Panther Film Review
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Panther Film Review
Anshuman Pratyush's debut film Panther (2019), starring Jeetendra Madnani (Jeet) and Shraddha Das, goes beyond the fight against terrorism and instead presents a patriotic protagonist who is portrayed as a mortal superhero. Set against the backdrop of a turbulent period in the country, the film chooses to veer away from the harsh reality of terrorism and the underlying political dynamics, opting for a fictionalized account of a Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) agent's mission to save a city from a terrorist attack, adopting a fairy tale-like approach.
The film follows a simple and linear plot. The protagonist, Panther (Jeet), makes a promise to eradicate terrorism from its roots, but in the film, he only manages to apprehend two masterminds responsible for separate serial blasts in a highly unrealistic manner. The focus of the film remains on Panther's personal journey, with occasional elements of humor provided by the character of RAW agent Spider, portrayed by Saswata Chatterjee, who serves as an ethical hacker. Fortunately, there is no melodramatic romantic subplot between Ziya (Shraddha Das) and Panther, as they work together as companions in their mission.
The oversimplified depiction of fighting terrorism through merely killing or capturing the terrorists is not a sensible approach. Instead of eradicating the evil through analysis and step-by-step actions, a war-like scenario is depicted in the film. The characters fighting the terrorists in the film are RAW agents and their characterisation is highly fictionalised, with no complexities whatsoever.
While on the one hand, the portrayal of the terrorists is quite stereotypical in terms of their religious identity, the film strikes a balance between introducing characters such as RAW chief Jahangir (Santilal Mukherjee) and his daughter Ziya, going beyond the staple markers of religious identity.
In the beginning of the film, Panther (Jeet), the most trusted and successful undercover agent of RAW, miraculously saves a school from the threat of some dreaded terrorists by killing them down and also captures their chief. The responsible terror outfit then demands the release of the chief and threatens to blow up several places in Mumbai and Kolkata if the government fails to abide by their demands.
The terrorists succeed in their attacks in Mumbai and hence, the ministers and the RAW agents reckon an emergency situation. They decide to release the detained, but Panther assures them to uproot terrorism from its roots. The dedicated undercover agent makes a trip to Al Dera, Saudi Arabia to hunt for the mastermind of the blasts and there, he encounters Jahangir and his daughter Ziya.
In the second half of the film, for certain amount of time, the plot seems a bit clumsy and it takes time to figure out the operation Panther is actually undertaking. Instead of melodramatic romance sequence, there are few scenes of emotional exchange between Ziya and Panther, probably kept intentionally to bring out the softer shades of Panther as a human being.
Jeet’s presence on the screen is confident and commanding. He seems to have done the stunts himself, which adds to the primary objective of promoting hero-worship in the film. His act is not nuanced for the script doesn’t demand any. His character is fearless and he considers his entire country to be his family. In the film, when he is asked whether he is a Bengali, he proudly replies to be an Indian, above all. Jeet magnifies all the attributes that are required in a dedicated patriotic fighter.
Saswata Chatterjee does full justice to his character of a skilful hacker with attributes of a buffoon. His comic timing is apt and he manages to bring out the apparent anxiety of his character, while ultimately, proving to be a brave soul.
Santilal Mukherjee’s character is also partially funny. Though his appearance as Jahangir is brief, he manages to create an interesting aura about him in the short span of narrative.
Sudip Mukherjee fits well in his character of a responsible RAW agent with his restrained act and baritone voice. Rupanjana Mitra’s act as the minister is rather average.
Debutante actress Shraddha Das’s expressions are mostly one-dimensional.
Suddho Roy’s background score is more sensational than required and also, reminds one of the television mega serials.
Ramyadip Saha’s cinematography is clean. Along with him, editor MD Kalam has managed to magnify Jeet’s aura in the entire film as much as possible. Both of them have also been able to retain the charm of the extremely unrealistic action sequences in the film.
The film serves no purpose but to delude the masses, who are hardly aware of the grave and intense scenario of terrorism and the politics involved in it. However, the film is more or less without technical flaws. Leaving aside a few loopholes, Panther is made with the purpose of engaging the audience.