Picket 43

Picket 43: A great friendship story studded with superlative performances.

Usually, the images of war, fight, shooting and some kinda rough stuff comes to our mind, when we think of an army movie. This is where Major Ravi makes a difference in our imagination with Picket 43, a simple and heart touching movie under the back drop of military.

The movie is all about the friendship between Hari, the Indian soldier at Picket 43, and his Pakistani counterpart. Iam not gonna reveal more as the movie is perfectly trimmed and revelation of anything more with destroy the thrill.

Coming to the making section, Major Ravi, the one who made path-breaking war films in Malayalam Industry, is back in great form. With Joemon T John as DOP, Major Ravi has offered novelty to most of the frames, a different kind of making actually. Scripting too requires applause, especially for the thrilling and crispy presentation of that storyline. The movie starts off slowly and proceeds slowly, only to gain speed in its latter parts. The initial half of movie passed off too simply without offering anything new, but as the movie proceeds, it got more interesting, and ended in an excellent way. Last 30 minutes of the movie was a scream, one really gets goosebumps in those emotional scenes. To be frank, I never expected such a brilliant making from Major Ravi. Kudos ji. This time, he also depicts various scenarios in Pakistan too. Both the lead roles were well balanced.

But, the show stealer was Prithviraj. What a performance man...! That dialogue delivery and performance in the climax sequences was superb.Hari will be a memorable role in his carrier,the actor who is banking on success, has yet another feather on his cap. His selection of characters too require applause. The other notable performance was from Javed Jaffery. Major has got the correct man for this role. Javed was perfect fit in his character. The duo of Javed nd Prithviraj was damn perfect. Renji Panicker is also seen in a good role. Harish Peradi's brief role was also impressive.

The other highlight factor in the film is Cinematography of Joemon T John. Frames were of top class. Even the lighter scenes had shots of great brilliancy. Kudos man. BG Score by Rex Vijayan offered novel approach and songs by Rateesh Vega were greatly impressive. Action sequences were perfect, neither too much nor too less.

The movie was good at its technical side too. Had a rich feel.

Though the family elements were presented well, that actress seemed so dumb. Except for. some forgettable slow pace in the first half, Picket 43 is an excellent movie, which touches the viewer's heart. I didn't know when ma eyes got tears. Damn effective the movie was. There was a huge applause when the movie finised. Mohanlal's narration was also good.

My Rating : 8/10 Don't miss visiting this Picket.

Venue: Prasad's IMAX, Hyderabad. Showtime: 9:45 am( 24/1/2015) Status: 40-45%

_Sooraj Pattazhy

The film does not have the usual style of making India and Pakistani as enemies only. Pictor 43 is the story of a friendly friendship with soldiers from enemy countries on the border. Ranji Panikkar, who has been in the forefront of the camera from the movie, has done well. The Hindi dialogue is mostly used in many parts of the film. This may be a bit difficult for some.

If I ever want to hatch an example of bad directing, I'd recommend Major Ravi's second feature film Mission 90 Days (2007). So much for its plot about the Rajiv Gandhi assassination, the film has zero emotion or substance. More than half a decade since that debacle, he has continued to advocate his undying love for the country. But, at the receiving end are we, the hapless audience who turn in our beds having nightmares about his movies. Picket-43, although qualifies in a category above that, it is still a boring drama.

Hari (Prithviraj) is a cowardly soldier who is assigned to guard one of the most dangerous posts at the India-Pakistan border. He finds comfort in a dog, who is his only companion at the post. As the plot drags forward, he shares comfort with a Pakistani soldier (Jaffrey). And eventually, Hari's heart aches for this soldier, obviously sympathized by his family who is waiting for him. The biggest problem with the storyline is that it only has a single perspective: that of the protagonist's. The writer's intention of conveying the message about the two rival countries and their deep, ancient friendship can be lauded, not because it is strong, but because it is the only thing that makes sense.

While the whole setup reminds of two recent Bollywood films: Filmistan (2014) & Kya Dilli Kya Lahore (2014), Picket-43 is nowhere near these competent films, even though they were directed by newbies. The practice/rehearsal that went behind the making of this film is also below satisfactory. Prithviraj clearly cannot handle a rifle, nor can he capture the pain of solidarity, which surprises me for I considered him a good actor, with lots of inheritance from his parentage. A little firing here, a little firing there is all that happens when people are not talking. As a result, success in wearying its audience comes easy. There are no major action sequences, either.

Major Ravi should keep to majoring, if he still can. A bad screenplay and an overly- patriotic plot to evince the plight of soldiers (in general) doesn't do much when it comes to entertainment. Yes, had it been a documentary about some real life hero, then Picket-43 would have been lauded. But do you think it would have made so much money then?

Roping in Mohanlal to narrate the message is the most pretentious thing I have seen this year. Only the non-linear narrative works for the film, but even that falters in the middle, as drama turns to melodrama turns to fiction.

BOTTOM LINE: If you are way too patriotic and consider the Wagah border closing as your single-best source of joy and entertainment, then Picket-43 will mesmerize you. Avoid if you are a regular cinephile who digs real drama. 3/10.

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES

This is one of the best military movies of Major Ravi I have seen so far. The sentiments in the movie was really good. I liked the movie a lot.

Pritviraj is again showed his skill of acting. Actually pritviraj deserve a colonel position in army. It's not only a military movie it shows romance, friendship,family etc. The best point this movie is not like the worst military movies of mohanlal.If Indian army persons saw the movie the taken the Lt.colonel position from mohanlal and given to pritviraj.Also Major Ravi deserve appreciation for such a great direction.