Prasad movie review

Movie: Prasad

Screenwriter: Sushil Paudel

Director: Dinesh Raut

Cast: Namrata Shrestha, Bipin Karki, Nischal Basnet, Basundhara Bhusal, Binod Bhattarai, Prakash Gandarba

Genre: Love story, family drama

Runtime: 135 minutes

3.5/5

First things first, this is the best-looking Nepali movie in a very long time and ranks up there with the finest ever. Released in December 7, 2018 Prasad shocked the audience, questioning the very basis of the traditional Nepali ideals in regard to inter-caste relationship and abortion issue. A powerful thought provoking social romance, created by Dinesh Raut and a wonderful cast of Bipin Karki (Baburam), Namrata Shrestha (Narayani), and Nischal Basnet (Ramesh) exploits the usual topic of husband-wife relational crises, but uncovers a deep hidden conflict of moral values and acceptance within the limits of “life and the society. Sushil Poudel has scripted a fascinating realistic picture that is incredibly well-shot. Rajesh Shresth’s camera work is mesmerizing as he casts us into the visual of struggling married couple in Kathmandu with fluid harmony in every scene. Each frame of the movie is picture-perfect and intoxicating presentation.

Watching Prasad is quite an experience, and it’s from the very opening scene and music of the film that gives realistic taste to audience. The audience would immediately be aware that they are witnessing a real life couple. Genuine life story, as audience view events unfolding in familiar manner, every shot coordinated to the story. Average looks of lead characters, setting of their room, old radio and other realistic scene that add credibility in visual description. The contrasts are magnificent. The characterization is vibrant, addictively rich. The movie shows life that we may encounter in coroners of Kathmandu. The chemistry between Bipin and Namrata is great. It’s warm and sensual, aggressive yet innocent. This is probably best credited to Bipin, managing to be as credibly passionate as he was in Jatra. Namrata and Nischal too have successfully brought the scripted character on screen. Constant flow of human sentiments like; happiness, sadness, mistrust, fear, sympathy, anger and realization, holds the audience in hall for Two hour fifteen minutes.

The songs were great hits, melodious as well as narrative in some case because part of story is successfully engraved in the song. The soundtrack helps to create transaction of scene and character’s mood — from happy to sad, hopeful to upset. For instance the title tracks “Lai Lai” sang by Ketan Chettri is used to illustrate the hardship of married couple and their doomed past that force them to leave village. The soundtrack also conveys suffering of characters harmonizes with story and adds more emotional vibes to the movie.

The story seems average in surface level but the subject matter is very contextual. The story has knitted subtle happiness of romantic pair which gradually progress to become the conflicting agony of childless couple. Though the movie is about childless couple it neither present the story of being barren not blames the social factor for such happening. Rather the story revolves around twist and turns in couple’s life and relation resulted by the context of childlessness. The movie portrays life cycle of lead character who were kicked out from rural village because of inter-caste marriage and migrated to home-alike single room at Kathmandu. Initially Baburam move on with life by capitalizing traditionally gifted skill of tailoring and his wife also find some job in Montessori school. Both husband and wife have no such expectation from each other, despite insufficiency they have managed to create happy life. During the progression of story, the woe of being childless hunt Narayani and the whole story moves around same context. The organic story, without any show-offs and polished scene interact with audience feeling. The movie features not many characters, no sensual scene, no fighting, no suspense surprise or attractive locations scene but it has all elements that take to be a realistic movie. Ranging from the cinematography technique to outlook of characters and robust presentation, the story adapts real Neplai society in microcosms of very few characters life.

Commercially it’s believed that the movie makers shouldn’t try teaching life to its audience in few hundred bucks rather it should entertain the viewers at any cost. Prasad remains in exception; because it serves both social and commercial purpose without any overt presentation like item songs or off-track scenes. The powerful presentation filled with intense love between couple, agony of being childless, role of social factor and attempts to hide truth for sake of relationship. And the way movie title ‘Prasad’ is justified at end, it depends on audience whether to accept that context or not.

However the movie is not good as expected by the audience especially after release of trailer and title song. In many cases the story feels monotonous and scenes are repeated to add more meaning to the context. Talking about Nischal Basnet’s performance, its average. The story has not given enough ground to express his talent and in some scene the role is unnecessarily stretched to maintain his presence in the movie. Some noticeable flaws like explicitly visible fake hair of Namrata, overt use of typical diction for realistic touch sometime make the conversation more unreal, Baburam’s inability to bear child and rape of Narayani could have been maintained as suspense, more focus to lead characters has shadowed others minors and camera focus scene look less movie and more alike documentary style.

Regardless of some shortcomings, if you are tired of watching forced romance and stupid comedies, Why not watch a film with a different presentation? Prasad is mixture of both artistic romance and subtle humour which definitely stand on new genres, creating a powerful cocktail of love, hatred, loneliness, fear and ultimate liberation. In short it’s worth watching for art lovers and new taste seekers. With few bucks audience will learn life as well as enjoy the hours.