Rating:
1.5/5
Star
Cast:
Rajeev
Khandelwal,
Sameksha
Singh,
Atul
Kulkarni,
Vikram
Gokhale,
Abhimanyu
singh
Director:
Sanjiv
Jaiswal
'A
tribute
to
classic
Indian
cinema',
well,
that's
what
the
makers
claim
before
rolling
the
start
credits
in
Rajeev
Khandelwal's
'Pranaam'.
But,
a
few
minutes
into
the
film
and
you
realise
this
is
not
what
you
had
signed
up
for.
'Pranaam'
begins
with
an
injured
man
struggling
his
way
towards
his
humble
abode.
The
film
hits
the
flashback
button
and
we're
served
a
platter
full
of
troupes,
which
probably
most
of
us
believe
Bollywood
should
do
away
with.
Our
protagonist
Ajay
(Rajeev
Khandelwal)
is
a
dutiful
son
who
wants
to
fulfill
his
father's
dream
of
seeing
him
become
an
IAS
officer.
When
he
stumbles
upon
his
peon-father
picking
up
leftover
plates
at
a
restaurant
to
earn
extra
income
to
meet
their
ends,
Ajay
is
devastated
and
takes
up
a
job
as
a
watchman.
However,
an
unfortunate
incident
changes
his
life
forever
and
compels
him
to
become
a
gangster.
While
'Pranaam'
is
supposed
to
be
a
tribute
to
the
era
of
the
80s,
instead,
it
appears
largely
to
be
a
film
stuck
in
a
time
warp.
Director
Sanjiv
Jaiswal,
who
is
also
the
writer
of
the
film,
fails
miserably
in
holding
your
attention
for
long.
The
inconsistent
screenplay,
tacky
dialogues
and
the
excessive
melodrama
pull
down
the
film
by
several
notches.
Speaking
about
the
performances,
Rajeev
Khandelwal
who
was
quite
impressive
in
'Aamir',
is
seen
here
hamming
and
looks
quite
uncomfortable
in
his
dialogue-delivery
in
certain
portions.
His
leading
lady,
Sameksha
Singh
puts
up
a
forgettable
show.
Even
the
talented
Atul
Kulkarni
appears
a
bit
cocky
with
the
way
his
character
is
shaped
up
in
the
film.
Vikram
Gokhale
ends
up
with
an
unsubstantial
role.
Abhimanyu
Singh's
menacing
act
lacks
novelty
factor.
The
rest
of
the
cast
has
nothing
much
to
offer.
Akashdeep
Pandey's
cinematography
is
average.
On
the
other
hand,
the
film
suffers
from
tacky
editing.
None
of
the
songs
leave
an
impact
and
instead,
only
add
minutes
to
the
run-time.
In
one
of
the
sombre
scenes
in
the
film,
a
character
tells
the
other,
"Hum
zindagi
ko
nahin
zindagi
humko
plan
karti
hai."
Thankfully,
the
audience
has
the
option
of
skipping
this
one.
I
am
going
with
1.5
stars.