Dev Katta’s latest film ‘Prasthanam’ is a riveting family drama where jealousy and politics reign supreme. The premise of the film is so spellbinding that it makes you wonder if Dev Katta knew that he was riding a tiger! The film starring Sharwanand, Saikumar, Sandip Kishan is set in the heart of Vijaywada, where politics, business, corruption merge which shatter all laws. The film narrates the story of a politician and the complex relations prevailing in his family.

What is it about : Saikumar stars as Naidu, who rises from being a Panchayat President’s henchman to an MLA. Due to unforeseen circumstances he’s forced to marry his boss’ widowed daughter-in-law who’s already a mother of two, Mitra (Sharwanand) and another girl (Surekha Vani). Few years after this marriage, Chinna (Sandip) is born out of this relationship. However, by then Mitra’s sister begins to hate her step brother, although Mitra loves his new found family and promises himself to be a loyal supporter of his step father. Almost 25 years later, Chinna turns into an angry young man, who hates being sidelined by his own family. How does this complex relationship engulf Naidu’s political life? How does Chinna deal with his jealousy and Mitra’s dominance in politics? That forms the rest of the story of this brilliantly written family drama.

What is Good: The beauty of the film lies in how well Dev Katta paints almost all his characters with a lot of pain, anger and ambition. In any film the secret to great storytelling lies in unfolding the story page by page to give a sneak peek into the characters’ lives. This is exactly where Dev Katta succeeds with flying colours. The complex relationship between Chinna and rest of the family members is established slowly. We begin to understand the intensity behind his actions as jealousy consumes him totally. It’s hard not to empathize with any of the characters especially that of Mitra, Chinna and Naidu in the film. Mitra blindly believes everything his father tells him and he loves his brother, Chinna. On the other hand, Chinna is a spoilt brat who wants to be his father’s favourite son. So, when he finds Mitra being showered with all the love, his anger and frustration is totally justified.

Of the star cast, it’s the newcomer Sandip Kishan who takes your breath away with his terrific performance as Chinna. His portrayal of a disturbed young man is brilliantly written and the debutant dazzles in each and every scene. Saikumar is seen in a full length role after a long time and he’s flamboyant like always. Some of the best dialogues in the film are written for Saikumar and he makes sure that he adds more force in his lines. Sharwanand delivers a good performance as well; however his character is subdued to a great extent especially when compared to the other two main characters in the film. Surekha Vani, Jeeva and Jayprakash Reddy pitch in credible performances.

What is bad: Despite having a powerful storyline, Dev Katta takes few cinematic liberties which hamper the pace of the film especially when it comes to the romance angle. Ruby Parihar is alright in her role but it hardly holds any value in the film. Moreover, there are atleast three songs which come at odd times which could have been avoided completely. The second half of the film drags a bit especially in the last 20 minutes. After a ‘tragic scene’ which alters the whole dimension of the film, it drags without a purpose. However, Dev Katta manages to cover this up with a brilliantly written climax scene.

Technical Departments: Mahesh Shankar’s background score is brilliant in the film, although the same cannot be said for all the songs in the film. Dharmendra’s editing is good in first half and could have been a lot better in the second half. Sham Dutt’s cinematography is beautiful in the film. Especially the scenes shot with a brown tint and night effect have been amazingly picturized. Dev Katta needs to be applauded for the basic storyline of the film. Although there were few glitches especially with respect to inclusion of songs in second half, it’s one of the most interesting family dramas written in recent past. Dialogues in the film are noteworthy and there’s a lot of honesty in few lines. Kudos to Dev Katta for extracting such powerful performances from his lead cast.

Bottomline: Irrespective of the slow pace or endless blabber as some would term it, ‘Prasthanam’ will remain as a good example of what a great script and right casting can do to a film. It’s more interesting and captivating than most other political dramas which have come out in recent few years. Honestly, it would be a pity if such films are ignored for the sake of ‘entertainment’. Watch the film for what it is especially for Sandip, Sharwanand and Saikumar. Two big thumbs up for ‘Prasthanam’ and three cheers for the trio, the three lead characters, the script of the film and Dev Katta.