INDIA. Mumbai, Maharashtra. ‘Prawaas,’ the Marathi film trending on Amazon Prime revolves around a common man who reaches Mumbai to chase his dreams of becoming an actor.
The film was originally released on 14th Feb. 2020, just before the nationwide lockdown, and scored an 8.2/10 rating on IMDb. 96% of the spectators liked the film on the mega screen.
Abjijaat Inamdar (veteran actor Ashok Saraf), who came from his village as a youngster to follow his passion of becoming an actor ends up chasing money. He lives with his wife Lata Inamdar (Padmini Kolhapure) and has a son, Dilip (Udapurkar) who’s making a living abroad.
The film begins with stasis; a huge art gallery of paintings is displayed by Lata Inamdar while the audience gathered are inquisitive about Abhijaat’s whereabouts. She reminisces her past, where she’s driven in the dialysis ward for her husband, Abhi, every alternate day to support him while his health deteriorates. He’s shown suffering from CKD (Chronic Kidney Disease). The role of Abhi’s doctor is played by Vikram Gokhale, who is a tough taskmaster in the dialysis ward, making people realize the importance of health and proper diet.
The plot instantly connects to the real world, where masses live this ordeal in megacities.
Abhi’s beloved wife Lata makes sure her husband gets his medicines on time every day. Abhi comes to terms with his situation when he helps a cart puller on the road, whose words stick to him like magic. He then decides to lead a life of his dreams and to pursue them despite his weak physical condition.
When told by his son, Dilip to change his way of looking at things and start afresh, he grudgingly attends a Ghazal program where the singer succinctly tells him, Je Shesh Aahe Te Vishesh Aahe (meaning, what’s left is the best). The ghazal singer features a veteran Hindi film actor, Rajat Kapur.
With the classical recital, the film adds a breath of fresh air for senior citizens in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, bringing out the warmth and social connections that were prevalent before. Anup Jhalota, the music bhajan maestro makes a guest’s appearance in the movie.
What the spectators witness is an emotional, yet enticing melodrama. Social work brings Abhi back to his life and he once again begins to dream.
This is truly a story for every commoner in megacities, who leave aside their dreams to meet ends whilst embarking on a journey of a harried, perennially fulfilling one’s duties and responsibilities.
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One cannot imagine the depth of this film, but the acting of the veterans is phenomenal. It brings out the chemistry between them on the screen.
The film can be watched with English or Hindi subtitles.
The film’s story and the screenplay are written and directed by Shashank Udapurkar, cinematographed by Suresh Deshmane, and the title track is sung by Sonu Nigam. Others: Hariharan, Sukhwinder Singh, Shreya Ghoshal. Music: Salim-Suliman. Lyrics: Guru Thakur.
