Praktan (প্রাক্তন meaning Former) is a 2016 Indian Bengali film directed by Nandita Roy and Shiboprosad Mukherjee. The film starred Prosenjit Chatterjee and Rituparna Sengupta. It brings back the Prosenjit Rituparna collaboration 14 years after Pratihinsa (2002). The theme of the film also spreads a suspicious speculation that the role played by Rituparna Sengupta has been moulded partially on Debashree Roy’s conjugal equation with Prosenjit Chatterjee.
The film released to a huge reception on 27 May 2016 worldwide. It also received the International Film Business Award 2016 for becoming the Highest Grossing Movie of the Year – Bengal alongside films like Kabaali, Sultan, Sairat and Action Hero Biju, at Indywood Film Carnival at Ramoji Film City. Praktan is also remade in Bollywood with the name Jalebi. The music is released by Amara Muzik.
Plot
Praktan (former) is basically about Ujaan Mukherjee (Prosenjit) and Sudipa (Rituparna) who have gone through a marriage that did not work. And Sudipa finds herself in a spot of bother as she realizes that Malini and Putul are none other than Ujaan’s present wife and daughter. Upset over the same, she clearly demonstrates that she has not completely forgiven Ujaan for whatever happened between them and seems to carry the burden of their memories. A common love for heritage and culture had seen the conservation architect from Mumbai, Sudipa fall in love with Ujaan, an explorer as he liked to call himself and someone who conducted walks of different nature all over Kolkata and nearby towns as a tourist guide. But, of course, life after marriage turned out to be unlike what they had expected leading to their eventual separation.
Over the course of the 30 odd hours of the train journey, we come across not just a way of knowing how all these passengers spend their time, but also get an insight into the failed marriage of Ujaan and Sudipa. Ujaan joins them at Nagpur after driving down by road to catch the train. He is surprised to find Sudipa in the same coupe as his family. A non-linear approach in a subtle manner is used to shift the focus on and off from the train journey to the relationship between the two individuals who started off being madly in love, only to see their marriage crumbling in front of their own eyes. They ensure that the focus is more or less only on these two individuals when their past is shown, there is a mention of Ujaan’s close friend and Sudipa’s parents, but they are never really shown. Even the rest of the family members of Ujaan are barely showcased in an attempt to take us through their relationship curve. Over the course of their story we also get to understand how and what went wrong in case of their marriage. Beginning with a sense of apprehension and even disgust in a way, it’s wonderful to see Sudipa gradually opening up to Malini and acknowledging how wrong she was in her assumption about her. There are many wonderful moments in the film, like the one where the old lady Sabitri Chatterjee complains to the railway attendant about the AC and other aspects in horrible Bangla-mixed Hindi as her husband Soumitra Chatterjee humorously points out later. Also, the way Ujaan and Sudipa manage to just about have a soulful discussion about their past and of course the interaction between Malini and Sudipa right at the end. Apart from the “Antakshari” sequence, there is hardly any interaction between the people on the coach. But then, this is essentially the story of Ujaan and Sudipa and their failed relationship. It’s wonderful to see how well-etched Malini’s character is and she is the one who in a way helps bring closure in the lives of both Ujaan and Sudipa.
Cast
Prosenjit Chatterjee as Ujaan Mukherjee
Rituparna Sengupta as Sudipa Sen
Aparajita Adhya as Malini / Molly Mukherjee
Biswanath Basu as Ajay
Manali Dey as Ajay’s wife
Soumitra Chatterjee as a train passenger
Aronnok as a train passenger
Sabitri Chatterjee as a train passenger
OronnOnil as a train passenger
Anupam Roy as himself
Anindya Chatterjee as himself
Sneha Das as herself
Upal Sengupta as himself
Surojit Chatterjee as himself
Sudipa Chatterjee as Sumi
Saswata Chattopadhyay as Sudipa’s husband (cameo)
Aveepsa Basak as Udita Mukherjee aka Putul, Molly and Ujaan’s daughter
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