Pratighat is a 2021 thriller film directed by Rajiv Kumar, and starring Soham Chakraborty, Priyanka Sarkar, Darshana Banik.
The Zee5 description reads:
Chandu, a gangster, comes to the rescue of Puja, a distressed girl, and they eventually fall in love. However, things take an unexpected turn when Chandu’s past comes back to haunt him.
– Pratighat review does not contain spoilers –
The first thing that will confuse you about Pratighat is the editing. It will take you back to Bengali cinema circa the 2000s or Bengali serials of right now where every transition is a “jalwa” moment – whether you’re watching the protagonist come on the screen for the first time or simply watching a Tata Sumo. Do we think of Chandu and the Tata Sumo to be one and the same in terms of excitement? Well, well…
Next is the horribly over-the-top acting and the corny dialogue. How a movie can tick you off with its nauseating dialogue is something that you will get to know all too well here. It’s so corny that your skin will crawl with embarrassment. The dialogue delivery is as bad as the dialogue, filled with scenes that are unnecessary. Very early on in the movie, Pratighat has this scene where Suleiman’s girlfriend (or wife?) tries to get it on with Chandu. That scene is so uncomfortably cringy.
Pratighat is an out and out masala film. If you’re aware of Bengali masala films, you will get my drift. Before long, thus, you’ll find the typical songs barging in through your door. The songs aren’t half bad, but Chandu’s failed relationship doesn’t give him an added layer to his “bhai” life. It’s just another generic character trait that makes him drink “to forget his sorrows”. He isn’t like the others who drink to be happy, he’s the emotionally unavailable bhai. Such swoon-worthy!
The tonal shifts in Pratighat fit together as much as my lactose intolerance fits with me. Just after a romantic, and entirely too long, song sequence the movie immediately cuts to the villain haggling with a minister about a road project. That road project head is Sabyasachi Chakraborty and I can’t help but feel sad for him.
Coming to the female cast of the movie, Pratighat’s Nilofer, who is seen a lot throughout the movie, is just there as a sexual object or to just lie around the couch and watch TV and make sexually suggestive remarks. The others are the romantic leads and that’s about it. Priyanka Sarkar is the typical timid girl who needs saving and cooks for Chandu all the time. Can women literally have no other work in movie other than looking pretty and being in love? Literally anything would suffice.
Summing up: Pratighat
At 2 hours 18 minutes, Pratighat 2021 is entirely too long, too bland and adds nothing to the world of cinema rather than just another masala movie without much content.
Pratighat is streaming on Zee5.
Also Read: A Faraway Land (2020) Review: Love at First Sight and Stuff