Young Kalyan Ram is joining the ranks of action stars. He impresses in "Athanonkade" as an angry young man who avenges the death of his parents. His confidence in debutant director Surendra seems to have paid off as the young filmmaker delivers a gripping thriller despite choosing a familiar plot.

His unconventional introduction of protagonists, absence of rhetoric and tense climax place the film among the top Telugu action films. Kalyan, a grandson of the legendary NTR, reclaims the action image of the illustrious Nandamuri family. He draws a good opening for the film, erasing the memory of his earlier two flops.He plays a regular college student who unleashes his anger occasionally to avenge the death of his kin. He tries to impress both as a happy-go-lucky guy and as an angry young man.

Sindhu Tolani of "Aithe" fame is good, both as a peace-loving girl and as an avenging angel. Sindhu, who played an idealistic girl in "Aithe", emotes her well when she tries to suppress her love. She is a promising talent.Hindi actor Ashish Vidyarthi fits into the role of a ruthless don while Prakash Raj impresses in a brief cameo.

Ramprasad's captivating visuals and Mani Sharma's hummable tunes are the other highlights of the film. Besides providing stunning action, Surendra has also worked on colours with telling effect. Producer Janakiram has spent lavishly to come up with a slick action film and many frames vouch for this fact.

The story begins with Sindhu murdering a retired police officer -- and stepping into college like any other girl. Her college mate Kalyan falls in love with her. The city is ruled by dreaded mafia don (Ashish) and Sindhu plots to kill him with the help of Kalyan who eliminates the don's sidekicks one by one.

You have to watch the film to know the reasons behind the killings and the fate of the lovers.