So many years of Indian Cinema, so many portrayals of real life incidents, so many courtroom dramas that try to dig further into real cases, but we are mostly stuck with a common approach, and a common ending. Perhaps, it is an approach, with which the filmmakers try to let the audience keep their faith in the judicial system intact. But as a result, we come across films with varying stories, but similar executions.
The research on the matter, as well as the efforts in making such films, are worth mentioning, but what disappoints me the most is how easily the events in such films can be predicted. I feel that most of the courtroom dramas made in India follow a certain pattern, that would eventually lead the audience to some scenes where they can pretty easily predict the possibilities that are about to unravel.
Today, I watched ‘Patna Shuklla’ on Disney+ Hotstar, and ended up having mixed feelings about it. So let’s discuss it further.
A Fight Against Corruption (As Usual)
Different cultures have taught people a lesson for thousands of years, which is ‘Good Wins Over Evil’. We have always been told stories about the righteous, and virtuous individuals, who did good for themselves, and helped improve society. These lessons are etched in our minds forever, and we thoroughly do believe in them. But when these lessons are scripted to become a plot for a film, they are supposed to have some depth, and a spine, in order to be different from others.
What I have observed in such films is that no matter how righteous the protagonists are, the evil will have an upper hand on them. In a fight for justice, the righteous men lose a lot, but we have been told multiple times, that everything good comes at a cost!
‘Patna Shuklla’ is a film that speaks about a marksheet scam, that happens very frequently under the roof of a ‘Vihar University’ in the film. The story starts with establishing Tanvi’s (Raveena Tandon) honesty towards both her family, as well as her profession as a lawyer. She then gets the case of a disheartened Rinki Kumari (Anushka Kaushik), who got failed by the University, even when she expected her result to be between 60-65%.
Soon after Tanvi takes the case, it is revealed that the executives of the concerned university have interchanged the marksheets of different students for profit for a long time. It is then that Tanvi decides that she should stand with Rinki Kumari in her pursuit to get justice. The film might look predictable throughout its course, but I’m sure that the last trick that the writers have up their sleeves will really pay off, and you would thoroughly enjoy it.
Too Similar To Jolly L.L.B?
I don’t know whether ‘Jolly L.L.B’ is such a fantastic film that has stuck in my mind for so long, that I perceive all the courtroom films as its remade versions, or all the courtroom dramas are basically working on a fixed pattern that make their progression so identical (I liked Arshad Warsi’s Jolly L.L.B more, by the way).
When I was watching ‘Patna Shuklla’, I reckon that the story felt original and natural, but somehow, I knew what was going to happen at every instance, maybe because this film shares a similar trope to most of the events in Jolly L.L.B. Be it the establishment of a typical ‘common man life’ of the protagonist, a bigger fish (reputed lawyer of a big law firm), a judge that acts as a comic relief at some instances, or the portrayal of power where the protagonist and its family have to face the consequences for their vow towards morality, the films are exactly the same!
I know that the time of release is a big factor in the similarities between these films, and had ‘Patna Shuklla’ been released before Jolly L.L.B, the same could’ve been said about the latter, but even Akshay Kumar’s ‘Jolly L.L.B 2’ has a striking resemblance to Warsi’s original. So my concern is whether the makers are out of ideas for working on these types of films, or is it the only method of execution that can be implemented?
Conclusion
Although ‘Patna Shuklla’ has a lot of similarities to Jolly L.L.B, but where it stands out as a film, is its serious tone. Obviously, there are some instances where Late Satish Kaushik has made us giggle with his comic timing, but otherwise, it is a very focused film.
Raveena Tandon has done a great job in portraying both the lives of Tanvi Shukla, and fits well among the other cast. She has been a part of some great flicks of the 90’s, but lately she has worked on a variety of roles, and I’m thoroughly enjoying her work.
Performance from Chandan Roy Sanyal is also worth appreciating, as he plays his part as the Defence quite well. Jatin Goswami looked good in his role as the corrupt politician Raghubir, but his impact is not felt that much as his screen time is relatively low in the film. Anushka Kaushik has done a good job in sticking to her character, as well as the dialect that she was supposed to have.
I would also like to point out an element that really irritated me for a good 10 minutes here. During Judge Jha’s announcement of the verdict towards the end of the film, a song is added to enhance the experience, and establish a moment of victory for Tanvi Shukla. The song is really good, I must say, but it is so loud, that I could barely hear the verdict for which it was played out. It is an editing blunder, but things happen!
In the end, I would say, that ‘Patna Shuklla’ is at the least a one-time watch, and it is not draggy, or unoriginal as you might be thinking due to my repeated comparisons of the film with Jolly L.L.B.
‘Patna Shuklla’ is now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.
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I would like to appreciate how well kshitij wrote these reviews. Ah it’s brings back the memories when we all used to sit around the class and discuss films and how they are made. Waha se yaha Tak ka Safar is beautiful