Weekend

In continuation of my last weekend blog on the Bollywood films having courtroom as part of main story of the film. Here are balance films :

1 Meri Jung– Produced and Directed by  Subhash Ghai. The film’s story is about the lawyers. Thakral (Amrish Puri) is a defence lawyer who  sees that his wealthy clients are acquitted for the crimes committed by them are acquitted in court . In one such case he frames a innocent man for murder, who is given death sentence. The innocent man’s wife (Nutan) loses her mental balance. His son Arun (Anil Kapoor) also becomes lawyer and how he fights cases in court opposing Thakral is remaining story. Court room scenes are woven very well in the story and they are also filmed in very dramatic style. Fine acting by Anil Kapoor, Nutan, and Amrish Puri. Laxmikant Pyarelal wonderfully composed all the songs.

2a Jolly LLB (2013)-  A very well made low budget film on the legal system prevailing in the country. Jolly ( Arshad Warsi) is a small time lawyer. He gets the case of Public interest where a rich man’s  drunken son kills  and injured many people, who were sleeping on the footpath in night. The film shows how the lawyer defending the culprit, Rajpal (Boman Irani) manipulates police and legal system to avoid punishment to his client, and on the other side how Jolly has to fight each and every step of Rajpal. In the end how Jolly wins the case is to be seen. There is one comment by Judge (Saurabh Shukla) that sums up the legal system,  he says “ I know from the day 1 wheether the accused is culprit or innocent, but I sit and preside over the hearing for number of sittings, waiting for some piece of evidence to be presented, so that I can pronounce my decision.

2b Jolly LLB 2 (2017)- Jolly, this time played by Akshay Kumar, is a assistant to very famous lawyer, and dreams of starting on his own. Circumstance so happens that, he is forced to take a case of widow, whose husband is killed by police in encounter, and declared him a terrorist. Here also how police after taking bribe release the terrorist and declare innocent man as terrorist and kills him an encounter. The case is filed against corrupt police officer who shoots the innocent man. Defending the police officer is city’s famous lawyer Mathur (Anu Kapoor), How the case is fought in courtroom between two lawyers in front of judge (again played by Sorabh Shukla) is worth seeing. Fine acting by Akshay Kumar , Anu Kapoor and Saurabh Shukla.

3 Damini (1993)- Produced and Directed by Raj Kumar Santoshi. The films revolves around the rape case. Here Damini (Meenakshi Sheshadiri), sees her her husband’s younger brother raping their maid on Holi day. She informs her husband, but family keeps quiet. In the end she lodges complain to Police about the incident. The case goes to court. Defending the culprit is famous lawyer (Amrish Puri), and the victim’s lawyer Govind (Sunny Deol). In the court culprit’s lawyer declares Damini is a mentally disturbed person, and hence can not come to court to give witness. How Sunny Deol fights Amrish Puri in court is treat to watch. In the end how Damini’s fight against injustice to poor maid, result in victory. Court room scenes are filmed in very dramatic way. Fine acting by Sunny Deol, Meenakshi Sheshadari, and Amrish Puri.

4 OMG- Oh My God (2012)- Kanjibhai (Paresh Rawal) is an atheist, is an antique items shop keeper, whose shop is destroyed by an earth quake. When he approaches insurance company for claim, the  company refuses saying that policy is not covering any act of God, and earth quake is such an act. He is frustrated from all the side, and file a case against all Godmen and all so called gurus, to compensate for the loss. No lawyer is willing to take his case as this will antagnoise the religious gurus. In the end he fights his own case in the court. He is helped by his supposedly friend Krishna Vasudev Yaday (Akshay Kumar), in the film it is shown he is Lord Krishna in modern avatar. How Kanjibhai, with Krishna’s help wins the case, is to been seen. Court room scenes are very well presented, and sometimes they are very jovial. Fine acting by Paresh Rawal.

5 Pink (2016)- The film is a story of 3 friends Meenal Arora (Tapsee Pannu), Andrea (Andrea Tairang), Palak (Kirti Kulhari) are three independent  working girls sharing an apartment in Delhi. These girls go to some party with boys, where boys start acting funny and the boys tries to molest them. In  a fit of anger Meena hits one boy with beer bottle, who is injured. The girls ran away from the scene. The boy who is injured, is connected with political leader, and with the police  he files aback dated complain, The girls are picked up and they are charged with prostitution. Seeing their plight is a old retired lawyer Deepak Sehgal, who agrees to defend them in court. How in the court the boy’s lawyer tries to prove the girls of bad character and for money they went along with boys, but at the last minute Meenal develops cold feet and in a fit of anger she hits boy. Meenal statement is she said No, when the boy tried to molest her. Deepak defend Meenal by saying to court NO means No. While cross examination, the boy gets angry and in his anger he blurts out the truth. The concerned boy and his friends are sentenced in the end. Fine performance by all the three girls, but in the end Tapsee stands out, and Amitabh as usual is superb.

Friends , if you have  not any of the listed court room films then you must watch them, they are really worth.

Awaiting your views/feed backs/comments.

Anil Malik

Mumbai, India

31^st July 2020