Prahaar Movie Review: Rajkummar Rao Commands the Courtroom, Lalit Prabhakar Delivers a Chilling Performance
Avinash Arun’s courtroom drama revisits the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks through public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam’s pursuit of justice, bringing together an impressive ensemble and a story where the strength of the legal process matters as much as the eventual verdict.
Swati Bhat
Some battles are fought with weapons. Others are fought with evidence, patience and an unwavering belief in the law. Prahaar: The Untold Story of Ujjwal Nikam belongs to the latter category, revisiting one of India's most traumatic chapters through a man whose greatest responsibility was not simply to secure a conviction, but to ensure that justice followed the law.
Released in cinemas on October 16, 2026, the Dinesh Vijan-produced film stars Rajkummar Rao as special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, whose prosecution of Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist captured during the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, became one of the country's most closely followed legal battles.
Directed by Avinash Arun, Prahaar shifts attention from the familiar spectacle of the attacks to their complicated judicial aftermath. Early critical responses indicate that the film's greatest strengths lie in its performances, its treatment of due process and its attempt to find human conflict within a case whose historical outcome is already known.
Prahaar Movie Review: When Justice Becomes More Powerful Than Revenge
The challenge of telling a story like Prahaar is immediately apparent. Audiences already know what happened on 26/11, who Ajmal Kasab was and how his trial concluded. Suspense cannot depend on an unexpected verdict.
Instead, the film examines the difficult journey between a crime and its legal consequences.
Its narrative follows Nikam as he builds a prosecution against Kasab, navigating courtroom arguments, procedural obligations, public expectations and an extraordinary burden of responsibility.
The film also draws upon Nikam's earlier involvement in the 1993 Bombay bombings case, establishing the professional background that preceded his national prominence during the Kasab trial.
What gives this premise its contemporary relevance is the distinction between public outrage and judicial responsibility. The demand for punishment may be immediate, but a legal system must establish guilt through evidence and procedure.
That tension provides Prahaar with a stronger dramatic foundation than a conventional patriotic spectacle.
Rajkummar Rao as Ujjwal Nikam: Conviction Without Constant Theatrics
Rajkummar Rao's portrayal of Ujjwal Nikam has emerged as one of the film's most widely praised elements.
Known for his performances in Shahid, Newton, Srikanth and Stree, Rao is especially effective in roles that require ordinary-looking individuals to carry extraordinary internal pressures.
His interpretation of Nikam draws upon the lawyer's distinctive speech patterns, physical mannerisms and commanding presence inside the courtroom.
The performance is reportedly strongest when the character is required to move between professional precision and emotional strain. Rather than relying exclusively on dramatic speeches, Rao gives the legal arguments a sense of personal urgency.
Importantly, the character is not presented as an entirely uncomplicated hero. His commitment to work also creates distance from his family, introducing the personal cost of professional dedication.
It is this contrast—the authoritative advocate and the emotionally unavailable family man—that gives Rao a more demanding character than the film's courtroom setting alone might suggest.
Lalit Prabhakar as Ajmal Kasab: The Film's Most Unsettling Performance
While Rajkummar Rao anchors the narrative, Marathi actor Lalit Prabhakar's portrayal of Ajmal Kasab has attracted considerable critical attention.
Playing a figure associated with one of India's gravest terrorist attacks requires a careful balance. The portrayal must establish a recognisable human character without diminishing the horror of his crimes.
According to early reviews, Prabhakar captures Kasab's shifting behaviour during interrogation and trial, including his evasiveness, attempts to challenge the prosecution and growing awareness of his circumstances.
The significance of this performance lies in the uncomfortable distinction between understanding a criminal's behaviour and sympathising with his actions.
Where Rao represents the discipline of prosecution, Prabhakar supplies the opposing dramatic force. Their interactions appear central to the film's emotional and psychological tension.
Wamiqa Gabbi, Sikandar Kher, Jaideep Ahlawat and Ashish Vidyarthi Strengthen the Ensemble
Wamiqa Gabbi plays Jyoti, Nikam's wife, bringing the domestic consequences of his professional life into the narrative. Ritvik Sahore portrays their son, Aniket, whose relationship with his father reflects the emotional distance created by Nikam's demanding career.
These family sequences offer a more intimate perspective, although some critics have found them predictable and less compelling than the courtroom material.
Sikandar Kher, playing defence lawyer Abbas Kazmi, has a particularly important function in the story. His character serves as a reminder that the right to legal representation is a fundamental part of justice, regardless of public opinion about an accused person. The film dramatises aspects of the defence proceedings.
Jaideep Ahlawat appears as Pakistani lawyer Chaudhary Zulfikar. Despite limited screen time, his character introduces another dimension to the legal proceedings and provides opportunities for exchanges built around argument rather than spectacle.
Ashish Vidyarthi portrays the presiding judge, giving the courtroom its institutional authority and underlining the responsibility of evaluating evidence without surrendering to outside pressure.
Together, these actors ensure that the story is not dependent on its leading man alone.
Avinash Arun's Direction and the Technical Team Behind Prahaar
Filmmaker and cinematographer Avinash Arun, whose directorial work includes Killa and Three of Us, approaches a markedly different subject with Prahaar.
Also credited with the film's cinematography, Arun brings his visual experience to a narrative dominated by legal arguments, institutional spaces and emotionally charged confrontations.
The screenplay and dialogues are credited to Sumit Roy, while Charu Shree Roy handles editing. Alokananda Dasgupta is responsible for the background score, with Pritam Chakraborty credited for music and Amitabh Bhattacharya for lyrics.
Backed by producer Dinesh Vijan under Maddock Films, the approximately 141-minute film places considerable responsibility on its writing and editing to sustain audience involvement.
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