Praja (2001) User Reviews

Don't watch it more than once!

[kominbhai · 5/10 · 23 August 2009]

Go get a cup of coffee as Mohanlal starts reciting his dialog penned by the one and only Renji Panikker. In Panikker's world, everyone screams. No one is calm and everyone has got a bad temper which leads to scenes going over-the-top with explosive BGM, lines that never end and actors who look like they sat on a bee. Joshiy and Mohanlal does a lot to keep things consumable for the ordinary viewer but the dialogs are so full of patriotic fervor that anyone in the right sense may be nauseated.

I've watched this movie a dozen times now and I've to say I've started liking it for its sheer absurdness and for it being senselessly over- the-top. That's why I advise anyone with the right mind to not watch it more than once. But I've come to like it over repeated viewings that I give it five stars. The songs are decent, the production values are good and a whole bunch of villains are to be verbally and physically assaulted by Mohanlal. If you like that idea, then watch this movie. But don't forget your coffee!

Same 💩 different movie !!!

[winak · 4/10 · 21 May 2022]

There is a half hour Mohanlal monologue every 10 minutes which gets tiring. The other irritant is how all the shingdis are just waiting in line to edify Mohanlal at every given moment. Don't get me wrong Mohanlal is my favorite actor but the cockiness certain Directors portray his character rubs you the wrong way. Viewers are evolving and the old formula does not work anymore so stop making this kind of crap.

Theet movie, wouldn't recommend.

[Huehueh · 29 July 2021]

The lady who came out of the pool was nice though.

Political Warhead Aimed at Exposing the Filth of Indian Politics and Social Construct

[beharigo · 8/10 · 4 August 2019]

This movie is filled with instances of unrest every rational right minded Indian experiences, throughout his/her life. From the beginning, in the scene where a car with a red board and a siren is allowed to pass through a security check without interruption, in the assumption that it is a minister, an explosion of a common man's frustration starts. Mohanlal spits out strong and deep dialogues which when listened keenly, can be understood to be Ranji Panikker's thoroughly perfected attempt to strike into the audience's conscience and logic, the double (or multiple) standards that the 'controlling class' of the Indian society deploys over the law. This continues on in almost every crucial scene in the movie.

In the next crucial scene where the women of the charitable trust are labelled as prostitutes, the train of dialogues by Mohanlal try to deroot the conventional orthodox prejudiced outlook that the society has on prostitutes in general.

Also, in the newspaper office scene brings into light how the media is manipulative and the extent of bias they are willing to do, for the right compensations. And especially, the character of the chief editor and his description is a direct reference to 'Malayala Manorama', the most popular and influential newspaper in Malayalam.

The scene in the Home Minister's office where he boasts about all the plunders he has executed on the general public, and how he pictures his party followers as dumb fools, and all the other minor dialogues in between paints a crisp picture of what the personalities of most Indian politicians are.

Many other scenes continue to follow the same depth and weight of dialogues with a powerful BGM that amplifies the emotion of the wonder that the audience experience after Ranji Panicker's attempt (as mentioned before) proves successful.

And in the final scene, where he throws the remote control to the bomb planted on the proprietators of numerous public adversities, into the mob of citizens, the chaos of the public itself brings an end to the wrongdoers.

The film is also scattered with elements of communal harmony. And in one scene, it is exposed how people in power try to disrupt it to create divide among the society for their own narrow interests.

The political and social ideology of Ranji Panicker and his wide-read knowledge is evident from the script, through his references scattered throughout. The direction as such is something that wouldn't be considered upto par with today's standards. But it was, during 2001. The pace of the movie, the cuts and edits etc seem turbulent. And as with almost every Indian movies during that time, there are lots of unwanted scenes that makes everything overdramatic and unrealistic. Also, the songs that come in between for no reason whatsoever, are also unnecessary peices for the atmosphere of the film and concpt. But, that was the trend back then. No movie could become commercially successful without songs and dance.

1 of the very best in Indian cinema history and 1 of Mohanlals best performances; definitely Oscar award worthy

[malayalese · 22 December 2011]

The fool that wrote the review for this movie must think he is some journalist or professional critic. I don't know who put him in charge but please do not go by his comments. He is obviously an uneducated unemployed fool who has nothing better to do. That's why he comes on here and makes ridiculously long comments. We will need coffee to stay awake from reading his long boring review. He also has not had the privilege to see it in theater. Praja is one of those movies that you can never quite get enough of. It is very realistic. Don't watch it if you are used to some romantic fantasy movie which is very common in bollywood movies and the terrible malayalam movies of today.

Renji Pancker and Joshy have done a great tremendous job. This is one of the very best movies in malayalam cinema history. It is also one of the very best performances of Mohanlal. Shammi Thilakan's character as "Balaraman" was also very noticeable and highly acclaimed. Renji Panicker is a journalist who sends his message, the truth, through awe-inspiring movies like Praja, Pathram, Mafia, Thalasthanam, Commissioner, etc. The other reviewer on here doesn't even know who renji panciker or who joshy is.