Prassthanam: Did Sanjay Dutt’s Film Take a Dig at Salman Khan’s Race 3 for ‘Borrowing’ the Big Twist From the Original Telugu Film? (SPOILER ALERT)

Before you read ahead, let me clarify here that the below article contains huge spoilers about Prassthanam and Race 3. If you have not watched either of the films, either don't proceed or read ahead at your own risk. Prassthanam and Race 3 are two different films, genre and content-wise. Prassthanam, that has Sanjay Dutt in the lead, is a grim political thriller revolving around a dysfunctional family. Salman Khan's Race 3, on the other hand, was presented as a slick action thriller with two songs written by Bhai himself, and it ended up being one of the worst films of the decade. While they both sound very disparate products, both Race 3 and Prassthanam share one thing in common - their big, best twist. Prassthanam Movie Review: Watch This Crime Thriller for Sanjay Dutt, Ali Fazal and Satyajeet Dubey’s Terrific Performances.

Hindi audiences who have seen Prassthanam may agree with us if we say that it is more or less 'Sarkar meets Race 3'. Sarkar in the way Sanjay Dutt's character is presented in the film and how the web of deceit unfolds in the movie. Which feels very similar to what we saw in the Amitabh Bachchan-Ram Gopal Varma film.

So what about Race 3?

Now Race 3 has a lot of twists, but the best one was the revelation that Anil Kapoor who played the paternal uncle/step-father to Salman Khan's character is the killer of his father. Similarly, in Prassthanam, Sanjay Dutt's benevolent character is revealed to have killed the father of his stepson, played by Ali Fazal, thus unveiling the fact that he is, after all, a very selfish, dangerous man. Salman Khan's Race 3, Aamir Khan's Thugs of Hindostan - 20 Most Incredible WTF Scenes in 2018's Biggest Movies!

Now, before you start chanting, 'Chor Chor', you have to remember one thing. Prassthanam is an official remake of the director Deva Katta's 2010 Telugu film, Prasthanam. Those who have seen both the versions would agree that the Hindi adaptation is a very faithful remake, retaining nearly every plot element, every twist from the original. Which also means that it is the other way round - Race 3's big twist is inspired by the Telugu film, which stars Sharwanand, Sai Kumar and Sundeep Kishan.

Here's the video review of Prassthanam:

Interestingly, Deva Katta pays a winking nod to this 'inspiration' in Prassthanam. There is a scene where Ali Fazal and Amyra Dastur's characters are watching a movie in a theatre, before Fazal's character dodges an assassination attempt on his life. The movie they were watching? Race 3! And the scene that was playing on the screen - the reveal of Amil Kapoor as the baddie.

This is a nice hint to the big reveal ahead in the climax of Prassthanam. At the same time, it is also a playful nod to the fact that Race 3 has nicely lifted the twist from the original. All said and done, can we please have an answer to why there were so many similarities to Sarkar in Prassthanam?

Prassthanam also stars Jackie Shroff, Manisha Koirala, Satyajeet Dubey, Chunky Pandey, and Zakir Hussain. The movie has released all over India on September 20.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 20, 2019 08:01 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).