Prahaar Review Roundup: Critics Praise Rajkummar Rao’s Turn as Ujjwal Nikam, Split on Whether the Film Fights Fair
Prahaar: The Untold Story of Ujjwal Nikam opened in cinemas on October 16, and critics have reached a familiar kind of verdict for a film built on a landmark real case: respect for the subject, admiration for the performances, and disagreement over how the story is told. Here is what reviewers are saying about Rajkummar Rao’s courtroom drama.
Directed by Avinash Arun and produced by Dinesh Vijan under the Maddock Films banner, Prahaar revisits special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam’s demanding legal battle to secure the conviction of Ajmal Kasab, the terrorist captured alive after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. Rao plays Nikam, with Wamiqa Gabbi as his wife, Jaideep Ahlawat as a Pakistani prosecutor who travels to India for the case, Sikandar Kher as Kasab’s defence lawyer Abbas Kazmi, Ashish Vidyarthi as the judge and Lalit Prabhakar as Kasab himself. Nikam himself has said the film is not a biopic of his, while praising Rao’s performance.
The ratings tell the story of a film critics found worthy but uneven. Aishani Biswas of Outlook India awarded it 3 out of 5, Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave it 2.5 stars, and Saibal of NDTV, Sana of India Today and Rishabh of Hindustan Times each gave it 3 stars, with Moneycontrol also landing at 3 and India TV at 2.5.
Critics largely agree the performances are the film’s strongest asset. Lalit Prabhakar’s portrayal of Kasab drew consistent praise, and Rao’s restrained take on the prosecutor was singled out even by reviewers who found fault elsewhere. Anuj Kumar of The Hindu praised the film’s respect for legal procedure, while Rahul Desai, reviewing for The Hollywood Reporter India, took a broader view — questioning not only how the film was made, but why a film of this kind was being made.
On the other side, reviewers repeatedly flagged pacing and an overlong focus on Nikam’s family life as weaknesses. India Today’s review argued that for a film about 26/11, the story rarely captures the full impact of the attack; Hindustan Times found the film caught between a courtroom drama and a family saga, losing grip on both.
At the box office, Prahaar collected Rs 11.60 crore nett in its first four days and stayed steady on Monday — a weekday trend that, with today’s Dussehra holiday boost, will decide how far this courtroom drama can stretch.
Note: Box-office figures are trade estimates. Review ratings reflect the critics’ published scores.
Source: Planet of Films review roundup
