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Feature Name: Prassthanam
Directed By: Deva Katta
Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Ali Fazal, Satyajeet Dubey, Manisha Koirala, Jackie Shroff, Chunky Panday, Amyra Dastur
Run Time: 141 Minutes
Review By: Reema Chhabda
The story of Prassthanam revolves around MLA Baldev Pratap Singh (Sanjay Dutt) and his two sons, Ayush (Ali Fazal) and Vivaan (Satyajeet Dubey). The film is set up in Ballipur of Uttar Pradesh.
Ayush is in all support of his step-dad Baldev Singh for all the political decisions he takes. Also, Ayush is considered as the future of politics for all the good work he does and with all the public support that he gets. On the other hand, Vivaan, the real son of Baldev is all a non-responsible drug addict, a typical rich brat doing all the wrong things. And then there’s Saroj (Manisha Koirala), to whom all the three men of the family are tied to. Prassthanam is a proper political family drama.
141 minutes into the movie and you don’t look at your watch to judge the movie. Prassthanam makes you get into with every detail of the story. There is a lot of drama in terms of relationships, family, love, fight, betrayal. It’s just the songs in the movie that seemed unnecessary. Except for the song Haji Ali, which is sung by Sukhwinder Singh, the other songs are unfit in the movie.
Deva Katta’s direction and the screenplay are on point. A film with a good direction is always up for appretiation and Prassthanam is one of them. Sometimes movies like Prassthanam are given dialogues so heavy that you start searching their easy meanings. But Farhad Samji’s dialogues in the movie are natural and keeps you connected with the cast. The cinematography of the movie gives you all the feels of the typical political drama that we want to see, thanks to Ravi Yadav. Ballu Saluja’s editing scissors spares you from all the lazy scenes.
As the movie is all about betrayal, it has unexpected twists and turns as required. Ayush’s love angle in the movie with Gunjan (Amyra Dastur) is something which is not really necessary. It do not add anything special to the movie. Other than that, every piece of the story is precisely placed and executed.
Prassthanam has a strong cast which plays their part so well that you keep looking for a loophole in the acting but couldn’t find any. Starting with Sanjay Dutt, as we all love Sanju baba in his gangsta roles, he sticks to his character and again proves he can never get old for such roles. Jackie Shroff who’s Badshah in the movie and protects the family from everything that’s not in their favor will win your heart. Though we expected him to see a little more in the movie, he is so much perfect for the role he plays. Manisha Koirala holds a strong role as well but she has a very little screen time and so does Chunky Panday. Ali Fazal and Satyajeet Dubey are terrific and are true to their characters.
As expected, the set designs were great. Thanks to the art direction team and also the costumes were superb which gives all the feel of the politics. The music of the film is poor, except for the background score. The script impresses much with its depth.
All in all, I would say, watch this movie for outstanding performances, amazing script and good direction.
PS. You might not like it if you are not a fan of political drama.
