Pradhan movie review: Dev shines in Avijit Sen's earnest and sincere cop drama

The journey of finding the actor in the image that Dev has created over the years as a superstar in Bengali cinema has been promising to witness. The actor, who is also a TMC MP, has been making careful choices, when it comes to his films over the past few years, even if the results have been a bit shaky at the outset. His latest release, Pradhan, however, impresses the most. Dev shines as Deepak Pradhan, an honest cop, who is transferred to a fictional village of Dharmapur, where he strikes up a chord with the locals. (Also read: Bigg Boss 17: Ankita Lokhande looks shocked as Vicky Jain tries to slap her on national TV during argument. Watch)

From what could have been a typical mainstream cop-drama with loud background music and louder fight sequences (the Singham references are not good), Pradhan rescues itself with an honest and sincere effort, keenly taking on the ground realities of political administration and voting policies. Dev, who also co-produced the film with Atanu Raychaudhuri, makes his presence felt, more so in a meta-commentary on his image as an actor-politician. This is one of his finest turns in years without a doubt.

Dev leads an ensemble cop drama

Pradhan begins, when Deepak announces that he has been transferred to Dharmapur. He shifts there with his newlywed wife Rumi (debutant Soumitrisha), and meets the landlord Jibon Krishna Sarkar (Paran Bandyopadhyay) and his wife Shanti (Mamata Shankar). There, he learns the history of the place with the help of another police officer Bibek (Soham Chakraborty), and of his landlord who is at loggerheads with the corrupt panchayat head Jatileshwar Mukherjee (Anirban Chakraborti). From here, Pradhan delves deep into the social issues that have erupted in the place- from midday meal scams in the local government school to the lack of elections in the village for over a decade.

Problems emerge primarily in the writing and the pacing. For instance, the primary issue with building a hotel in the area is not taken forward after a long sequence in the beginning. Even the conflict which arises when a sudden fire destroys several huts in the village is forgotten entirely. Moreover, the entire subplot involving Jibon Krishna Sarkar's son who stays in Calcutta feels oddly formulaic, adding no drive to the narrative framework. The film could have benefitted tremendously with a tighter editing.

The performances

Pradhan is restless and frequently predictable, but it is the actors, who propel the story forward with grace and conviction. Dev is quite effective, even though the body language does feel a little stoic in parts. Soumitrisha's character though, is underwritten. The biggest cheers arrive in the form of veteran actors Paran Bandopadhyay and Mamata Shankar- who are both reliably good as the elderly couple still holding onto one another through all the humiliation and heartbreak. Anirban Chakrabarti, meanwhile, finds restraint in his needlessly rhyming dialogues, offering a lot of calculated shrewdness to his underwritten antagonist.

Final thoughts

The extended vote count sequence in Pradhan offers a rare peak into what goes on inside the admittance of closed door politics. The scenes are well directed and edited, infusing a rare streak of surprise and intrigue. Pradhan raises important questions and ultimately emerges victorious because of its willingness to adapt them into the framework of a mainstream drama. Pradhan is an important film, and Dev deserves a cheer for pushing the story forward.

Entertainment! Entertainment! Entertainment! 🎞️🍿💃Click to follow our Whatsapp Channel 📲 Your daily dose of gossip, films, shows, celebrities updates all in one place