Our screen ki Akira is Khan, Kumar and Kapoor rolled into one. She punches and defends better than most khiladis. Her progressive, school-teacher father, Atul Kulkarni had her enrolled in karate classes instead of dance classes that girls her age frequented. But Akira learns that a Durga avatar cannot help you fight a regressive society and corrupt administration. So instead of being given a medal of honour for trying to save someone early in life, she is sent to a remand home. Not only does she lose three precious years of her life; she also loses her doting father.The scene moves to Mumbai where Akira and her mother come to live with her hen-pecked brother. But when she realises her sister-in-law is unwelcoming, Akira chooses her college hostel. Here our braveheart finds herself being targeted by the college bullies. She manages to shake the students off but lands herself in the dragnet headed by a corrupt cop ACP Govind Rane ( Anurag Kashyap) of the Mumbai Police. Poor thing lands herself in so many unenviable situations that she spends little time in college andmore in an asylum.Murugadoss ( Ghajini, Holiday — A Soldier Is Never Off Duty) , you can see, started with honourable intentions of trying to impart self-defence lessons to girls. While the plot meanders a bit post interval, the director still manages to keep you rivetted, especially in the chase sequences between the cops-and-Akira. Interestingly, the entire onus of cracking the case is given toa heavily-pregnant, Rabia Sultan ( Konkona Sen Sharma) modelled on Frances McDormand of the Hollywood thriller Fargo ( 1996) . And despite Konkona’s sincerity, she still seems like a caricaturebecause the written material doesn’t support her. Anurag asthe baddie and Sonakshi’s spirited act adds weight to thisdrama. If you want that adrenaline rush of watching Akira beating baddies and punching holes into the system, go for it