Prahaar Review: Rajkummar Rao Strong but Uneven – 2.5/5

There is a difference between a film that has a powerful story and a film that knows how to tell it. Prahaar has the first part in abundance: it revisits the 26/11 Mumbai attacks through the legal battle waged by government prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam. It is the second part, the telling, that proves shakier.

For Total Filmi readers, the review matters because it separates the film’s ambition from its execution. The question is not whether 26/11 matters; it is whether this particular version earns your time and ticket.

The film earns a 2.5/5 in the review, with much of the praise landing on Rajkummar Rao and the courtroom passages, and much of the frustration aimed at the runtime and the writing.

A legal lens on a familiar tragedy

Indian cinema has returned to 26/11 many times, so the choice to focus on the trial rather than the attack itself is a welcome shift. Director Avinash Arun places Nikam at the centre, moving between his prosecution strategy, Ajmal Kasab’s interrogation and the defence mounted by Sikandar Kher’s Qureshi. It is a setup with real dramatic potential: evidence, argument, national pressure and a divided public watching the case unfold.

The cast supports that intention. Lalit Prabhakar makes an impression as Kasab, Sikandar Kher is effective as the defence lawyer, and Jaideep Ahlawat uses his limited screen time well as Nazzar. Aashish Vidyarthi and Ritvik Sahore contribute decent turns, though Wamiqa Gabbi does not get enough substance to make a lasting impact.

When Prahaar stays inside the courtroom, the review says, it works. The courtroom exchanges allow Rao to bring conviction to Nikam, and the film’s courtroom dialogue lands lines such as “Justice delayed is justice denied” and “Justice hurried is justice buried” without over-explaining their meaning.

Where the momentum slips

The problem is what happens between those exchanges. At roughly 140 minutes, the film feels longer than it needs to be. The review points to subplots that add little: time with Nikam’s family and son, a sequence where Qureshi briefly considers leaving the case, another lawyer who contributes almost nothing, and an Islamabad inquiry thread that never develops. These detours interrupt the central conflict instead of deepening it.

The background score adds little tension and the songs feel unnecessary in a film about so grave a subject. The production design and cinematography are competent, but the editing is a mixed bag: a tighter cut could have removed repetitive passages and given the trial more force.

Here is the balance sheet the review draws:

• Strongest: Rajkummar Rao as Nikam, and the sharpest courtroom arguments.
• Weakest: the runtime, the inconsistent writing and the underused Wamiqa Gabbi.
• Verdict: a sincere 2.5/5 drama that comes close but does not land the knockout.

What a film fan should expect

That makes Prahaar a qualified watch. If you are the kind of viewer who shows up for Rajkummar Rao or for legal dramas built around real cases, the film has enough in its best scenes to hold your attention. If you are hoping for a tight, two-hour thriller, the review suggests you will feel the length.

The larger lesson is not new but matters for Hindi cinema: a serious subject cannot do its own storytelling. It needs a screenplay that stays with the strongest line of tension and a final edit that protects it. Prahaar has the subject, the lead actor and several fine performers; what it lacks is the discipline to let them carry the film from the first frame to the last.

Source: Deccan Chronicle