Prahaar: The Final Attack
Encyclopedia
Movie plot
Peter D'Souza (Gautam Joglekar), wants to join the Indian Army (commando wing). People have various views about it: His father John wants Peter to run their bakery after him, his fiancée Shirley (Madhuri DixitMadhuri Dixit
Madhuri Dixit is an Indian film actress who has appeared in Hindi films. Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, she established herself as one of Hindi cinema's leading actresses and most accomplished dancers. She appeared in numerous commercially successful films and was recognised for several of...
) wants him to marry her while his neighbour Kiran (Dimple Kapadia
Dimple Kapadia
Dimple Chunnibhai Kapadia is an Indian film actress. She made her acting debut at the age of 16, playing the title role in Raj Kapoor's teen romance Bobby . In that same year she married Indian actor Rajesh Khanna, and retired from acting. Kapadia returned to films in 1984 after her separation...
) tells Peter to follow his heart. Peter leaves for the Army.
Enter Major Pratap Chavhan (Nana Patekar
Nana Patekar
Vishwanath "Nana" Patekar is an Indian actor and filmmaker.-Biography:Born Vishwanath Patekar in Murud-Janjira, Maharashtra, to Dinkar Patekar and his wife Sanjanabai Patekar. He is an alumnus of the Sir J.J...
). Chavhan is described as a nightmare for every aspiring cadet, and he proves that the "honour" is well deserved. He has a sordid past: His mother was a kothewali (a woman who dances and entertains rich people privately to earn money), who was probably sold to one of her customers. That was the last time Pratap saw her.
The unit resents Pratap's attitude, but this same attitude moulds them into a formidable unit. Later in a rescue operation headed by Pratap, Peter loses his leg. Peter is honourably awarded and discharged from the Army. He invites Pratap to his marriage ceremony. Pratap agrees, though he is not able to attend the wedding.
Some months later, Pratap goes to Peter's address, expecting to meet him and his bride. Instead, a neighbour tells him casually that Peter is dead. Pratap learns many shocking truths of Peter's area. He learns that Kiran's son is an orphan adopted by her. Kiran's husband died in "mysterious circumstances" just as Peter did. Kiran suffered a miscarriage in that accident.
But what blows Pratap's lid off is the information about Peter's death: Kiran tells Pratap that a criminal was extorting money from people. Peter refused to pay and challenged his supremacy. The criminal killed Peter in front of the whole locality, while Peter fought like a soldier till his end. Pratap is even more outraged to find that not a single person, not even Peter's father, is willing to testify against the criminal.
Pratap starts his crusade against the murderer, only to attract the ire of the murderer and the society. When society and police turn out to be of no help, Pratap takes matters in his own hands. To demoralize Pratap, the criminal sends his men to harass Shirley and Kiran. When the men try to outrage the modesty of Kiran, Pratap vents his fury on them. He kills the goons single handedly and avenges Peter's murder by killing his murderer.
But there is something more shocking in store for Pratap. Instead of being thankful to him for getting rid of the criminals, the people beat him up and hand him over to police (mostly due to the fear that violence may increase after the goons death). A case is made against Pratap, where he is accused of abusing his powers to break the law.
An outraged Pratap blasts all the people testifying against him and, in a fervent speech, reminds them of all the hardships suffered by their forefathers and security personnel to keep them safe. He blames that people have become to feeble to oppose injustice and, unless this changes, someone like him will have to take law in his hands.
The court accepts his reasoning but sends him to a mental institution, keeping his military designations intact. Kiran meets him with her son, where she sees that Pratap is hopeful of the future. Pratap is seen imagining a naked 6-year-old running with a rifle in his hand. The movie ends with a sequence of Major Chavhan giving army training to hundreds of children.
Trivia
- None of the actors wore any makeup during filming.
- Many of the street scenes used ordinary people who received no acting lessons.
- General Vijay Kumar SinghVijay Kumar SinghGeneral Vijay Kumar Singh PVSM, AVSM, YSM, ADC is the 26th General of the Indian Army and the current Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army.- Early Life and education:...
PVSMParam Vishisht Seva MedalParam Vishisht Seva Medal is a military award of India. It was constituted in 1960 and since then till 1980, it was awarded in recognition to peace-time service of most exceptional order.-External links:...
, AVSMAti Vishisht Seva MedalAti Vishisht Seva Medal is a military award of India given to recognize "distinguished service of an exceptional order" to all ranks of the armed forces....
, YSMYudh Seva MedalYudh Seva Medal is one of India's military decorations for Wartime Distinguished Service. It is awarded for a high degree of distinguished services in an operational context. "Operation context" includes times of war, conflict, or hostilities. The award is a Wartime equivalent of Vishisht Seva...
, ADC, the 26th Chief of Army StaffChief of Army Staff of the Indian ArmyThe Chief of the Army Staff is the commander and usually the highest-ranking officer of the Indian Army. The position is abbreviated as COAS in Indian Army cables and communication....
of the Indian ArmyIndian ArmyThe Indian Army is the land based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. With about 1,100,000 soldiers in active service and about 1,150,000 reserve troops, the Indian Army is the world's largest standing volunteer army...
cameoed in the movie as a Lieutenant ColonelLieutenant colonelLieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
. He appears on-screen when a ColonelColonelColonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
briefs MajorMajorMajor is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
Chavhan on the mission to rescue school kids who are held hostage by militants. The Colonel says, "We have some slides of the area; ColonelLieutenant colonelLieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
V. K. Singh will explain it to you." - The song "Dhadkan Zara Ruk Gayi Hai" features the famous music director Aadesh ShrivastavaAadesh ShrivastavaAadesh Shrivastava is an Indian composer and singer. Over the course of his career, he has composed the music for over 100 Hindi films. His wife Vijeta Pandit is a former Bollywood actress and the sister of the composer duo Jatin Lalit...
. He is seen playing the violin in the background.