In an election season, director B Unnikrishnan brings back the essence of 1990s and early 2000s political dramas with Prathichaya, weaving a story around political events that rocked Kerala over a decade ago. But even with a bucket of whitewash, this old-fashioned political thriller cannot get a contemporary facelift.
The film imagines a political arena where everything depends on the image of leaders—manufactured or otherwise—and much less on their policies or ideologies. The visual media appears as a key player, one of the purveyors of lies that destroy lives. It’s a promising premise, but the execution falls flat.
Plot: A Political Conspiracy
Careful mythmaking goes into creating the character of Chief Minister Varghese (Balachandra Menon), whose life incidents remind us of a real-life politician. He is not the squeaky-clean, idealistic politician; rather, he has his share of grey areas and corrupt practices. A political scandal erupts, putting his reputation on the line, when his son John Varghese (Nivin Pauly), a technocrat reluctant to join politics, enters the scene with a vow to restore the leader’s lost image.
What Works: Balachandra Menon’s Performance
| Aspect | Verdict |
|---|---|
| Balachandra Menon as CM Varghese | The only saving grace. Delivers dramatic lines with practiced elegance and controlled performance. |
| Premise | Promising exploration of image-making in politics and the role of media. |
The film’s one standout element is Balachandra Menon’s controlled performance as the Chief Minister. He brings a gravitas to the role that the rest of the film struggles to match.
What Doesn’t: Predictable, Old-Fashioned, and Overlong
| Aspect | Critique |
|---|---|
| Nivin Pauly’s Performance | Evidently not in his comfort zone; unable to bring the necessary gravitas to the role. |
| Plot | Familiar and predictable; the resolution seems far too easy and convenient. |
| Characters | Written without any element of surprise; one-dimensional, especially the corporate honcho (Sharafudheen) who is clearly evil from the start. |
| Pacing | Saddled with heady-handed drama and needless exposition in several scenes. |
| Runtime | Overlong at 162 minutes. |
| Fictionalized Elements | Some additions to the real story are unintentionally funny, especially the CM’s son’s ideological links to the opposition party. |
The reviewer notes that although Prathichaya is “marginally better than some of Unnikrishnan’s recent outings,” it is also “saddled by the ills that have marred his films”—be it the heady-handed drama or the needless exposition in several scenes. The operations of the corporate entity seeking to control governance and John’s “clever” ways to build his image have “an air of familiarity and predictability about them.”
The Verdict
Even with a bucket of whitewash, this old-fashioned political thriller cannot get a contemporary facelift. Balachandra Menon’s performance is the only saving grace, but it’s not enough to salvage a film that feels stuck in the past, delivering predictable twists and one-dimensional characters.
