'Lenin' has finally arrived on ZEE5 on August 7, 2026. The rural action drama features Akhil Akkineni, Bhagyashri Borse, and many others in the lead.
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Add BollywoodShaadis on GoogleAkhil Akkineni is back on the big screen with Lenin, three years after Agent, which could not leave a positive impression. Following a successful run in theatres, Lenin has started streaming on ZEE5 on August 7, 2026. It is a rural action drama set during a Draupadi festival in 1990s Chittoor. Playing an orphan who finds home, love, and later, enemies in Sriramapuram, Akhil carries a story built on loyalty, betrayal, and epic parallels.
With Bhagyashri Borse and a large ensemble, director Murali Kishor Abburu tries to blend village politics with Mahabharata references. The film looks rich, and Akhil shows growth, but a slow start and thin emotional core keep it from becoming the breakthrough it aims to be.
Akhil Akkineni’s Lenin places him in a village that runs on belief, festivals, and old codes. Set in the fictional Sriramapuram of Chittoor district during the 1990s, the film opens around a two-week Draupadi Jatara where the unspoken rule is simple. No blood should be spilled, or the land will suffer.
Into this tight-knit world walks ‘Lenin,’ an orphan taken in by a wealthy household. He grows up alongside another child, ‘Vasanth,’ and finds purpose in the family that raises him. It is here that he meets ‘Bharathi’ from another prominent village family, and a quiet affection develops between them.
Director Murali Kishor Abburu builds the first half as a slow-burn introduction to people, customs, and hierarchies. The screenplay leans into community gatherings, local dialect, and the rhythm of festival preparations to establish place. Beneath the celebrations, the film hints at caste lines, political undercurrents, and family pride that govern daily life.
‘Lenin’s’ relationship with ‘Bharathi’ is positioned as the emotional anchor. She is written with a degree of self-determination that stands out. She pursues what she wants and questions norms when women are treated as interchangeable. Akhil and Bhagyashri share an easy presence on screen, and their scenes carry a certain charm.
The story turns when a marriage meant to preserve honour is disrupted by ‘Bharathi’s’ confession of love for ‘Lenin.’ ‘Vasanth’ steps aside and supports their union. That is when the film shifts gears. Hidden rivalries surface, alliances fracture, and the narrative moves toward confrontation.
The central idea draws from epic templates, with references to loyalty, betrayal, and dharma woven through dialogue and imagery. A recurring motif of a dog, a widow who keeps her vermilion, and figures who echo Mahabharata archetypes are introduced to add texture. Technically, the film does well to capture the rural landscape. The cinematography frames fields, temple grounds, and processions with care, while production design recreates the period setting convincingly.
The background score lifts several key moments, especially in the latter portions. Akhil appears comfortable in both emotional beats and action, and his rugged look fits the arc from boy to man. Bhagyashri makes a strong impression and carries significant weight in the emotional portions. Eswari Rao as the foster mother and Pramod as ‘Vasanth’ add stability, and the supporting cast fills out the village milieu, though many remain functional rather than fully fleshed.
The promise of the setup does not fully translate once the plot moves into conflict. Nearly the first hour is spent on introductions and village life, which means the core drama arrives late. By the time betrayals and power plays begin, the screenplay has already introduced a large number of characters without giving most of them depth. As a result, shifts in loyalty feel abrupt instead of earned, and many decisions come across as plot devices rather than choices rooted in character.
The interval twist reveals a major antagonist early, but the second half still stretches that thread, which reduces tension. A prolonged sequence involving multiple attackers and a long speech by ‘Vasanth’ repeats beats without adding new information. Flashbacks are used frequently to jump across timelines, and this back-and-forth makes the storytelling feel more complicated than it needs to be.
The parallels with the Mahabharata are clear and occasionally effective in action staging, but they are also repeated to a point where they stop landing. What begins as an interesting differentiator, the no-bloodshed rule tied to the festival, becomes background as the film settles into a familiar revenge track. The songs interrupt the flow instead of advancing the story, and while the score works in parts, the music overall does little to lift the film.
Emotionally, the central relationships do not land with the force the premise suggests. The romance between ‘Lenin’ and ‘Bharathi,’ and the bond within the foster family, are shown but not developed enough for the audience to feel the stakes when they are tested. Without that foundation, the later confrontations feel mechanical.
In the end, Lenin functions as a commercial action drama with a village backdrop and epic allusions. Akhil shows noticeable growth and handles the lead responsibilities, and Bhagyashri delivers one of the film’s better performances. The setting and visuals are solid. But the slow build, underwritten supporting roles, and a screenplay that prefers twists over emotional grounding keep it from breaking out. It lands in territory we have seen before, with ambition that exceeds execution.
BollywoodShaadis Rating: 2/5
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