Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Manisha Koirala, Ali Fazal, Jackie Shroff, Chunky Pandey, Satyajeet Dubey, Amyra Dastur, Zakir Hussain
Director: Dev Katta
Rating: **
'Prassthanam' is the tale of a political giant Baldev Singh Pratap (Sanjay Dutt). The matriarch is ferocious and strikes terror in the hearts of his opponents, but is now withering with old age. When the king wants to step down, someone has to warm the throne. It is this ambition that becomes the bone of contention between Baldev's sons Ayush and Vivaan.
Ayush isn't bound by blood to Baldev but loves him like he would his father. Vivaan, the hot-headed brat is a constant disappointment to his father. The former is rational while the latter is impulsive; both battling for Baldev's political legacy.
Dev Katta's 'Prassthanam' feels like an undercooked Shakesperian tragedy or a bad Game of Thrones episode for those aren't old school. The storyline is drastically outdated and takes no time to wear out the audience. The most glaring error is how it squanders a glorious cast. Manisha Koirala, one of our finest actors, is reduced to be a damsel in distress, a mother shedding tears and watching the tragedy unfold helplessly. Amyra Dastur is left playing a one-dimensional character in spite of her beliefs, and we don't get to further explore her personality.
Sanjay Dutt, who has made a career out of playing roles like 'Balram Prasad,' Raghu,' and 'Munna Bhai' brings no effort in bringing something refreshing and plays a badly pieced together version of his earlier roles. Chunkey Panday and Zakir Hussain, who are usually pretty solid actors are unconvincing as villains and give completely hammy performances.
Backed by epical references from 'Ramayana' and 'Mahabharata', 'Prasssthanam' goes to establish itself as a self-righteous tale of love, war, and politics which don't cut. Writer-director Dev Katta takes a massive chance by directing a Hindi language remake of his own film, falling short on the mark with his outdated telling of family feud based politics. Sure, Katta gets an A for effort here, but it would take something more than a miracle if this movie wants to be a success or just break-even.
'Prassthanam' may cloak itself with the sensibilities of Game of Thrones but in reality, it is even migraine-inducingly frustrating than the season finale of GOT. Seriously, just watch Game of Thrones once again.
