Story
Sinathalli (Lijomol Jose) is a tribal woman whose husband Rajanna (K Manikandan) is arrested illegally by police on the charges of theft. Rajanna goes missing from the police station and Sinathalli approaches pro bono lawyer Chandru (Suriya) to represent her in the court. It was a regular process to arrest tribals as they don’t have any identity card or ration card. There is no evidence to start with. Chandru digs the case and comes up with timely evidence. He is aided by IG Perumal (Prakash Raj) - an earnest top level police officer. Rest of the story is about how Chandru successfully puts a check to tribals/Dalits getting victimised by the police system for fulfilling their pending cases.
Artists Performance
Suriya is natural as a gritty and determined lawyer who works for the principles he believes in. He brings a lot of likability to the film with his portrayal. It’s a realistic story and a commercial star like him will attract lots of viewers to watch a story that deserves to be told. Lijomol Jose is exceptionally good as a tribal pregnant woman who is going through a lot of turmoil. Prakash Raj brings a lot of credibility to a positive senior police officer role. He should have dubbed his voice for the Telugu version, as it looks odd with somebody else dubbing his voice. Rao Ramesh gave a controlled performance in a negative role of corrupted Attorney General. Manikandan is very good as Rajanna with the virtues of Gandhi. Rajisha Vijayan is good in an unglamorous role of a teacher who helps the tribal victim to find justice. All others are cast brilliantly for a realistic effect.
Technical departments
Story - screenplay - direction: This story is based on a real person Chandru (crusader lawyer and judge) who was instrumental in getting laws to protect tribals against police harassment in 1990’s. The director TJ Gnanavel writes it with realistic scenes. First one hour of the film focuses on the life of the tribal couple and brutal harassment of police. The movie enters into investigative thriller mode once Suriya enters the story. The director writes the screenplay very cleverly by letting out information at periodical intervals. This film exposes the police brutality that went unchecked on tribals till 1990’s. Director succeeds in making us emotionally involved in the story. The Gandhian values of the tribal Rajanna and his virtue of sticking to truth rather than compromising for the sake of family is excellent. Chandu’s inspiration lies in BR Ambedkar and he never took even a paisa while fighting legally for Dalits and Tribals.
Other departments: Cinematography by SR Kathir is excellent with earthy colours. Sean Roldan deserves a special mention for the background music. Editing by Philoman Raju is fine. All the action sequences (mostly torture episodes) are gruesome, yet realistic. Suriya and Jyothika should be appreciated for selecting such a raw and inspiring story and bringing it to the screen.
Analysis: Jai Bhim is an account of police atrocities against Traibals and Dalits in 1990’s and is a gritty legal drama. It’s also a kind of biopic of a crusading lawyer and judge Chandru. The initial hour of the film dwells on the Tribal couple's lives and police atrocities. Hence it’s very hard hitting and raw and it may not be suitable for the weak-hearted. However, the movie becomes very engaging once Chandru takes up the case. The screenplay keeps us glued with anticipation till the climax. It makes us emotionally involved in the film. On the whole, Jai Bhim is a gritty, hard hitting and engaging film. Watch it on Amazon Prime Video.
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