Prem Pratigyaa

Bapu's 'Prem Pratigyaa' is a according to me one of Indian Cinema's finest films. A powerful film, that packs solid punch. A film that was a major blockbuster at the box office during it's time of release, and has remained a fan-favorite for one and all.

The songs are simply superb, Pyar Kabhie Kam Nahin Karna... man what melody. A song that touches your heart.

The performances are brilliant: Mithun Chakraborty is fantastic. Watch his body language throughout the film, and you'll realize what a great talent this True Legend is. Madhuri is astounding, her careers strongest performance. Note her expressions in the final scene, when Mithun comes out of the jail, you'll be awe-struck. Ranjeet is first-rate as conniving villain. late actor Nilu Phule is amazing as Madhuri's dad. Satish Kaushik is lovable as Mithun's friend. late actor Vinod Mehra is excellent. The comedy track between Aruna Irani & Devan Varma is hilarious.

'Prem Pratigyaa' is a classic affair. Two Big Thumbs Up!

Just as a film, there's nothing about Prem Pratigyaa you will find unusual - it's just one of those regular low-budget potboilers which would often sink without a trace, but this one is special. The story is not very different - a local goon with a golden heart collects a young orphaned beauty and falls in love with her in the process. But the handling is better than expected - yes, there are unnecessary subplots and other distractions which make the film a little draggy, but the core story is wonderfully done. There are casual action sequences, but the story between the two leads is the film's highlights and far surpasses everything else in it.

Prem Pratigyaa stars Mithun Chakraborty, a talented film star who by that time had certainly been the most prolific actor of that decade, does a brilliant job. But the film belongs to Madhuri Dixit. Breathtakingly beautiful, she is absolutely convincing all through and rises above the script with her transparent and sincere performance. The romance between the two is very credible, and it culminates in one of the film's best scenes and followed by one of its beautiful songs - "Pyar Kabhi", composed by Bappi Lahiri and sung by Lahiri and the legendary Asha Bhosle. The film is not a particularly great film, but it's worth visiting once.

Raja was the King of Kirana Bazar and the surrounding areas - His law was pay 'Hafta' and live peacefully. In case of defiance, Raja's muscled arms had enough strength to punish the culprit. On the other hand, there was Laxmi, a Tiffin Carrier girl, who not only defied Raja but condemned him publicly for squeezing the blood of poor and hard working people in the form of 'Hafta'. Raja couldn't do a bit against her - Because Raja was grateful to Laxmi's Dadu(grandpa), a cart-puller, who had sympathy for him before. It so happened - Dadu breathed his last while pulling the cart in scorching sun, and municipality squad demolished the 'Jhoopad Patti', where laxmi was living - making her homeless. In the night, when Laxmi was sleeping on Dadu's cart, Kallu, a local gunda, tried to molest her. Raja reached the spot in time, rescued Laxmi and forced her to live in his house.

Bastiwala branched Laxmi as Raja's keep. And Raja was ashamed of himself so much that he silently vowed to provide happiness to Laxmi by turning into a working man. The process of reciprocation of feeling started. Raja and Laxmi became the darlings of Bastiwalas. They proposed them to get married - And then came in Professor - for whom Laxmi was working as a maid servant once - with the proposal of marrying her. Raja faced the dilemma of giving Laxmi happiness...

Due to its age, the plot is simple, setting rather shoddy, and the makeup outdated, but both the leading actor and actress showed subtle depth with the development of characters. 3/10 for the script, 8/10 for the performance.

Prem Pratigyaa review :

Directed by Bapu and adapted from a Tamil hit, Prem Pratigyaa was a touching romantic drama featuring Mithun Chakraborty and Madhuri Dixit in lead roles. Mithun da was outstanding as the kind hearted goon who mends his ways for the sake of love. His pairing with Madhuri was always successful at the box office - Ilaaka (1989), Mujrim (1989), Prem Pratigyaa and Pyar Ka Devta (1991). Thats a 100% success ratio. Wow! Something La Dixit couldn't achieve with her favorite hero Anil Kapoor also...

Anyway, coming back to Prem Pratigyaa, Madhuri played a 'dabbewali' who is tormented by the local thug Ranjeet. Mithun da saves her 'izzat' and falls in love with her. But then, a rich and educated professor Vinod Mehra enters the frame offering marriage to Madhuri and our poor Mithun da decides to sacrifice his love...

Bapu's direction was competent and Prem Pratigyaa makes for a wholesome family entertainment. I remember seeing the film in its second week at Badal Bijlee, Matunga. It took a slow start at the box office then but picked up through strong word of mouth and ran for a year in Mumbai. Main theatre was Alankar Cinema where it celebrated a jubilee run.

Prem Pratigyaa is one of Mithun Chakraborty's highly underrated performance and his fans just can't afford to miss it. The background tune on his entry itself, will set them clapping...

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.

Mithun Chakraborty is not only an originator of modern trend in Bollywood but also the Master of executing low budget flick.Prem Pratigyaa is one of the perfect example of it. Director of the film Bapu is a renowned film maker who usually deals with Social problems at down trodden belt. Previously he made two classics with Mithun i.e Hum Panch and Pyari Bahana.Story, Screen play, direction, sets of Prem Pratigyaa are simple which depicts a love story of a bad guy who later turns into a good responsible guy due to Love. The film is shoot in a limited sphare with limited expenditure.But the major grace point of the film are power packed Perfomence from the lead actors.It is one of the best performence of Madhuri in her early days and she is also nominated for best actress category in Filmfare award.Satis Koushik as Mithun's companion, Ranjit as villain, Vinod Mehra as Professor all justify the scripts. Mithun's expression , intense of acting are superb.In the scene where Mithun rescued Madhuri from Ranjit , his expression and dialogue delivery is completely different when Mithun is bleeded with Ranjit but not to take revenge against Ranjit due to his word to Madhuri.This proves versatileness of Mithun even in a low budget flick. In the song Sheesha ki umra, Mithun's put all his pain, grevances, frustration in his dance moves.Here dance is not a a mere dance ,it is a weapon to tell your feelings.A superstar gives his everything in a comparatively low budget movie and makes the movie hit and this is the speciality of Mithun. Music by Bappi Lahiri is good.Two songs specially Pyaar Kabhi Kam nahi karna and Sheesha ki umro Pyaar ki become Superhit. This film is certainly remembered as one of the best in both Mithun and Madhuri's career. Three 'M' i.e Mithun, Madhuri and Music make the film eight out of ten.