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Prabhanjanam Movie Review

By - April 17, 2014 - 10:16 AM IST

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PRABHANJANAM - a 2 and half hour long Public Service Advertisement

Plot:
Chaitanya (Ajmal), Chandu (Sandesh), Sandhya (Aarushi) and Praneeta (Pancha Bora) are four good friends out of which only Sandhya is studious while Chaitanya is quite a brat. Chaitanya’s father Nagya Naik (Nagendra Babu) is key doyen in the opposition Sama Samaj Party headed by Subba Rao (Gollapudi Maruti Rao) while the ruling Pragati Patham party is headed by Kota Srinivasa Rao. Nazar is Sandhya’s grandfather who is staunch believer that caste and reservation system hampered the country’s sustainable growth and curbed social equality. After college, Sandhya becomes a civil servant, Chandu looks after his father’s (Ahuti Prasad) business enterprises and Praneeta (who is in love with Chaitanya) waits for him. Nagya Naik wants his son Chaitanya to become their party’s youth leader and settle down in politics. One of his sincere and studious college mates commits suicide as he could not secure a seat in a premium B school. Now, how did an irresponsible young livewire like Chaitanya & his friends fight the reality around them and contribute to the society forms the crux of the story.

Performances:
Ajmal: He is certainly a promising actor and he gave his best to this socio-political drama. He was impressive with his acting, dialogs and fights except dances. He was cute and apt as a politician. His energy was radiating throughout.
Arushi and Panchi Bora: Both the newbies were in fact lucky to have got decent and dignified roles right in their debut films only. Both of them fitted in their respective roles and did not look artificial and forced.
Sandesh: Though it was tough to believe him as a college going guy, his impressive and mellowed acting performance added to the film.
Nagendra Babu: He brought glamor to the pulp less politician character in the film.
Nazar: He was intense and as usually a beauty to watch in the film.

While rest of the cast like Kota Srinivasa Rao, Gollapudi Maruti Rao, Duvvasi Mohan, Benerjee, Ahuti Prasad and fledgling actors like Balu, Volleyball Srinu, Laxman et al  did a decent job to make this socio-political drama intense and effective.

Direction:
Director Bhaskar Rao Vendrathi in an attempt to make a good cinema, made a two and half hour long public service advertisement. It was in fact educating but innovative or effective enough to penetrate into the public. He was good with his aesthetics and intentions but couldn’t tell the story acutely and effectively.
Merits:
- A nice educating concept woven around contemporary issues and needs.
- Hero Ajmal and Nazar’s performance that stand out as an asset to the film.
- Good cinematography with scenic and aesthetic shots.
- Music and Background score that pumped life into the scenes.

Demerits:
- The basic storyline that lacks clinical research and locus.  
- The lethargic old school narration and treatment that is totally out-of-tune to the contemporary receptive state of the audience.
- The premise lacks a particular focus and the scenes lackluster and intensity. Not even a single scene in the film could invoke any emotion. The conflict point has also not been substantiated properly.
- The dialogues are so bland and ineffective for a socio-political drama like this.
- The songs were so forced and have no purpose to meet.
- Most of the cast like Naga Babu, Gollapudi Maruthi Rao, Nazar, Ahuti Prasad were underutilized.
However, both the first half and second half are no different and can offer you no change in your state of enjoyment.

Music:
RP Patnaik’s music was decent enough for a banal narrative like this. Though not certainly up to his best, he managed to deliver a decent audio. Without the songs, the pathetic state of film is unimaginable. And all the songs were shot well.

Others:
Cinematography by Surender Reddy was brilliant enough for this socio-political drama. Though editing Mohan Rama Rao could have been far better especially in the scenes and throughout.

Verdict:
Prabhanjanam, a socio-political drama with a powerful title and decent cast is a rather wasted opportunity trying to fit into the mainstream cinema format. Lack of innovation and uninteresting narration can make it a tough watch for the common audience. Unlike being the usual entertainment geek, a bit of social orientation can make you feel better!
 

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