Well, "Court" the movie which moved me out of my lethargy and made me post a blog after such a long time - where do we start the blog on this movie?
How about - the very end of it?
Setting: A bench in park of a resort.
Well, as we have seen in so many movies, books, poems and pictures - it is one place with so many possibilities for those sitting on it - it can make them see the beauties of nature around, it can help them rejoice in games of children playing, it can give them that relaxing moment to breathe life in and a stage to think, to analyze, to plan, and to dream.
Frame in picture: A grown-up, adult man with posture appearing as if he is sitting on the bench, but who is actually sleeping - despite all the possibilities that various creative brains can come up with in this free world, he is sleeping.
Scene: A bunch of kids decide to have some fun, decide to wake up a sleeping giant presuming that he will take it lightly, and they make a loud noise - loud enough to wake up the guy and when he wakes up, he gets hold of one of them, the one easiest to reach, and gives him a tight slap. And guess what, he goes back to sleep again.
Time now to extrapolate, to search for metaphors.
Think of this man not as a man, but as the Judicial and Police system of India. Its aged, its in fact antic, as we find out through various references in the movie - laws as old as 1860, and bans on books as back-dated as the Victorian rule in India, which still hold good, which still make a valid case, which can still prove people of this free nation, guilty of charges framed.
This man is also the India society, old and we all are proud of that aren't we? and sleeping a deep slumber of superstitions, sectarian beliefs, and regional prides.
Make a sound to wake this system up, try to make a statement by being different, try to raise a voice, and you will be penalized, you will be outcast, you will suffer.
Yes, the people will gather around you for some entertainment, and for a moment there, they will nod their heads to your outcry - just like they will do it for a troupe of 15 year olds dancing to a masala-bollywood-number; but at the end of it all, you will get hammered for your attempt to wake the system, to shake the system.
That is the central theme of this movie Court, and through a sequence of various events, and an unobtrusive peek into day-to-day mundane life of some of its characters, this theme unfolds itself.
Allow me to structure this blog as per these various characters and events:
1) An aging folk-artist who has been associated with some or other labor and human rights organizations since his young age and who is cyclically being charged for one thing or the other, from abettment to a suicide to running extremist camps, all because he keeps singing his sarcastic, blunt, satirical, thought provoking folk songs in front of common people, trying to make them aware of their rights, trying to narrate the scams and the scandals of the government, trying to exercise his freedom of expression.
One of the other themes that clearly comes out through this character, is the way our society treats failures. Once convicted with a charge of writing article harmful to society, this tag, this blame is used against the guy to arrest him, to charge him, to make a case against him, any random time the system deems it fit.
You fail once and this society of ours will make sure to use this failure against you in so many different ways possible. That remains a sad fact which gets highlighted in the movie so well.
2) The courtroom events: While these events go on at their own pace, spanning all across the movie, with monotone of the lawyers, and routine of procedures; they bring out so many stark realities of our society. And this is done so swiftly, so subtly. There is no loud singing of 'teejaa tera rang tha main to', neither is there any melodrama of 'kachraa is dal mein khelega. jaroor khelega.'
Through accounts of various witnesses and lawyers and the judge, we understand the plight of sanitation workers in Mumbai and in the entire country as such, we share the fear that the deprived feel about the police and judicial system, we sense the discrimination done towards certain people, we panic at the obsolescence of some of our laws and censorship/bans, we witness the madness of sectarian violence.
This movie makes us watch this routine of courtrooms and while we are doing so, makes us observe, feel, think so much more.
3) The Judge played in this movie, whom some may very well categorize into the category of antagonists by the end of this movie - in turn represents the attitude, the way of life, the superstitions, the stubbornness, the limits, the narrow-minded thought process, that those with authority can possess, leading the entire system in the slumber that it is in. It also makes us think, if we are to build a stronger nation, if we have to give this nation a newer, stronger voice, should we still be believing in superstitions like numerology or should we rely on science and technology, to make this progress.
4) The Public Prosecutor character, who is sincere in her efforts to frame a case, who has a regular middle class routine of life and family, and who is happy with this 'routine' is another important perspective in the movie. When those providing a voice to our administration, our society, those connecting the people and the system, are doing so just as a routine, thankless job, and all they care is that this gives them a bread at end of the day, without thinking even a bit outside the box, how are we supposed to have the breathing space for the creative, the passionate, the enterprising, the restless? These different people will always be outcast, isn't it? And then, even a little difference as origin of the person in a different state, can lead to this process of 'outcasting'.
The character played by this lady also shows the so-called 'Indian Mentality' about doing jobs [sorry if this hurts someone] - the mentality which involves doing the minimal work required for the day, sticking to the routine, happily accepting the status quo at work place, and never even thinking of challenging the wrong systems, processes and procedures, even though you are in a position to raise your voice about it.
She also represents the many literate and well-to-do Indian nationals, who have the resources to make change happen around them, yet who decide to get busy with their routines instead and turn a blind eye to everything and anything else. She represents me and you and she does it so well.
5) The Defense lawyer is the protagonist of the movie if you ask me. May be I felt this character to be more central than our old folk artist, because he represents the 'converted'. He is the new age of India - a guy who wants to make his own mark in this country instead of just relishing on daddy's wealth or finding a fancy job abroad. He maintains his sanity by meeting up with friends, he doesn't mind if there is Portuguese music playing in the background, he also doesn't mind to have a slum dwelling family sitting in his car or even visiting a slum, he runs a non-profit for helping the deprived in his own capacity and his own ways, he shares his professional experiences with others and gains insights from their experiences by attending various forums and meetups, he is striving to bring forth the ironies and limitations of our judicial system, imposed due to its Victorian origins. Yes, sometimes he gets kickbacks for this, many times he has to return disappointed, and at times, he weeps. Yet, when the next day dawns, he is ready to fight the battles of life, battles for the deprived, battles against what is wrong with the society and the system around us, and mind well, while he is doing all this, considering that he has enough money to maintain his life style and to extend that helping hand to the needy, he is also doing really well professionally.
If you haven't guessed it yet, the whole inspiration to start writing after such a long time, came from the fear that I don't want to see myself ending up in character of bullet four but rather in character of bullet five.
Court - it's multilingual - A lot of Hindi and English, some Marathi and a little Gujarati. It's a movie which will make you think. It's award winning creation. Go watch it in theaters and let me know how you found it through your comments, reviews and feedback on the movie and on this blog post of mine.
Have a great time readers :-)
