Pabar: A Political Comedy Drama

The movie Pabar is set in a completely rural area showcasing local politics and its impact on local people. The makers have tried to keep the movie commercial, fun and entertaining. As the protagonist of the movie superstar Babushaan said, “Pabar is a political comedy film which tries to showcase real incidents in today’s society regarding grassroot level politics with a commercial packaging.” So, the movie Pabar can give everything an Odia viewer wants to see in a Raja Movie. It has strong content, good screenplay and cinematography, phenomenal performers, soulful and fun music, humor, village romance and fair share of fighting. Overall, Pabar is a complete entertainment package released in Raja market.

The story:

The story of the movie is based on contemporary political drama of almost every village. Babushaan is playing the protagonist, Benta. In his village, the Sarpanch seat is reserved for underprivileged SC and ST people for that election. So, the experienced politicians use Benta, who comes from a blacksmith family as their candidate. Although he knows nothing about politics and has zero interest in it, the clever politicians use him for their advantage.

The story continues and Benta faces political accusations and a lot of challenges. The plot reveals how he understands that he had been used and then how he backfires on them. Amidst this political drama, you will witness an innocent and naive love story between Benta and Golap, the female protagonist, beautifully played by Elina Samantray. Babushaan is in the movie and if it doesn’t have comedy, audiences can make no sense out of it. So, this story has a lot of comedy scenes which will feel natural and not plastic.

Direction:

The movie has been directed by phenomenal director Ashok Pati. His experience as a director helps the movie shine through all the odds and competitions in the Raja market. If you see Odia movies, the combination of Babushaan Mohanty and Ashok Pati is deadly and has always given hits. The movie stands for creating a whole package of content, comedy and romance, which Ashok Pati has been doing for years. So, his experience adds one more feather to this masterpiece Pabar.

Casting of actors:

As Babushaan said in one of his interviews, “Pabar has no heroes, every character of the movie portrays an important part in telling the story and it will be incomplete without them. So, every actor is hero in their own way in the film.” This statement, if holds true, can be a great sign lf a good film.

Pabar has a phenomenal cast. It has superstar Babushaan Mohanty, Elina Samantray, KK, Choudhury Jayprakash Das, Aparajita Mohanty and Rabi Mishra. All of them are exceptional performers. The casting has been done in a way that everyone suits their characters seamlessly and you will feel a magic on screen.

Music:

The movie has four songs, and each one of them is different, unique and situational. The song “Laal Taha Taha” is a party song which has been remade from a hit song of Babushaan from his film “Loafer”. Two romantic songs namely, “Nali Sadhi” and “Akha Diaan” are exemplary because of its pure Odia lyrics and soulful tunes. The last song is the title track “Pabarful” which gives a very raw and rural vibe.

Daman fame Gaurav Anand has done the music and boy, oh boy! He has outdone himself once again. His understanding of music and his camaraderie with the lyricist JP Wordsmith are unmatched. His songs will feel like peace to you amidst chaos of life. The lyrics of the songs are outstanding, you can feel the traditional Odia touch to it. Usage of the words like “Tuku Musi”, “Chhita paka”, “Akha diaan” will port you to the good old days of Ollywood industry. JP Wordsmith deserves a standing ovation for this. Vocals are given by Babushaan, Swayam Padhi, Anaya Sritam Nanda and Anurag Das. Everyone sang their part beautifully. Overall, the entire music team deserves a huge round of applause.

Bottom line:

This raja, Ollywood industry gave us three big movies, Pabar being one of them. To sum up the movie up, the content choice was fabulous, casting was great, music was soulful, screenplay and cinematography could have been better. Pabar is a great step ahead towards the better days of Ollywood. If you have seen it in the hall, share your insights in the comments and if you have not, wait till OTT release to witness magic on screen.

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