Aptly titled Jai Bhim, the film opens with a ‘no holding back’ sequence, showcasing the spine, presenting a real-life case of police atrocities and exploitation of the tribals. These initial moments not only force you to sit back, taking it seriously but also provide an eye-opener account of the ground reality of the tribe and their daily life activities.
For the viewers, well aware of-the-art cinema wave of the 70s and 80s, Jai Bhim would bring back the memories of a much more focused and solid Aakrosh (1980) directed by Govind Nihalani. However, the difference is that while Aakrosh was never made to please the mainstream audience, Jai Bhim consciously tries to bring forward the shocking case, maintaining a fine balance between a message-oriented film and entertainment. Perhaps that also remains the reason it isn’t able to achieve the excellence seen in the recent new-age Tamil classics, Visaranai, Pariyerum Perumal, Asuran, and Karnan.
The spirit and spine visible in films such as Aakrosh, Aaghat, Ardh Satya, and more remained missing in Hindi cinema since the last two decades. And we rarely witnessed projects like Article 15 subtly talking about the exploitation of the marginalized section of our society and their lesser-discussed fight for the basic rights. That is exactly why Jai Bhim appears to be far ahead of the vision, Hindi films are being made with, in the present.
The first hour of Jai Bhim is disturbing like hell. It shocks and makes you feel the shame and pain of witnessing the inhuman assault on the innocent by the police. It triggers anger, which intensifies as you realize that it’s all based on a real-life case and such heinous instances continue to exist even in the new millennium, considering ‘the caste’ more important than the human life.
As a tense courtroom drama in its second hour, the film keeps you glued to the screen with a worth applauding controlled act of Suriya. But the most impressive performance comes from Lijomol Jose as a pregnant woman fighting for justice. She simply excels in her less-verbal act and helps the film to reach another level attempted by a courageous team. On the other hand, Prakash Raj decently tries to pacify the proceedings as a trustworthy police officer. Yet the film suffers as it cautiously seems to be ticking the essential boxes as required in a star-led biggie. The forced insertions result in weak characterisation of the opponent lawyer, his feeble counters, and the two honourable judges mostly agreeing to Suriya’s arguments quite easily.
Despite these shortcomings, Jai Bhim grabs you from the collar even when you don’t get to see any Damini or Pink in the courtroom proceedings. The film reaches out to the viewer mainly because of its well-conceived sequences of police brutality framing the tribals just to safeguard their jobs. Boldly written and directed by T. J. Gnanavel along with a noteworthy cinematography and background score, Jai Bhim might not be a classic because of its flaws, but it certainly deserves a big applause for the team and the stars (Suriya and Jyothika), supporting and producing such ventures in the present mute times. More importantly, films like Jai Bhim spread the awareness about these sickening events of the past, hidden inside the shell of the much-publicized glossier nationalism.
So go for it as a must and if possible, watch Nihalani’s Aakrosh too, available on the same online platform.
