Akshay Kumar's 'Kesari Chapter 2' has been winning over the critics and the audience. The film is also churning out some big numbers at the box office. While netizens are hailing Akshay Kumar and R Madhavan for their role, a section of movie goers doesn't seem that impressed by Ananya Panday's performance in the film.
A section of social media users has called Ananya Panday's performance as the half-cooked link in the film. After the director of the film came out to defend the young actress' performance, Gajraj Rao has also praised Panday's performance. The 'Badhaai Do' actor took to social media to share a lengthy note praising the film.
Gajraj defends Ananya's performance
"Loved every bit of it. An extraordinary screenplay packed with sharp, powerful dialogues. The cinematography is breathtaking, the production design top-notch, editing razor-sharp, and the music--absolutely soulful. These pillars hold the film strong and steady throughout," he wrote in his social media post.
Rao further added, "Yeh Akshay Kumar ki best performances mein se ek hai...Sir Sankaran Nair ko inhone itihas ke panno se nikal kar screen par zinda khada kar diya hai...Sherdil bhi nazar aate hain our vulnerable bhi. Interval se pahle lajawab kaam kiya hai bina kuch zyada bole, aur climax main unka abhinay vichlit kar deta hai. Well done, Akshay Paaji."
(This is among Akshay Kumar's best performances. He was brought out Sir Sankaran Nair from the history pages to a live person in front of us. The character appears strong willed but also vulnerable)
The legendary actor also praised Ananya's performance and claimed that she didn't get overshadowed by the big stars (Akshay Kumar and R Madhavan). "Do diggaj kalakaron ke beech Ananya Panday, kahin bhi kamzor nazar nahi aatin. Unka abhinay bahut ummeed jagata hai," he added.
Director calls Ananya 'fantastic'
This comes a day after the film's director, Karan Singh Tyagi called Ananya's performance 'fantastic'. "Again, with full humility, I believe Ananya gave a fantastic performance. She dedicated two years to learning Punjabi dialects and even shadowed a lawyer to understand courtroom behaviour," he told IANS.
"If some people still felt it didn't work, we will work even harder next time to win them over," he added.
