Prathichaya

Although Prathichaya’s visuals have the depth and sharpness found in today’s Malayalam cinema to an extent, thanks to Chandru Selvaraj’s cinematography, the writing never actually hits the mark and hovers around the middle, rendering the movie an old wine in a new bottle. While its overall visual fabric is serviceable, the frames aren’t always impressive, as the sheer number of tight and canted-angle shots is unnecessarily high.

Prathichaya ultimately feels like a film that had an idea but lacked the execution to make it engaging. Despite a few earnest performances and a premise that had the potential to explore the murky intersections of politics and media, the film struggles with a sluggish screenplay, predictable narrative beats, and uneven technical choices. What could have been a gripping political drama ends up being a tedious watch that rarely rises above its cliches. Unless you are a fan of the lead cast or the genre, this one might not justify the time.

A major reason is the underwhelming presence of its key players, especially Nivin Pauly and Sharaf U Dheen, who struggle to anchor this central conflict. The film’s old-fashioned, exposition-heavy writing does not help either. For instance, the verbose, overly idealistic climax, in particular, spells everything out instead of trusting the audience, diluting the impact of what could have been a sharp finish. Technically, Prathichaya benefits from Chandru Selvaraj’s refined cinematography, but the storytelling remains rooted in familiar templates and rarely generates a sense of urgency or intrigue. Malayalam political dramas have traditionally thrived on ideologically charged, hard-hitting dialogues, but here the lines seldom carry the desired weight. The contrast becomes all the more evident when veterans like Balachandra Menon and Sai Kumar deliver them with ease, conviction, and the required dramatics.