Prahaar: The Final Attack
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| Prahaar | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Nana Patekar |
| Produced by | Sudhakar Bokade |
| Written by | Nana Patekar |
| Starring | Nana Patekar Gautam Joglekar Madhuri Dixit Dimple Kapadia |
| Music by | Laxmikant Pyarelal |
| Release date(s) | 1991 |
| Language | Hindi/Urdu |
| IMDb profile | |
Prahaar is a 1991 Hindi feature film, written and directed by Nana Patekar.
[edit] Movie plot
The film opens with a young man, Peter D'Souza (Gautam Joglekar), off to join the Indian Army (Commando wing). His family and friends are very apprehensive about this. His father John, a simple old man who runs a small bakery in Mumbai, would like Peter to handle the bakery; his fiancee Shirley (Madhuri Dixit) wants to marry as soon as possible; and his friend the Freedom Fighter (Achyut Potdar) says that the thrills of the army (e.g. riding, flying, shooting) are available to civilians as well. His neighbor Kiran (Dimple Kapadia) says he should go if that is what he really wants to do. In any event, Peter packs off for Commando training.
Enter Major Chauhan (Nana Patekar). At 0400, he scans the new bunch of cadets. Army training isn't for the faint of heart, he says sternly. Young men come to him to become men, and men become fearless soldiers. The next 35 days comprise serious training; the cadets learn to run, fight, shoot, work in teams and basically become jawans. They also learn to practice integrity, responsibility and prudence. (During a morning jog, one of the cadets whistles at a passing girl; she mentions it to Major Chauhan, and he promptly discovers and punishes the cadet.)
Training transforms Peter. During one of the obstacle course exercises, he is initially scared (of making a high altitude jump into the pool below). Major Chauhan chides and taunts him in the evening, asking him to write to his parents saying they've produced a hijra (eunuch). The next morning, Peter, properly incensed, executes the obstacle flawlessly.
Major Chauhan wins over the unit. The men grow to respect and follow him. Peter graduates at the top of his class.
At the commencement party, Major Chauhan is informed of some terrorists who have hijacked a school bus with 20 children and their teachers. The terrorists demand the release of their cohorts. Major Chauhan is tasked with neutralizing them and safely recovering the civilians. He hand picks a half-dozen commandos (from his newly trained unit) and they air drop into the area.
The rescue operation occurs at night. The commandos take down the terrorists. But one of the terrorists, before dying, shoots out Peter's kneecaps, rendering Peter unable to walk again. Peter returns home. He writes to Major Chauhan inviting him to his wedding.
The second part of the story begins when Major Chauhan arrives in Mumbai. He sees Peter's home decorated for the wedding, but there is a shroud of silence surrounding it. When he inquires, one of the neighbors brusquely tells him that Peter is dead!
Kiran and Shirley visit Major Chauhan. They tell him about a band of goondas (thugs, a kind of local mafia) who have been extorting money from Peter's father for a long time. Peter refused to pay up. They dragged him into the street and bludgeoned him (in broad daylight, with everyone in the neighborhood watching) to death. Shirley tells the Major that Peter fought valiantly until the end.
As Major Chauhan investigates, he uncovers a host of socio-economic problems. The police have investigated, but none of the neighbors is willing to bear witness. Major Chauhan tries asking around but nobody breathes a word in fear of the goondas. John D'Souza, Peter's own father, simply refuses to testify. This puzzles and angers Major Chauhan. In private, John vents his anger on the Major (and the army): "You guys taught him all the wrong things. You took my son and gave me a cripple". Later, John explains that civilian life is very different from military life. Goondas exist, the police are either in league with them or apathetic, and that is just the way it is. The regular citizens choose to pay up and go about their normal lives. That's the way it goes. Peter didn't understand this and ended up dead.
Major Chauhan is angered. He has always taught cadets to live honorably. He decides to stick around for some time. When the goondas come back to the bakery, he fights them off. But the neighbors turn on him and drive him away! (He cannot protect them forever, it was he who taught Peter all those crazy ideals, goondas will always remain around.)
Later that night, the goondas reappear and taunt Kiran. Major Chauhan has had enough and decides to confront them. In a savage and ruthless hand-to-hand fight, he levels the entire bunch of goondas. He shows no mercy and no remorse as he employs various fighting techniques to basically silence them forever.
Accused of manslaughter, Major Chauhan is hauled into court. He delivers a landmark speech in his defense. The last 45 years of Indian independence have seen three wars. The rest of the time has been called shantikaal(shanti = peace, kaal = time, shantikaal = time of peace). But the enemy within (the goondas and the associated societal evils) continues to assault the country. As a soldier, he is trained and charged with eliminating the enemy; he will do this anywhere he can find them, even within the nation. He calls upon the general citizenry to compulsorily enroll in the armed forces and aid in the betterment of society by removing the evils.
The court agrees to some of his points, but says that its not Major Chauhan's duty to "clean the society" and that he is confused about his duties towards the nation. They send him to a mental asylum, without affecting his seniority in army and salary, and ask him to rethink about his duties when he is in the asylum. In the last part of the movie, Kiran comes to visit him in the asylum with her son. They see that Major Chauhan is planting seeds in the soil. Kiran's son asks Chauhan not to spoil his hands with the soil. On this Major Chauhan answers him by saying that the country's soil never makes your hand dirty. Its important for us to plant trees which shall give fruits to the future generations.
The movie ends with a minute sequence of Major Chauhan giving commando training to hundreds of naked children.
[edit] Notes
This film brings many issues (corruption, extortion, apathy, greed) to light. It also highlights the plight of the common man whose circumstances give him very few options. Nana Patekar has depicted this in a realistic and hardhitting way. (The dialogue is coarse and plainspoken.)
[edit] Trivia
- None of the actors wore any makeup during filming.
- Many of the street scenes used ordinary people who received no acting lessons.
