Praana Review: Nithya Menen is excellent in this supernatural thriller

VK Prakash’s latest outing Praana had piqued the curiosity of cinephiles right from the time of its announcement as it has only Nithya as part of the cast. Made as a multilingual in Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi, the movie has some big names like Resul Pookutty and PC Sreeram associated with it.

Praana has Nithya playing a celebrated and controversial writer, Tara Anuradha, advocating for freedom in these intolerant times with her latest book ‘Music For Freedom’. She decides to go stay in a haunted house to prove a point that there’s no such thing as ghosts and what’s in store for her in that house forms the crux. It is a supernatural thriller that works mostly for its atmospherics and timely politics about freedom and intolerance that doesn’t let you live the way you might want to — in these trying times.

Director VK Prakash never lets you feel there is only one actor in the movie and has succeeded to a great extent in keeping the audience glued to the screen till the end, despite the predictability of its proceedings. Resul Pookutty’s sound design is one reason that warrants a watch in a screen equipped with the best sound system available. PC Sreeram’s visuals, as always, are a class apart.

Praana has its share of flaws but works big time in conveying a satisfactory picture of our times. And last but not the least, this is unarguably Nithya Menen’s best performance till date — bringing out vulnerabilities of her portrayal with such authenticity. There is also a superstar’s voice cameo in the film.

On the whole, Praana is a very daring attempt from VK Prakash that deserves a watch in big screen.

– Vivek Santhosh