Avinash Arun’s Prahaar: The Ujjwal Nikam Story is running in theatres, with Rajkummar Rao as Ujjwal Nikam, the special public prosecutor known for sending Ajmal Kasab to the gallows. The film follows the legal battle after the 26/11 attacks, not the attack itself.
Jaideep Ahlawat plays Chaudhary Zulfiqar, a Pakistani public prosecutor who travels to India for the case. Sikandar Kher is defence lawyer Abbas Kazmi, Wamiqa Gabbi plays Nikam’s wife, and Lalit Prabhakar appears as Kasab.
Fair process over loud jingoism
The film’s best stretch, according to The Hindu’s review, is the Indian state’s effort to run a scrupulously fair trial on a tight clock so it could hold Pakistan to account in global forums. Writer Sumit Roy avoids a jingoistic spectacle and keeps due process, human rights and the judiciary’s ethical concerns in focus.
That restraint is also the film’s central tension. The review says Prahaar is caught between a nuanced legal procedural and the commercial pull of an emotionally satisfying, patriotic mass spectacle.
How the performances carry it
- Rajkummar Rao gets Nikam’s gait, walk and pitch right, though the review finds more technical polish than raw vulnerability.
- Jaideep Ahlawat brings dignity to the Pakistani prosecutor, showing that the burden of state conflict weighs on both sides.
- Lalit Prabhakar makes Kasab unpredictable, moving beyond a one-dimensional terrorist.
- Sikandar Kher turns defence lawyer Abbas Kazmi into a vital part of constitutional integrity.
- Dior Ranju Varghese is excellent as Komal, whose eyewitness account of the CST station attack brings home the human cost.
Why the trade-off matters
Many Hindi films have covered 26/11 from different angles, but a courtroom drama that stays with the prosecutor offers a different entry point. It gives an impersonal legal system a human centre, while refusing to turn terrorists into shouting villains.
The cost is a slightly blunted film. Nikam’s family scenes stay predictable, and the lead performance feels less raw than Rajkummar Rao’s earlier lawyer act in Shahid. That may be the price of balancing legal nuance with mainstream scale.
Should you watch it?
If you like courtroom films that respect due process more than revenge, Prahaar is worth a theatre watch. If you want a full-throated patriotic spectacle, its measured tone may not land as strongly. Either way, the film is currently running in theatres.
Source: The Hindu