AvA Movie Review: Jolly LLB (2013) (Hindi) *** 1/2 Rating

                                            ~  The Real Indian Courtroom Drama ~

Theatre Release: Mar 15, 2013 (India)
Language: Hindi
Direction : Subhash Kapoor
Banner :  Fox Star Studios
Genre:  Drama
Viewers Group: 13+

The Critique Lab Score Board
AVA Score: 7.5 (Max 10)
AVA Medal Honour™©     : Titanium
Recommended Level   :  High

Reference 
(Ŏ BRONZE Medal Ŏ SILVER Medal Ŏ Titanium Medal Ŏ GOLD Medal Ŏ PLATINUM Medal) 
(L-Low   M-Moderate   H-High D-Don’t Miss it)

There are few movies which you come across and as a  moviegoer you wish more out it than what has been served to the audience; Jolly LLB is one film where your thirst as a moviegoer remains unquenched.

With an honest intention and heart in the right place Jolly LLB is a story of struggler advocate of Meerut Jagdish Tyagi aka Jolly who came to Delhi with a dream of becoming a famous and established lawyer. In the Delhi courtroom he came across  a well known lawyer Tejinder Rajpal  who has just rescued a son of a millionaire in a Hit –and-run case. Jolly who aspire to be like lawyer Rajpal discovered the other side of the same case and he decides to file a PLI (Public Interest Litigation) , something that no one has dared to do against a top notch lawyer like Rajpal and thus movie moves further to an interesting courtroom drama.

In the words of Patrick Murray  -“A lawyer will do anything to win a case, sometimes he will even tell the truth”  and the director Subhash Kapoor (Phas Gaye Re Obama fame) should be credited to present real Indian contemporary courts on the silver screen. The experience to watch this courtroom drama is entirely different than what you see in ‘Adalat’ series on TV or in Sunny Deol starrer ‘Damini’. When, during my initial career period I have visited the local court I was really surprised with what I had seen in movies till date but Subhash Kapoor has made a decent effort to bring that courtroom drama alive on screen.

There are three major characters of the movie struggler lawyer, defence lawyer and the honourable judge. I must  say Saurabh Shukla as the judge deserves a special mention for his performance and the director who has attempted to show the real side of a judge. Till date we have seen judges in the courtroom shouting ‘Order, Order’ in Indian movies but at least here we got the opportunity to see more relevant to that. In one of his conversations with Jolly, he said ‘ Kanoon Andha hota hai, Judge Nahi ( Law is Blind, not the Judge)’ and this is the point where you realize the real weakness of the Indian Judiciary system.

Arshad Warsi as Jolly is convincing and Boman Irani once again is terrific in a new avatar. Besides these three  main characters  we have Manoj Pahwa as Jolly’s Brother-in-Law who made an impact but director fails to establish the other characters well especially Amrita Rao as Sandhya & Jolly’s love interest which is let-down for the movie. Also due to lack of proper screenplay first half is half baked and slow. The music aspect is very low and average. I simply don’t understand the inclusion of songs in the Indian movies when they are not required or at least when someone cannot work with heart to make it pleasing to the ears

Overall, Jolly LLB  is a jolly film indeed with an interesting courtroom drama with a tadka of satirical humour on the Indian Judiciary System. The last 15 minutes are terrific  thou with a better screenplay and more humour it could have achieved the status of ‘Munnabhai’ genre.  Go for it!

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