikramjeet Virk, Ravi Mariya, Murali Mohan, Racha Ravi, Jhansi & others are seen in important supporting roles. The music is composed by Thaman while the film is produced by Ram Achanta, Gopi Achanta, and Ishan Saksena under 14 Reels Plus & IVY Entertainment banner.
Story:
The Tibetan army begins a secret biowarfare attack on India, choosing the crowded Maha Kumbh Mela as the place to trigger nationwide chaos. As the virus starts spreading, the Prime Minister urgently orders DRDO to create an antidote. Young scientist Janani (Harshaali Malhotra) manages to develop it, but soon becomes the enemy’s main target.
At this crucial moment, Akhanda (Balakrishna) — who once promised he would return whenever she was in danger — appears again. The story follows how Akhanda protects Janani, stops the biowar, and restores peace and dharma in the country.
What about on-screen performances?
Nandamuri Balakrishna gives out a terrific performance, which is acceptable only when done by him. He is kickass with his part as Akhanda and does equally well as Murali Krishna, too. His screen presence is extraordinary, and his dialogue delivery is spot on. Special mention to his effort in all the action sequences, and his dances are a treat for all his fans in both halves.
Aadhi Pinisetty impresses big time with his unique acting in a specially designed negative character, and he does full justice to it with his performance.
Samyuktha Menon shines in the first half, and she rocks it with her looks in a modern role. Her dance in the Jajikaya Song alongside NBK is impressive.
Harshaali Malhotra leaves a huge mark as Janani. She is natural with her expressions, but her Telugu dubbing felt odd at times as the voice didn’t suit her.
Sangay Tsheltrim as the army officer and Kabir Duhan Singh as the bad guy do well in their respective negative parts.
Poorna is pretty decent as the IAS officer, but her role didn’t have any relevance to the plot.
Saswata Chatterjee, Ronson Vincent, Achyuth Kumar, Vikramjeet Virk, Ravi Mariya, Murali Mohan, Racha Ravi, Jhansi, & all others are adequate in their limited supporting roles.
What about off-screen talents?
The story by Boyapati Sreenu more or less resembles the first part and lacks the novel factor that was needed. Except for adding the devotional factor and uplifting the scale of the issue in the film, the story doesn’t offer anything new with its plot.
The screenplay, too, is quite similar to the template followed in all their previous three films. Except for the conflict point involving the Bio Virus and the Tibetan army, the flow and takeaways are almost the same as in the first part, where in the first half is run by one hero character, and the other one enters at the intermission point to carry the second half till the end.
The first half follows the familiar template— a youthful Balayya, a couple of romantic scenes, a couple of comedy bits, a couple of family scenes, a national-level issue, and a high-voltage interval with the second Balayya character entering. The intro fight, Jaajikaya song, a few mass dialogues, the Kumbh Mela visuals, and the extraordinary interval fight work big time.
The film explodes in the second half with Boyapati-style madness — big action, heavy elevations, and striking Lord Shiva transitions that work great theatrically. These moments are a treat for the fans. But some portions get too loud, too over-the-top, and the overt spiritual messaging feels less like storytelling and more like intent. Also, the heavy Sanathana Dharma messaging feels more like propaganda than organic storytelling.
Director Boyapati Sreenu does a superb job with his whole presentation. He follows his usual style, focusing more on elevations than logic and giving importance to action design rather than coherent writing. Some scenes are executed brilliantly, but a few feel scenes feel dull and overly done. Also, he made sure that the scale takes a clear leap forward in every scene with expansive visuals.
The dialogues are well written, and all the typical Balayya’s mass punch lines work well in the theatres.
The camera work by C. Ramprasad & Santosh Detake is outstanding. All the action set pieces are shot beautifully, while the lighting and framing are on point.
Tammiraju’s editing is sharp, though the runtime could have been trimmed a bit more to make the flow even crisper, especially in the middle portions of the second half.
The production design by A.S. Prakash and the costumes by Saranya Rao & Raamz are first-rate.
Special mention to the dance choreographers Sekhar & Bhanu for their effective dance moves.
The production values by 14 Reels Plus & IVY Entertainment are of very high standards.
What’s Hot?
* Nandamuri Balakrishna’s Performance
* Aadhi Pinisetty’s Performance
* Extra Ordinary Interval & Climax Action Sequences
* Lord Shiva Transistions & Lord Hanuman Episode
* Jajikaya Song & Choreography
* Well Written Dialogues & First Rate Direction
* Thumping Background Score
* Top Notch Cinematography
* Grand Production Values
What’s Not?
* Overly Done God References
* Bio Virus Thread & Army Portions
* Aadhi Pinisetty’s Over The Top Fight
* Harshaali Malhotra’s Dubbing
* Few Overly Done Action Bits
Verdict: Akhanda 2: Thaandavam is a typical Balayya – Boyapati film with their same old template, but the presentation is far more expansive with an overly done devotional angle and grandeur visuals that are a treat on the big screens for the fans. Overall, it delivers a  larger-than-life experience if you love this combo’s signature style, but for the general audience, this film might be a cringefest.
Telugubulletin.com Rating: 2.75/5
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