Nna Thaan Case Kodu movie review: In the Kunchacko Boban courtroom drama, victory seems like a defeat
In Nna Thaan Case Kodu, which is Malayalam for sue me, Rajeev (Kunchacko Boban) is a reformed thief. After escaping from cops throughout an tried theft, Rajeev finds refuge beneath the shadows of Devi (Gayathrie), a Tamil-speaking woman residing in Kerala. He falls in love with Devi and decides to show the nook. Devi, figuring out that he has a troubled historical past with the legislation, provides him an opportunity to reform. She agrees to enter a relationship with him on the promise that he would by no means return to thieving once more. And so they each resolve to begin a household with out first moving into wedlock. Who mentioned live-in relationships had been unique to urban-dwelling, liberal-minded, well-earning, rebellious children?
When Rajeev is accused of theft once more, Devi doesn’t get hysterical about falling for his guarantees. She merely tells Rajeev, “Go away in order that my youngster doesn’t have to hold the disgrace of your deeds.” When a cop identifies Devi as Rajeev’s spouse, she shortly corrects him, “We’re not married, simply lovers.” She isn’t ashamed of her life decisions and doesn’t fear about being judged. She is a robust, unbiased girl whilst by her we’d misunderstand her as a poor, weak and helpless girl. Her strong-willed persona breaks the stereotypes that include how she appears to be like.
Rajeev additionally has extra to his persona than what we assume of him primarily based on his greasy, unkempt look. He is aware of sufficient of the legislation to persuade a choose to grant him bail with out the assist of authorized help.
The primary supply of the movie’s leisure is how director Ratheesh Balakrishnan Poduval presents the narrative by means of characters handpicked from real-life. It’s a component courtroom drama and half procedural movie. It’s not nearly two sides making glorious factors concerning the case. It’s about issuing challans, discovering related sections, writing numerous petitions, and making extra petitions. And the movie additionally highlights how the justice system on paper is efficient however human error in imposing it renders it much less efficient.
The choose, performed by a superb P.P. Kunhikrishnan within the film, is quirky. He has his personal set of eccentric qualities. Whereas for Rajeev and Devi, their life will depend on their petition, for the choose, it’s simply one other case from the limitless stream of circumstances. He’s not emotionally invested within the case as a lot as Rajeev and Devi. However, that doesn’t imply he can not have enjoyable listening to the case, which appears to be constructing as much as one thing surprising.
Kunhikrishnan’s efficiency is likely one of the highlights of the film. The little smiles signalling that he’s a sucker for flattery and the way just a little reward can get him to signal on essential orders, all spotlight how the human issue muddles a near-perfect authorized system.
Ratheesh has achieved a tremendous job hand-picking each actor within the solid. All of them match into their given roles seemingly and ship a really lived-in efficiency, one thing that we will’t expertise from common stars.
Nna Thaan Case Kodu appears like a non secular sequel to Mahaveeryar. Each are courtroom dramas that discover the themes of reality, justice and equality. Extra importantly, they sort out the thought of holding these in energy accountable for his or her actions in a court docket of legislation. Mahaveeryar puzzled about how effectively our trendy prison justice system will fare had it existed within the instances of kings and emperors. In Nna Thaan Case Kodu, Ratheesh tries to look at the facility and instruments of a court docket on the subject of holding the modern-day royalties, aka political leaders, accountable.
In contrast to Mahaveeryar, Nna Thaan Case Kodu doesn’t have any fantasy aspect to it. It’s effectively grounded within the realities of the present instances. There’s a preferred dialogue within the traditional Kannada film Bhootayyana Maga Ayyu that captures the hard-hitting reality about frequent individuals knocking on the doorways of courts to unravel their conflicts. The dialogue goes, ‘Kōrṭalli geddavanu sōta, sōtavanu satta’ (in a court docket dispute, you lose in case you win and in case you lose, you’re useless). In different phrases, there isn’t a winner in a court docket case. And Nna Thaan Case Kodu is the personification of those clever phrases.
The victory on the finish of a long-drawn authorized battle doesn’t really feel candy. It’s quite bitter and tense, makes little distinction and seemingly no person cares.
