‘Jai Bhim’ tries to use Cinema in it’s best way to bring in notice the reality of our society where caste and social standing are still prevalent to how we treat people. The film is based on real life incidents related to Irula tribes from Justice K Chandru’s days as a lawyer.
The story begins when one day a theft happens at the village’s President’s house and people from a working tribe who catch snakes and rats to feed their stomach automatically come under the radar of suspicion just because of them being from lower caste. This is just the beginning of our corrupt system where we see police misusing their powers to prove them guilty forcefully.
One of the villagers, Rajkannu (Manikandan) is framed as a thief as he went to catch snakes at the President’s house a day before.
We are left with goosebumps when we see police brutally torturing these underprivileged people be it men or women naked skin to make them confess the crime they haven’t even committed.Â
Then in the story comes Chandru (Suriya), the lawyer who’s very honest to his profession irrespective of caste and religion. Chandru defends the case of Sengani (Lijimol Jose) who runs to every corner of the country to ensure justice for her husband Rajkannu, who has gone missing since he was taken by cops on fake charges of theft.
Every little detail has been presented on the screen so beautifully. For example, there’s a scene where we see prisoners were given thick and low priced rice as they belong from scheduled caste – a practice which was so evident in the past. With scenes like these the movie feels so real and heart touching.
The court scene drama is presented in a very raw and authentic manner with no unnecessary drama and heavy dialogues that we feel so connected to and at one point start praying for Chandru to win the case.
The movie is special because at this time when Indian cinema is hell bound on presenting police as heroes with every second movie, this movie bluntly showcases us the evil side of the police as well. It leaves us ashamed that we are a part of society where humans are treated worse than animals just because they belong from a certain caste.
Taking it to the cast, it could have been no way better than this. There, Suriya in the role of lawyer- who fights for protecting the basic rights of minorities has been outstanding and gets you so involved that we forget he’s acting and we start seeing him as a lawyer in actuality. Then on the list is Lijomol Jose, as the wife of Rajkannu, who gave a very realistic performance that we feel to be a part of her pain. She can be the only reason I would ask you to watch this movie. Besides, Manikandan as Rajkannu- a man from a working tribe has performed his character extremely well. In supporting roles Prakash Raj as inquiry commission head and Rao Ramesh as Advocate General have been excellent with their roles.
Coming to the music, Sean Roldan has done a fantastic job and manages to hit the right chords in our hearts. Despite having a 3 hours long run time we didn’t even feel bored for a second and a huge chunk of credit goes to it’s outstanding cinematography by S.R. Kathir which acted as a core of the movie.
All in all, ‘Jai Bhim’, directed by Gnanavel Tha Se is not a kind of a movie which we’re supposed to judge; rather it is a kind of movie which is really needed in times like today to show us the reality of our corrupt government and legal system where minorities are still ill treated by the ones in power.
‘Jai Bhim’ is now streaming on Amazon Prime.
