Watching the recent events in the highest echelons of the judiciary reminded me of the films where a judge became the centripetal force of the narrative. Take the gripping scene of “Kanoon” (1960) where the lawyer (Rajendra Kumar) accuses the judge (Ashok Kumar) of being a murderer! The film proved that educated and respected people too suffer from moral ambiguity.
Given the pusillanimity of CBFC, it is difficult to envisage an Indian film ever bringing forth an honest analysis of ‘weighty legal conflicts’ or professional transgressions by legal practitioners. Mostly in our films, a judge is like an umpire in a tennis match watching two garrulous legal players in action. His job is to say order order and accepting or rejecting an objection without betraying an emotion. Still, within the restrictive boundaries of creative freedom, some films have humanised the judge, depicting their personal dilemmas with different degrees of success. Devoid of songs, “Kanoon” is a landmark film arousing suspicion about a judge’s character for plotting a perfect murder! Writer Akhtar Ul Iman’s courtroom drama and the ensuing effect of accusations on the judge’s life were fine nuggets of storytelling and dialoguebaazi, making all aware that well known people do live life on a razor’s edge.
Long before, Raj Kapoor too had exposed the devil within a judge’s bosom in his memorable classic “Awaara” (1951). An upright man in society, the bourgeois judge Raghunath (Prithviraj Kapoor) betrays rabid hatred for the down trodden but his halo is punctured by an expose that reveals he had sired the vagabond (“Awaara”) from a pre-marital encounter. Laying bare the stupidity of societal belief in caste and class, the Khwaja Ahmed Abbas and V. P. Sathe story exemplified how phony idols can be and how their unjust biases destruct innocent lives.
Cudgels against society
Contrary to above moral turpitude, the retired Judge (Ashok Kumar) in “Bahu Beti” (1965) is a man of integrity who fights dogma to get his widowed daughter-in-law married again. Though an average film, “Bahu Beti” raised pertinent questions about rigid social customs obstructing women’s emancipation and empowerment. Paradoxically, in Brij Sadanah’s “Do Bhai” (1969), Ashok Kumar played a judge who resigns from office to commit a murder! Avenging the death of his wife, his crime has an eye witness whom he stalks and threatens but finally surrenders since he cannot allow conviction of an innocent man.
K. Raghavendra Rao’s “Justice Chaudhury” (1983) was a predictable movie which rather than depicting psychological pangs of a Judge (Jeetendra), spun a loud tale of love, hate and violence. Mithun Chakraborty’s film by the same name but different spelling too had little of histrionics or storyline.
Hindi cinema has depicted umpteen court battles but few have focused on judges’ lives, idiosyncrasies or psychological conflicts vis a vis their professional arena. However, there are exceptions. In Chaitanya Tamhane’s much feted “Court”, we have a seemingly neutral judge who believes in numerology. Similarly, Subhash Kapoor came up with some amazing insights in “Jolly LLB” and “Jolly LLB2”.
Accomplished act
Though many interesting legal characters are spread across the two stories, yet it is the spirit of Judge Sunderlal Tripathi (Saurabh Shukla) that stands out with remarkable credibility. Saurabh Shukla, who won the National Award for best supporting actor for the role, really brought out the complexities and burdens of a district court judge with dexterous gestures and inflections. Aided by Kapoor’s powerful script and dialogues, Shukla gave credence to the character who exposed the flaws and shortcomings of our legal pyramids.
In one of the finest dialogues in “Jolly LLB” that has manifold interpretations , Judge Tripathi declares “law is blind but not a judge”. It is time our filmmakers went beyond the court chambers to create some exceptional films that would provide greater clarity about the functioning of the judiciary, and yes, stories behind the stories!
