|
|
Friday, April 26, 2024
|
|
BOLLYWOOD JOLLY LLB
EDITOR'S PICK
`Jolly
LLB`: Engaging courtroom drama enlivened by sparkling performances (IANS Film
Review)
Rating:
****
It`s not often that a film manages to hit us in the solar plexus with a
statement on an epidemic social disease, and yet succeeds in telling a story so
engaging you want to jump out of your seat and applaud the enterprising spirit
that surges through the veins of this engrossing saga of the judge, the judged
and the damned.
What ails the legal system in our country? We could go on and on about that one,
and still not be anywhere close to solving the conundrum of legalese.
Subhash Kapoor`s brilliantly scripted film seeks to examine the loopholes in the
legal system through which the rich and the privileged manage to go scot-free
after committing terrible crimes.
In this case, it`s a young tycoon mowing down six pavement dwellers in his fancy
car in the dead of the night.
Sounds familiar? "Jolly LLB" grabs the headlines about a rich spoilt
kid from a privileged family involved in a hit and run case, and turns it into a
rollercoaster ride that takes us into the courtroom to witness the young
struggling lawyer from Meerut, Jolly (Arshad Warsi) take on the mighty attorney
Jaipal (Boman Irani).
It is the classic David & Goliath tale with so many enticing twists and
turns that by the end of it you want to kiss the hand that wrote this script.
Every role, big or small, is written with so much care and enacted with so much
affection that you can`t help feeling a sense of pride for the plethora of
acting talent we have in our cinema.
Characters invariably played by accomplished actors keep popping up right till
the end as though life in films could throw forward surprises denied in real
life to us.
Writer-director Subhash Kapoor makes the drab and the dull reality of Indian
life come alive with his vivacious humour and savage digs at the games the rich
play to vanquish their adversaries.
Kapoor proves in his post-debut film that "Phans Gaya Re Osama" was no
flash in the pan. In "Jolly LLB", he displays a much tighter grip over
his narrative graph.
The solid sturdy screenplay throws forward surprises and shocks as layer after
layer of corruption and compromise are peeled off leaving behind the raw hurting
wounds of betrayal and hurt.
Though Jolly wins his case at the end, his story left me deeply saddened. Is
this the India that our forefathers fought to free for our future generations,
where a hotshot ruthlessly immoral lawyer smirks in the courtroom, "Now, if
people sleep on the pavements there is a risk of them being killed."
Right, Sir. In any case the poor don`t really deserve to live, do they?
In a sequence that comes as one of many radical turning-points in the plot,
Arshad stops on a pavement to take a pee. A man pleads, "Could you urinate
somewhere else? My family sleeps here?"
Such moments of gut-wrenching heartbreaking poignancy cut through the cynical
space that this sharp witty and provocative courtroom drama occupies.
If life and art were entirely fair, Arshad would be one of the biggest stars in
our film industry. As a petty lawyer whose conscience undergoes a rousing
awakening, Arshad once again gives a superlative performance creating a
compelling graph for his small-town lawyer`s overreaching character.
As for Boman Irani, this actor`s brilliance has no full stops. Here as the mean
manipulative lawyer, he creates a snarling evil and a contempt for human value
though the narrowing of the eye or curling of the lip.
But my favourite performance comes from Saurav Shukla. As a seemingly indolent
sloppy slob of a judge who comes into his own as the case progresses, he serves
up the film`s biggest lesson: never undermine the moral strength of a seemingly
desensitized Indian.
"Jolly LLB" is a film of myriad virtues. Legal proceedings would never
be the same again. This is the kinkiest, craziest, most artful and thought
provoking courtroom comedy-drama in years with impeccable performances by the
ever-dependable Boman, Saurav and the grossly underrated Arshad.
An inspirational drama told with a flair for the comic and the ironical, this is
film which never falls short of heart and guts.
Jolly good, Mr. Subhash Kapoor.
Veteran actor Manoj Pahwa, who has been working in the entertainment industry for last 26 years in which he has explored three mediums - television, stage and film, says theatre is an important platforms for any actor to develop skills and to learn how to stay relevant with time.Asked about his favourite medium of acting, Manoj told IANS: "Theatre is the gym for actors. For a performer, theatre is the medium that gives an opportunity to work on your skill, your imagination, physical and mental strength as an actor. You upgrade yourself in theatre to stay relevant."Read More
Choosing right script for short films is tough: KumudActor Kumud Mishra, who played the protagonist in the short film "Listener", says choosing the right script for short films isn't easy as the story depends on the merit of the script.Asked if he liked working in a short film, Kumud told IANS here: "I think choosing the right script for a short film is tough because here, everything depends on how good the script is…that creates the impact. The length of the film is short, it is experimental. If the script is not well written and compact, it won't create an impact."He has been dabbling in different mediums. He featured in films like "Rockstar", "Jolly LLB 2", "Raanjhanaa", "Badlapur" and "Airlift", and also did plays like "Bali Aur Shambhu", "Flirt In Your Dreams" and "Kaumudi".Read More
A social satire on the law system of the country, where a small town lawyer Jolly (Arshad Warsi) is pitted against a hugely successful lawyer,played by Boman Irani.
DVD launch of film Jolly LLB Stills