"Unfortunately law is not for justice, but merely a mechanism to settle disputes" - when I came across these lines in Michael Christon's "Disclosure", which I am reading now, I found them apt for the movie "No One Killed Jessica". It really takes so much of guts for a film maker to do a film of the subject that the public knew it to details and even for the film goers to watch the incidents that they know already. Rajkumar Gupta had put his best efforts to recreate the decade long emotional travails of Sabrina Lal who goes through the hell to see the murderers of her slain sister behind bars.
The movie starts in the early hour of April 30, 1999 in New Delhi where & when Jessica, the model / celebrity bartender was slained by Manu Sharma, son of the powerful Haryana politician. Since then the movie travels in the perspective of Sabrina, her naive interrogations, travails she undergoes in the process and facing harsh reality about the ugly face of the Indian law, where the rich, powerful and well connected people manipulate the laws to their convenience. As an average citizen I felt helpless by the unreliability of Indian law for the 'aam junta' - a mean citizen.
In NOKJ Meera Gaity, a TV journalist, believes that this is a shut & close case, but the trial drags for close to a decade only to find the accused acquitted on the basis of insubstantial evidence. That too despite having a well educated, powerful 300 high society socialites as witness.
Sabrina has to put a brave face against all the odds in the process and eventually loses faith in the judicial system. That is when Meera steps in to help Sabrina by creating an awareness about the injustice meted out to the Jessica by the India law.
I really wonder how the Manu Sharma and his family will sleep even if they have 0.001% conscience in them. So is the police who tampered the evidences. In India Polices are nothing but official thugs to the rich and powerful.
Also the 300 odd socialites who turned hostile when it came to interrogation. Education and financial security must enable them to be an ideal citizen, but these socialites are shame to our country. I am really scared to get acquinted with socialites. Madhur Bhandarkar had made a hard hitting movie Page 3 on these socialites.
Coming to the movie, it has a noble intention backed by a good production crew and above all a splendid performance by Vidya Balan, Rani Mukherjee, Rajesh Sharma and the supporting cast.
Vidya leads the cast brigade by her extremely subtle portrayal. Ms. Balan expresses to the hilt - the vulnerability, helplessness and dismayal about the apathy of Indian Judicial system. Vidya gives the viewers a feeling whether she is really undergoing all these trauma in her mind that eventually shows in the expressions. I would pick the scene where she smirks in the full trial to show how much Vidya had got into the skin of Sabrina. Not even in a moment she makes you think that she is "acting". Kudos to Vidya for starting this year with a bang!!!
Rani Mukherjee shines in a diametrically opposite character as Meera Gaity who mouths swearing expletives. Even though her characterisation is bit cardboardish, it works. Infact both the leads - Vidya & Rani complement each other rather than trying to cut into other's space. NOKJ belongs to Vidya in the first half and is gracefully shifted to Rani in the second half.
Rajesh Sharma as a tough cop who struggles hard to get Manu Sharma behind the bars gains our attention. Myra is the underdog of the movie as slained Jessica.
Music by Amit Trivedi hits the right notes. It is heartening to see that Hindi movies now concentrate on the right background scores these days. "Aitbaar" and "Dilli" work wonderfully on screen. The album grows many folds over us after we had watched it on screen.
The running time is quite perfect - 90+ minutes despite giving you a feel of abrupt ending.
Even though there are so many positive points to speak about NOKJ, the movie still gives you a feel of 'incompleteness' when you come out of the theatre. I am still unable to figure out what was that 'missing' piece. Was it the disclaimer ("Even though this movie is based on the real incident, it is fictionalised and can't be taken for documentry evidence of the happenings") that took off the integrity of the movie?
'Rang De Basanti (2006)' was instrumental in raising the public outcry against the aquittal of Manu Sharma and aides in the Jessica Lal case. Eventually President of India had to intervene in re-opening this case.
I wish NOKJ makes the public to revolt against the Spectrum 2G case, the biggest scam ever since the evolution of the world. I believe that the indifference of this generation to the happenings around is the reason for ever growing scams in India. Somewhere we have to start taking the system on hands by ourselves, even if it is by taking law on own hands.
When it comes to corruption there is no disparity between ruling and opposite party. Else how can you say the Indian Governments reluctance to part with the Crores of Black money stashed in the Foreign banks by the Indian Politicians.
Trivia: Besides NOKJ, Vidya Balan is a part of another Hindi movie that was based on Jessica Lal's murder. It was Rajkumar Santhoshi directed 'Halla Bol' where she played the role of Ajay Devgan's conscience, who played the actor / prime witness turned hostile in the process of trial. In the real life actor Shayan Munshi, the prime witness turned hostile saying that he didn't know Hindi so couldn't account for what was written in FIR. Ever since I read this I hate seeing his song sequences whenever it comes on TV. These actor bastards could do anything to make money!!!.
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