Nov 9, 20214 min read

Jai Bhim: Justice for the People

Updated: Feb 19, 2023

Reviews by:

@mr.cinemaaa

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Project Details

Director: Tha.Se. Gnanavel
Written By: Tha.Se. Gnanavel
Produced By: Suriya & Jyothika
Production House: 2D Entertainment
Cinematography: SR. Kathir
Music Director: Sean Roldan
Edited By: Philomin Raj
Production Design: K. Kathir
Costumes: P. Selvam & Poornima Ramasamy
Fights/Stunts: Anbariv
Sound Design: S. Alagiyakoothan & Suren.G
Choreography: Dinesh
Audiography: Raja Krishnan M R
Hair & Make Up: Pattanam Rashid
Run Time: 2 Hours & 44 Minutes
CBFC Rating: "A"

Direction & Story

Jai Bhim is the story of a lawyer who fights for justice of a pregnant woman from a small tribal community who searches for her husband, who is arrested on a false case and goes missing from the police custody. The story is the biggest plus of the film. It is inspired by the real-life incidents in Tamil Nadu and is based on Chandru, an activist turned lawyer turned judge who fought many cases on behalf of small-town women, low-economic people & marginalized communities. Screenplay is brilliantly written. It keeps you engaged through its lengthy runtime & will never bore you. The tribal lifestyle is shown very authentically & the tension that is expected in a courtroom drama prevails neatly. Director Tha.Se. Gnanavel hits the ball out of the park. and surprises us with his conviction & command over the craft. He manages to raise the right kind of questions and throws light on several harsh realities.

Lead Performances

Lijo Mol Jose & K. Manikandan who play Sinnathalli & Rajanna respectively are the real heroes of the film for me. They both breathe life into their characters and come up with spotless & memorable performances. Lijo Jose's emotional performance is the solid anchor on which the entire film rests and the fight she put up as a pregnant woman is commendable. Manikandan comes up with a raw performance as the victim who gets oppressed by the police. Right from his look to the way he showcases the pain in all the investigation scenes looks very realistic and will move you for sure. Suriya is terrific as lawyer Chandru. He puts in a sincere and intense act with no commercial trapping. This is one of his career-best performances & a reminder that the actor is evolving. He deserves all the appreciation for agreeing to act & produce such a hard-hitting and socially relevant subject about the tribal community.

Other Performances

M.Sinrasu, Rajendran & Subadra are equally good as the other victims who get suffered due to the cops. Tamizh, Bala Hasan, Rajesh, Kumaravel, Jaya Prakash, Ravi. V & Subramani are excellent as the police officers. Prakash Raj is solid as the IG. He shines in the scene where he listens to the problems of the tribal people. Sanjay Swaroop, Shankar Sundaram, and Kumar Natarajan are neat and dignified as the judges. Rao Ramesh makes his Tamil debut. He is confident as the opposition lawyer and gives a solid fight to Suriya. Rajisha Vijayan also came with a decent performance in her limited supporting role as Maithra, the teacher. MS.Bhaskar, Ilavarasu, S.Dhanasekhar, Jayarao, Jijoi Pr, Maheshwaran, K.Raj, Bigil Siva, Srikanth, and Sujatha are adequate in their respective supporting roles. The rest of the cast and the other people who played the tribal people are good in their limited roles.

Detailed Analysis

It starts off well. The whole tribal lifestyle is realistically showcased and the conflict is introduced neatly. The film effectively showcases caste discrimination, the plight of the oppressed & abuse of power by the cops. The film has the required drama that is expected in these kinds of films and the courtroom scenes are the best parts of the film as they are engaging, authentic, and pretty much convincing with the law and logic. There are quite a few memorable scenes in the film. All the scenes of police brutality in the police station will make you empathize with the characters. The scene where DGP calls up the station and asks the SI to drop Sinnathalli back home is kickass. The climax of course will definitely leave you in tears after the verdict. The small twists are revealed at the right time making us glued to the proceedings. All the investigation scenes also are shown in a very natural manner.

Technical Team

Direction: 5/5
Story: 4.5/5
Screenplay: 4.5/5
Dialogues: 4.5/5
Music/Songs: 4/5
Background Score: 4.5/5
Production Values: 5/5
Cinematography: 5/5
Editing: 4.5/5
Costumes: 4.5/5
VFX/Graphics: 4/5
Sound Design: 4/5
Production Design: 5/5

Things to Look Out For

Sean Roldan's background music uplifts the emotions neatly and is supportive for the majority of the scenes. SR Kathir's camerawork and his lighting is brilliant as his visuals act as an effective tool of the narrative. The production design and costumes are authentic. The edit is on point & the makeup Production values are top-notch. team deserves a special mention.

Plus Points