COURT: A SATIRE WHICH ECHOES REALITY

Court is a 2014 independent Indian film, directed by Chaitanaya Tamhane. This award winning film is unlike any other courtroom dramas you’ve watched, from Jolly LLB to Suits and everything in between. The one thing which is usually present in legal dramas is absent in this film, and perhaps is the reason why this film is so incredibly impactful.

The film stars Vira Sathidar as Narayan Kamble, a social activist and singer accused of driving a sewage worker to kill themself because of his song. His lawyer, Vinay Vora, is played by Vivek Gomber, and the public prosecutor, Geetanjali Kulkarni. The lives of the characters outside the courtroom add to the authentic touch this film seems to have. It also shows how no one really is the bad guy, everyone contributes tiny bits to this unfair system. The rich urban Gujarati lawyer, even though has no real need to be Kamble’s lawyer, still chooses to fight for him, whereas the public prosecutor, financially more closely associated with Kamble’s circle, couldn’t care less. Despite being a courtroom drama, you won’t find a spacious court room, or lawyers spewing out rousing lines like ‘kanoon ke haath lambe hote hai’, while taking poised strides. This film might be the closest thing you’ll find to the real thing. You see dirty, unkempt courtrooms with lawyers dozing off, the stenographer grinning at the phone screen as a case is going on. Yes, even the judge’s jab at the lady and refusing to take her case simply because she’s wearing a sleeveless shirt. Infuriating, isn’t it? 

The judge, played by Pradeep Joshi, who’s supposed to be unbiased, is probably the most biased character you’ll find in the entire film. That chair is a very crucial part of the judicial system. And so, the people who sit in those are expected to be these unprejudiced, righteous figures but the reality is nobody can actually be that objective. As humans, we are always going to be more or less subjective, no matter how hard we try, it’s both a blessing and a curse. 

This film is in no world a dramatic one, all the elements in the film are very real, including the colour of the roads. Usually the colours in the city are very saturated and bright, however, here the cities have been shown in their true element, no extra saturation has been added. In the film, you will see that the colour blue has been used in a lot of places. The blue here signifies multiple things like the purity of the people that gets lost along with the aspects of how corruption runs deep in the system. Blue is also used to symbolise the Dalit resistance. As the film hasn’t been dramatised, the music too, is very simple adding to the realism in the film.

The cinematography is especially interesting with its long shots and stagnant frames. The entire film was shot at a very slow pace, there was no rush of any kind- it’s almost as if they’re daring you to stay awake. The more closely you watch the more the film will surprise and propel you to question everything from justice to the judicial system. Throughout the entire film, there’s a very prominent voyeuristic feeling, almost as if you’re a fly on the wall. 

And well if you have any upcoming court visits pending, buckle up, cause you’re in for a long haul.