Prasthanam Movie Review: This Political Thriller starring Sanjay Dutt is interesting but lacks a punch.

Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Ali Fazal, Manisha Koirala, Satyajeet Dubey, Chunky Pandey, and Jackie Shroff

Directed By: Deva Katta

Prasthanam is the Hindi adaptation of his 2010 Telugu film of the same about political ambition and corruption leading to downfall and tragedy in a family. The drama unfolds around one family. Sanjay Dutt plays Baldev Pratap Singh, a man with political ambitions, which gets fast-tracked when he is handed overcharge of a rural power center. He cements his hold when he agrees to marry the dying leader’s widowed daughter-in-law and adopt her two children. 

Set in a contemporary political family, Prasthanam narrates the story of Baldev Pratap Singh (Sanjay Dutt) and how he deals with the all the complexities when his stepson Ayush (Ali Fazal) and son Vivaan (Satyajeet Dubey) go against each other.

Ayush is the more matured and responsible one who knowns his moves well-the perfect heir to Baldev’s political dynasty. Vivaan, on the other hand, is a complete spoilt brat who does things without much thinking which ultimately hampers Baldev’s political moves. So who wins the tiff Ayush or Vivaan is the further story.

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In the world created by Katta, there are no good guys. Each one has a vested interest, besides a couple of the women, in particular, Saroj who mutely accepts her fate as ordained by the men in her life, and receives no sympathy as she watches her family being destroyed.  

Fazal and Dubey provide the emotional heft as the two warring sons. Shroff and Dutt rehash characters they have assumed in the past whereas Chunky Pandey and Zakir Hussain reduce their villainy to a spoof. Koirala is relegated to the shadows as the long-suffering widow, wife, and mother.

There is simply too much happening in the film! Right from the beginning to the climax, there are several flashbacks, unwanted songs, and anything and everything is happening at the same time! As a result of which, the audience is left rather annoyed.

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Deva Katta should have showcased a crispy narrative with the conflict between the family with solid character arc but he failed.

The dialogues become too dramatic and don't make sense at some times such as at one point Sanjay Dutt even says neta aur diaper ko badalte rehna chahiye warna gandagi fehel ti hai (Politicians and Diaper need to be changed otherwise it all goes dirty and messy). 

Finally, Prasthanam is a mediocre remake of the original, it's better to watch the original film.