Purusha Pretham Movie Review: Krishand's Refreshingly Subversive Cop Satire is Boosted By Prashanth Alexander and Jagadish's Standout Performances (LatestLY Exclusive)

Purusha Pretham Movie Review: Krishand should be on your list of Indian directors to watch if you enjoy quirky films. His sophomore film, Aavasavyuham, pleasantly surprised me with how well it transitioned from comic satire to sci-fi to revenge drama to infotainment while remaining within the format of mockumentary. Purusha Pretham, his third film, may not be as tight as Aavasavyuham, but it continues to defy us (in a good way) by subverting our expectations while extracting fantastic performances from the cast, particularly Prashanth Alexander, Jagadish, Darshana Rajendran, and Devaki Rajendran. Purusha Pretham Streaming Date and Time: Here’s How To Watch Darshana Rajendran – Krishand’s Sony LIV Film Online.

The title 'Purusha Pretham' refers to an anonymous male corpse found floating in the river one fine day, and the headaches it causes the police department. Especially to SI Sebastian (Prashanth Alexander), also known among his colleagues as 'Super Sebastian' for his tall tales of valour, and his subordinate Dileep (Jagadish), who is only a few months away from retirement.

Since no one identifies the body and the hospital mortuary runs out of space to continue keeping it there, Sebastian and Dileep are left with no option but to bury the corpse before the stipulated 7-day period at a local graveyard (which is merely a wasteland). Trouble comes for them the very next day when an NRI woman named Susanna (Darshana Rajendran) arrives and claims that the dead body could be her husband who has been missing for six months.

Partly not wanting to exhume the body and partly sure that the corpse isn't that of her husband's, Sebastian tries to convince Susanna that the dead man isn't her spouse but to no avail. This leads to a complicated legal mess and plenty of headaches for the whole department, as Sebastian and Dileep try to figure out who this Purusha Pretham is.

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To be honest, I had some difficulty adjusting to Krishand's new film at first. The extended intro act for its protagonist rambled on, and many of the jokes didn't work as well as they should have. Even the framing, editing and background score choices used here are something that you need getting familiarised with.

Like, for example, many times the characters are placed near the side or corner of the frame and it is a camera gimmick that I really found annoying at first. Towards the end, I may be wrong but I think what the director tried for here is going for mirror framing. This I began to suspect when I found the closing act reflecting the opening act of the film. I also found the film struggling with my attention early on when the film made incursions away from the main 'corpse' plotline and into the lives of Sebastian and Dileep (more so to establish them better as characters but still...). The satirical treatment of the police workings has its moments in these portions, but sometimes they feel stretched. Like, I found the 'play' between cops of two stations to push the body to each other's territories funny enough, but the scene loses that quality when it keeps going on.

However, Purusha Pretham truly finds its groove with me with the arrival of Susanna and the problems she brings for the police. The incursion into the red tape mess and the 'passing the blame' game the cops play with each other make the film more engrossing, The highlight of the first half is the sequence when the cops try to exhume the body but finds another major complication for them there. From hereon, there is no turning back for Purusha Pretham as the film just getting better, and what's more, like Aavasavyuham, dexterously jumping genres from satire to cop procedural thriller to, surprisingly, romance and then even more surprisingly, noir towards the end.

In between, the film also brings about some glaring social issues like caste discrimination, domestic abuse, system abuse, lack of infrastructure but never do they overshadow the main narrative. Some of the gags I found annoying at the start start getting better payoff when the film gets going, like the 'Operation Citrus' subplot where police stations are asked to serve lemonade to visitors, cops and even criminals. There are also some other comic gems that left me in guffaws like a policeman bringing his daughter's toy binoculars to the crime scene for his senior to observe. Or a cop getting beaten up by a service staff while the poster of Suriya's Singam glares proudly in the foreground. Best Films of 2022: From Mammootty's Rorschach to Kunchacko Boban's Nna Thaan Case Kodu, 11 Best Malayalam Films of the Year and Where to Watch Them Online.

Even most of the onscreen cops get interesting distinct personalities that make us invested in them. Sebastian is a man struggling with the 'male hero' personality he made up for himself, from sharpening his moustache when he sees a mirror to thinking himself as this brave cop when handling a sticky situation but in reality, is fumbling there. Dileep is caught between his caste identity, troubles at home, his senior's bossing and the dilemma of keeping a ring from the corpse for himself that plays a major role later on. Even the supporting 'cops' like a senior officer who is also a popular TV actor, an awkwardly English speaking Tamilian commissioner, Sebastian's legion of fans all managed to shine when needed.

When it comes to the performances, it is nice to see Prashanth Alexander getting his moment to shine in the sun (Hindi audience might know him as one of Arjun Kapoor's associates in India's Most Wanted), and he takes awesome advantage of it. In the initial sequences, he reminded me of late actor Sukumaran when the latter used to play cops on screen. However, as the crisis deepens, Alexander comes to his own, particularly in the scenes where he needs to show his vulnerability and fears.

Veteran actor Jagadish, who once enthralled us with his comic performances, is going through an amazing second innings phase of his career with a spew of 'serious' performance. After being impressive in Rorschach, Kaapa and Mukundan Unni Associates, Jagadish is once again stupendous as the head constable on the verge of retirement. Darshana Rajendran's role may not be as big as expected and she plays a character more aged than she is IRL, but the actress continues to impress, especially in the final act. Devaki Rajendran stands out as Sebastian's sexual paramour, who later becomes an integral part of his life and also in his career mess. The rest of the cast are all fabulous, including Jeo Baby, Maala Parvathi, Sreejith Babu, Sanju Sivram, James Eliya, Geethi Sangeetha et al.

Final Thoughts

Give it some time to settle and there is a high chance that you will come away impressed with Krishand's third feature film Purusha Pretham. Oscillating between cop satire, investigative thriller and noir, the film bowls you over with some smart writing and directing, and excellent performances from the cast. Purusha Pretham is streaming on SonyLIV.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 24, 2023 11:23 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).