Pratikshya: A revival for Ollywood industry

The movie Pratikshya revolves around the story of a middle-class unemployed man who struggles to find a government job. The story is so well-written that it will force you to engage with it. The actors, screenplay, music, choice of shooting locations, background score; everything about the movie makes it special. Despite being the directorial debut of Anupam Pattnaik, this movie shines through every odd thrown its way. With huge audience’s support, Pratikshya is one of the most loved Odia movies in today’s generation. Through this blog, we will try to dive deep into each aspect of the movie.

The Story: Relatable and Original

Pratikshya is truly the sign that Ollywood is reviving. The story is original and based on the day to day lives of Odia youth. Dipanwit Das Mohapatra, who is playing Sanjay, the protagonist, is a middle-class boy who is trying to crack government exams. He has shown no interest in private jobs even though his friends and his mother try to persuade him. After lots of struggle and making many attempts, he fails to land any job. His father Bipin is growing old, and his family goes through a medical crisis leaving them financially broke.

The movie beautifully portrays the struggles, fears and emotions a middle-class family goes through. The main character of the movie is not any performer, rather it is the bond between an adult son and a retiring father which has been gracefully shown in the movie. The story also dives into the corrupt government system and the reduced faith of the youth with it. Overall, the movie Pratikshya forces you to cry along with the characters on screen.

Tremendous acting:

The cast of the movie is unmatched. Dipanwit Das Mohapatra has already proven himself in Daman. Choudhury Jayprakash Das, who is a phenomenal actor, is playing the father character. All the star casts have outdone their parts with relatable and realistic acting.

As audiences, the actors will make you feel like a part of the story. You can find daily life references and characters around you on the screen. It’s their acting which made the story lively and worth watching. Both the protagonists are fantastic theater actors, and their acting skill is shining through the screen.

Music:

This film has three songs, and each one leaves a footprint in your heart. The three songs are, “Kaha re Akasha”, “Bhul Jebe” and “Tu au Mu”. The former two have been composed by Ankesh-Ashish and the last one is composed by Bivash Rath. All of them have done phenomenal jobs. The lyrics are soulful and match the situation perfectly. There are no adulterated lyrics, no unnecessary songs and no unrequited drama in the music.

The entire music team deserves credit for the exceptional job they have done. The singers are Bivash Rath, Biswajit Mohapatra and Ashish Pradhan. All of them have given justice to the requirements of the songs. All the three songs are situational and help the story flow in a certain direction. This makes the music a character of the film, rather than it being just an addition to the existing entertainment.

Contemporary direction:

Anupam Pattnaik should be celebrated. Directors like him come once in a decade and help an entire industry revive. His web series “Gangs of Puri” has set a benchmark for his direction in the minds of the audiences. So, they expect a lot from him and through Pratikshya he surpassed all the expectations.

His framing, choice of locations, dialogues, actors’ performance under his direction; everything proves what a director he is! This story will scream Odia in every essence. His attention to detail shows a middle-class Odia family in the 21st century will leave you spellbound.

Hindi version coming?

Pratikshya has already collected a lot of prizes and nominations. Legendary Bollywood actor Anupam Kher has decided to do a Hindi version of the movie where he will play the part of the father. As an industry crawling back to where it shined, this is some news to celebrate.

Although Pratikshya has already been released outside of Odisha for the Odia people who stay there, the Hindi version will take the level of our industry to the next level. It can take our native stories to a national level.

Bottom line:

It took a long time for the movie to come out in theaters. Although it was made for years before its release, it remained relevant and broke records. You have missed a lot if you haven’t seen it in the hall, but we can wait for OTT release to celebrate it once again. And if you have seen it in the hall, let us know your insights in the comments.

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