Odia film ‘Pratikshya’: Movie review

Reviewed by: Himanshu Guru

Movie: Pratikshya

Director: Anupam Patnaik

Actors: Dipanwit, Barsha, Choudhury Jayprakash Das, Siddhant Mohapatra and others.

hate movies ‘Pratikshya’ is an excellent movie. Based on a short story by famous writer Gourahari Das, the plot of ‘Pratikshya’ revolves around the sadness, happiness as well as failure and success of a middle class Odia family. Roshan Bisoi is the scriptwriter. Directed by Anupam Patnaik, Dipanwit-Barsha appeared as the lead couple while other lead roles were played by Choudhuri Jayprakash Das, Siddhant Mohapatra and others.

Summary

Sanjay (the main character played by Dipanwit) and Kalyani (the heroine played by Barsha) fall in love. Unlike many other movies, this love affair has received nods from family members.

Sanjay’s father is a State Government employee and Sanjay is also interested in a government job. He appeared in interviews one after another in the hope that he would one day get a job.

Sanju’s sister previously ran away with a guy but later returned home because the relationship could not last. Now, she works in a private company. Sanjay’s father often complains of stomach ache and loose gait. Looks like he has some chronic health problems.

Once, while Sanjay and Kalyani were wandering the city, they were informed that his father had been taken to the doctor’s office because of his sudden deterioration in health. They rushed to the clinic and by that time Sanjay’s father Bipin (played by Choudhuri Jayprakash Das) was being treated. The family returned to their home, a government neighborhood near the Kali temple behind the Governor’s house in Bhubaneswar, on an auto rickshaw.

Meanwhile, Sanjay is seen appearing in interviews, spending romantic moments with Barsha and sharing his feelings with friends.

After a few days, Sanjay took his father to the doctor for a check-up. This doctor is an interesting and funny character. From his medical observation he didn’t see anything serious but as Bipin’s loose motion problems continued, he referred the case to a senior doctor, played by Siddant Mohapatra.

Then Sanjay goes to the hospital of the senior doctor, who discovers some dangerous health problems of Bipin and therefore advises to have some important medical tests done. After examining through a series of medical reports, the doctor revealed that Bipin was a victim of pancreatic cancer. Senior doctor asks Sanjay to be patient and brave and also informs that Bipin will only live for a month or two. The doctor also advised him to stay home in the last days of his life and that he should be informed of his illness.

Meanwhile, once Bipin’s health suddenly deteriorated. And he was taken to the hospital by ambulance. He was admitted to the ICU and after a day or two he was out of the ICU as his condition improved.

Meanwhile, Sanjay feels that he should urgently get a job to fulfill all his and his family’s needs. Sometimes, in his dreams, he envisions that his father is dying and that he is looking for a job because his father died while still working. Even at the hospital, Bipin asked his close colleague that he was going to die, and after he died, his friend would arrange everything so that Sanjay could get the job.

Then the plot moves through a number of twists and turns and finally lands at a point when Bipin passes away.

Six months later, once while Sanjay was still looking for work, his father’s colleague and friend visited their home and gave Sanjay a letter of appointment. Sanjay ended up getting the government job, but he tore up the letter of appointment and the end of the movie began to appear. Yah, that’s the end of the movie.

Review

‘Pratikshya’ is an excellent movie. All the main actors played their roles perfectly. Special mention should be made to Dipanwit, Choudhuri Jayprakash Das and Siddhant Mohapatra, whose acting is impeccable.

One can get a typical Odia feeling while watching this movie. The film seems to have been shot only in and around Bhubaneswar. And why not? The script is all about that. Lingaraj Temple, Bindu Sagar, Sishu Bhawan chhaka and some other famous places can be clearly recognized. This gives the perfect Odisha feel and proves that the film was not made in a studio using Chroma or any other latest technology. I mean the audience can relate not only to the characters on the screen but also to the locations.

The script is based on a short story and the story itself is a precious work, which has been skillfully made into a work of fiction.

On the dark side, this movie is a work for the elite, not the masses. So if you want some masala, action, item number or something like that when you get to the theater, this is not the movie.

Rating: 4 & stars out of 5