Jai Bhim Movie Review: After Soorarai Pottru, Suriya Sivakumar once again plays a character inspired by a real-life person for a movie that is coming straight to Amazon Prime Video. Jai Bhim, like with Soorarai Pottru, is also set a few years back though what it presents in its narrative is a set of burning issues that refuses to leave our society. More importantly, Jai Bhim, like with Soorarai Pottru, is one of the more powerful pieces of cinema that Tamil superstar had got an opportunity to play the lead in. This is a very important watch, even if it has all the tropes of a usual legal drama. OTT Releases of the Week: Suriya’s Jai Bhim on Amazon Prime Video, Sanya Malhotra’s Meenakshi Sundareshwar on Netflix, Tom Hanks’ Finch on Apple TV+ and More.

Written and directed by TJ Gnanavel (in his directorial debut), Jai Bhim - as the name suggests - is about impressing upon the viewer the values of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and his resolve to bring equality in the society too obsessed with caste hierarchy. Even if this isn't an Ambedkar biopic. The man who strives to live upto his ideals is Advocate Chandru (Suriya), an activist-lawyer high on socialist values, who takes cases for defending people from scheduled castes and tribes falsely implicated by the police when the latter are clueless about the original culprits. Or wants to protect them.

One such case, from the '90s, forms the main plotline of Jai Bhim. It involves Rajakannu (K Manikandan) and Senganni (Lijomol Jose), a tribal couple belonging to the Irula community. They live in the outskirts of a village, along with rest of their tribespeople, and are seen as outcasts by the villagers, even the latter needs them to clear pests off their fields and homes.

When some jewellery gets lost from the house of an influential person in the village, they accuse Rajakannu as the thief. The police, facing increasing pressure from the top, round up Rajakannu, his friends, a pregnant Senggani,  and his sisters and subject them to brutal custodial torture before letting others go, and only keeping Rajakannu and two of his mates. Later, the cops report that the trio have escaped from the police station.

It is then that Senggani, with the help of an activist Mythra (Rajisha Vijayan), approaches Chandru to fight their case and seek out the truth for them.

Watch the Trailer:

Watching Jai Bhim made me go back to a recent book I read, Josy Joseph's The Silent Coup that recollects how the police, when not getting substantial leads on who the real culprit for heinous charges like terrorism is, often goes does down to round up people from the minority communities, and use coercive methods to make then 'confess'. The media celebrate these 'findings', the public does the chest-beating, and yet after years of languishing in jails waiting for a proper trial, most are acquitted for lack of proper charge-sheet and evidence when their time arrives. It is the kind of truth that we are uncomfortable with for the only reason that we like to stick to convenience rather than Truth, for the former is easier for us to bear and live with it. Until it comes down on us, see Aryan Khan case.

As a legal drama, Jai Bhim may not have any innovative storytelling techniques or an unusual plotline. It is predictable, yes, even if you have not followed the case much, and with Suriya playing the upright lawyer, you cannot expect any other conclusion to how his case may turn out. The actor is simply stunning in the role, effectively restrained when needed, even when he has to strongly present his point in the court. The only time I remember seeing the character lose his anger is when he finds out Senggani had hidden a crucial piece of information from him. A scene that even I was annoyed because I felt that it came out of the need for Jai Bhim to put some forced tension. Otherwise, it doesn't really make sense that Senganni would keep that info secret, especially since she and Mythra find it suspicious. Chandru is easily one of Suriya's most impactful massy roles, impactful more so in what he wants to express to the viewer. He isn't a saviour - the movie doesn't have him enter in fist-fights with villains -but he is an aide for the oppressed to get them justice they deserve. Jai Bhim: Suriya Reveals Key Reason for Film’s OTT Release on Amazon Prime Video and How Soorarai Pottru Factored In!

Moving on, Jai Bhim might be simplistic in its storytelling (only if our courts really work that easy), but it is highly effective in what it wants to depict. The long scenes of custodial torture are hard to watch, just as the shorter scenes of upper class heaping insults on the lower. You have to give credit to Tamil cinema to where it deserves. Even though its foists itself on superstar-worshipping movies, Tamil cinema is one of the rare film industries in India that highlights the issues of the oppressed castes and tribes. Films like Pariyerum Perumal, Asuran, Karnan, Kaala has managed to strike that fine line of being a mainstream movie while being a rousing commentary on social divide. Jai Bhim can be added to this list now,

The movie reminded me of hard-hitting films like Mississippi Burning, Just Mercy and Marshall in its treatment of the investigation angle and the legal aspects, and that's an elite club to be in. The courtroom sequences are quite powerful, though Chandru's adversaries in the court - the public prosecutors played by Guru Somasundaram and Rao Ramesh - don't offer a very strong opposition for him. The mass appeal doesn't stick purely to courtroom sequences - one of my most fave scenes of the year involve Senggani - Lijomol Jose is absolutely brilliant in the role - walking out of a police station with her head high, while the constables run after her asking her to get in the jeep so that they can drop her back home. It is such a win for the character to see those who had been nothing but condescending and torturous to her, running behind her because their jobs are at stakes

Another thing I like about Jai Bhim is that it doesn't go bombastic for the sake of it. Despite the opportunities, Chandru doesn't get into the disparities into how the police might have treated accused from higher castes differently; he just sticks to what happens to Rajakkannu and his folks. Another scene has the upright IG Perulsamy (Prakash Raj) tell Chandru how the cops needs to go the extra-judicial way when it comes to meting out justice by sharing a personal example. Instead of trying to argue with him then and there, Chandru tells him to meet those at the receiving end of those 'extra-judicial' treatment and see if he is now sticking with his argument.

Jai Bhim is a bit long at about 144 minutes, and some sequences in the first half could come with some trimming. But I didn't find it as a lag as such. It avoids needless fight scenes or unnecessary monologuing. I was a little disappointed that after Karnan, I had to see the talented Rajisha Vijayan in yet another role that, while important, doesn't offer her much scope as an actress. Though it is a blessing that Gnanavel didn't shoehorn a romantic track between her and Chandru, which is a trope some of the filmmakers might have opted for just to make her relevant to the plot. Otherwise the rest of the cast are quite good in their roles, especially Manikandan as the tragic Rajakannu.

Yay!

- Impactful Storytelling

- Suriya and Lijomol Jose

Nay!

- A Couple of Shoehorned Contrivances

- Chandru Needed A Stronger Opposition

Final Thoughts

In his directorial debut, TJ Gnanavel has hit the right combination of addressing crucial social issues, wrapped in an effective investigative saga and impactful legal drama. Not to mention, boosted by a powerful performance from Suriya. It might be a story set in the '90s, and yet Jai Bhim validates the reminder that nothing is rosy for those in the oppressed communities who don't have money and power as the cleansing barrier. Jai Bhim is streaming on Amazon Prime Video from November 2.

Rating:4.0

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 01, 2021 12:46 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).