April 21, 2010 Y. Sunita Chowdhary
"Prasthanam is a journey, a struggle for legacy, for power, of a soul. The title is grandiose and befitting the subject otherwise it would be reduced to a mere physical travel. After a long time the audience will feel a resting point after the journey", says director Deva Katta (whose first film was Vennela) who lives in the US but comes to India whenever he has the urge to show a stirring story on screen.
The director shows a sure hand in navigating a complex plot and intense intrigue and makes this Shakespearean like drama move smoothly without any predictability complaints. It is indeed a huge leap for Deva Katta from romance to a political thriller in which the protagonist, characters from a family involved in politics find themselves unraveling a ruthless and a complicated conspiracy to usurp power.
The film imparts many lessons, Deva's filmmaking prowess comes to the fore through every dialogue. The chaos and disorder in the story makes you loathe politics and politicians and will give you a feeling that you are better of living a simple life. The fragility of human characters scare you. Sharwanand plays a hero who believes there is a method in political killing and some issues could be solved without bloodshed. As his character moves through his journey he is given a chance to grow and develop into a multi dimensional character struggling to maintain the sanctity of relationships within the family and keeping the political cadre intact, he is perfect for the role.
Sai Kumar is the step father and comes up with a ripe performance. Sandip Kishan, a debutant chips in a decent and a surprising contribution while the rest of the actors never overplay and keep you guessing with what's coming next. Surekha Vani plays a defiant yet loving woman who finds her childhood years a wee bit unsettling.
There have been many stories on power struggle and one-upmanship but to be honest, Prasthanam does show more originality and heart and isn't overloaded with unnecessary complications that make it difficult to understand what is occurring onscreen. There are a couple of flaws too, the romance has been handled sloppily, and the songs spring up in the wrong places much to the chagrin of the audiences. Also the runtime of three hours could have been trimmed.
To lend political colour, the film was shot mostly in and around Vijayawada for 27 out of 70 working days. "The high point of the film is the last ten minutes, the moment I see it, I feel very elated," concludes the director who is currently busy subtitling the film to be sent to the film festivals.
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