Panchak Movie Review

Official poster of Panchak

In India, superstitious beliefs are deeply ingrained in daily life. Panchak released on 5th January directed by Jayant Jathar making it his directorial debut and Madhuri Dixit Nene and her husband Dr. Shriram Nene as first time producer, this movie offers a lighthearted take on the clash between superstition and science.

The narrative is set in the interior of the Konkan region. In his senior years, Ananta Khot (Dilip Prabhavalkar) passes away. The man's death during Panchak (Panchak belief, if a member of a family passes away during a specific astrological period, there will be five more deaths within a year—either from members of the same family or from others close to them) is realised by the family's priest, Joshi (Vidyadhar Joshi). Because they believe there would be five more deaths in a year, the entire Khot family and everyone close to them become terrified.

However, Ananta’s son Madhav (Aditnath Kothare) does not believe in such traditions since he is an atheist and a believer in science and rationality. He faces the wrath from Joshi and the entire family (played by Satish Alekar, Bharti Achrekar, Anand Ingle, Nandita Patkar, Deepti Devi and Ganesh Mayekar) for his outlook but he is unperturbed. What actually happens till a year from that period forms the rest of the story. The movie takes a toll on some absurd and rib-tickling humour that is nonetheless appropriate though they occasionally go into comedy.

The film's storytelling is somewhat lacking, with a limited development of its plot in the second half. While the first half keeps viewers engaged with a series of unfolding events as a result, the film relies more heavily on comedic elements and some scenes are stretched out in the second half, becomes repetitive and loses its impact.

But largely, Panchak tries to strike a balance between challenging superstitions and defending the ideas that underlie them, but for the most part, it never really gets after the core issue. At the end the movie eventually provides occasional moments of entertainment, but they don't last long.

All things considered, the comedy and the ensemble cast make Panchak worth seeing.

Star Ratings: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

-Shreya Raut