Pratighaat

Pratighaat review :

After making a dashing debut with Ankush (1986), director N Chandra chose to remake the Telugu hit Pratighatana (1986) as Pratighaat in Hindi. Sujata Mehta replaced Vijaya Shanti from the original while Charan Raj reprised his role of gunda turned politician Kali Prasad.

Like Ankush, Pratighaat also explored the politician- gangster nexus as well as student politics. It became famous for a particularly disturbing scene where Sujata Mehta is publicly disrobed and humiliated.

The film also featured a parallel track involving Nana Patekar as a honest cop who goes insane. This was his second collaboration with N Chandra immediately after Ankush and the duo worked together again in Wajood, twelve years later.

Inspite Nana's strong presence, Pratighaat belonged to Sujata Mehta who was simply outstanding in the lead role as the college professor who takes the law in her own hands. In one scene, she admonishes a group of rowdy students who draw her nude caricature on blackboard just to shame her. Her expressions and demeanor in that scene is extraordinary!

Charan Raj exuded menace as Kali Babu who rules the city like an evil dictator. Interestingly, Marathi veteran Ashok Saraf, known more for his comic roles, plays a negative character here. Mohan Bhandari deserves a special mention as the supportive police inspector.

Overall, Pratighaat ranks amongst N Chandras best work. Yea ofcourse, Tezaab was the bigger hit but it was far too formula driven and highly commercial in approach. Pratighaat is raw, hard hitting...and even today, packs a solid punch!!

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.