A star-studded retread
This movie is about the kind of power that corrupts absolutely. A prominent politician named Baldev Pratap Singh (Dutt) marries a widow (Manisha Koirala) and becomes stepfather to her two children, Aayush (Ali Fazal) and Palak (Chahat Khanna). The couple then has a child, Vivaan (Satyajeet Dubey). When Singh announces that he wants to groom Aayush as his political heir, Vivaan is so enraged, he goes on a rampage of rape and murder. The more heinous crimes he commits, the more his father feels compelled to try and cover for him and win him back.
The story and treatment of Prassthanam are identical to the 2010 Telugu film of the same name on which it is based; they have the same director too, Deva Katta. In the course of the film, you will recognise multiple allusions to the myths of the Ramayana and Mahabharata. There’s a twist at the end, but it’s a predictable one.
The biggest thing going for Prassthanam is its striking ensemble cast of, among others, Sanjay Dutt, Ali Fazal, Satyajeet Dubey, Manisha Koirala, Jackie Shroff and Chunky Panday.
The talent is worth watching, though, for sure. Dutt is effective, as the father torn between his son and the legacy he’s trying desperately to safeguard. It’s also nice to see a 60-year-old play a character his own age. Fazal manages to play the good guy with subtlety. Dubey was a great casting call for the entitled, power-hungry rich brat.
Shroff as Dutt’s loyal aide and brooding guard of 25 years sadly doesn’t have a single line until minutes before the climax, which was a terrible waste. Panday plays the bad guy with a delicious sense of fun. In a completely unnecessary detour, Amyra Dastur pop up all of a sudden as a love interest for Fazal, and then almost immediately vanishes without a trace. Expect a lot of bloodshed, shootouts and noisy rallies. There are some misplaced songs (will we ever have a Bollywood potboiler that’s not also a musical?). There’s even a steamy number with Ishita Raj Sharma.
Overall, if you’re looking for a rather noisy but eventually thoughtful film about the good and evil in all of us, give it a shot.