Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai movie review: Manoj Bajpayee gives a masterclass in Bollywood's best courtroom drama in … – DNA India

Director: Apoorva Singh Karki

Solid: Manoj Bajpayee, Adrija, Surya Mohan Kulshrestha, Vipin Sharma, Jai Hind Kumar, Durga Sharma

The place to observe: Zee5

Ranking: 4.5 stars

Not fairly often do you come throughout a movie with a runtime of 132 minutes that may be a slow-burn, with none music or dance, and but manages to maintain you on the egde of the seat for its complete length. That feat, itself, ought to earn Apoorva Singh Karki’s Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai a standing ovation. However the movie manages to do far more. A smartly-written and brilliantly-acted courtroom drama, this movie reveals why Manoj Bajpayee guidelines the OTT area like no different.

Insired by true occasions, Bandaa relies on the rape case wherein self-proclaimed godman Asaram Bapu was despatched to jail. The movie follows the five-year-long authorized battle fought by the minor sufferer (Adrija) and her household, with the assistance of Jodhpur-based advocate PC Solanki (Manoj Bajpayee). The movie doesn’t identify the godman (filmmakers say they solely had the rights for Solanki) however stays devoted to the small print of the case and what transpired each inside and out of doors the courtroom from 2013-18.

Bandaa is a really devoted retelling of an actual incident. And but, it is a fascinating story too. It doesn’t compromise on the storytelling within the bid to remain near the truth. Attaining that delicate steadiness is one thing author Deepak Kingrani and director Apoorva Singh Karki have managed fairly effectively.

The movie additionally stays away from the histrionics, dialoguebaazi, and melodrama that a number of Hindi-language courtroom dramas have resorted to through the years. And but, it by no means seems to be dry. Sure scenes the place the attorneys use their authorized knowhow to argue are so effectively written that even laymen can comply with with out feeling as if the movie is getting preachy. So far as authorized and courtroom dramas go, Bandaa is without doubt one of the finest Bollywood has produced ever, not simply in recent times.

Bandaa additionally succeeds in very sensitively portraying a fragile case. Regardless of being a couple of rape, it by no means explicitly depicts the sexual assault or talks in regards to the assault in any insensitive method. The scenes the place somebody describes the assault are designed to evoke emotions of disgust and disgrace, one thing the movie manages effectively. Amid all of the authorized drama and delicate depiction of assault, the movie even manages to infuse some humour however not in a way that distracts you from the seriousness of all of it. However it does exist as a reminder that life isn’t all critical.

[embedded content]

The movie hinges on the masterful efficiency of Manoj Bajpayee. Repeatedly, the veteran actor has raised the bar of dramatic performances. In Bandaa, but once more, because the small-town lawyer Solanki, he balances the person’s conviction and tentativeness so superbly that the character turns into a respiration human which you could relate too. He brings out Solanki’s interior conflicts and his dry humour in his trademark fashion in a way so deft that I really feel it needs to be taught in performing faculties. A few of his lengthy monologues (significantly the closing argument) ought to rank among the many finest scenes of Bajpayee’s illustrious profession.

However it’s not as if that it’s a one-man present. Among the many remainder of the solid, Adrija, who performs the sufferer Nu, shines in her restricted scenes. Vipin Sharma additionally excels within the troublesome job of depicting a human, almost-sympathetic portrayal of the defence lawyer, the person tasked with defending the rapist. The seasoned actor brings his A-game to point out a human aspect of what may very effectively have in any other case been a ‘detrimental’ character. Among the many remainder of the solid, Surya Mohan Kulshrestha because the baba and Jai Hind Kumar because the sufferer’s father additionally do justice to their troublesome roles.

Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai excels in virtually division. The music units the tone however doesn’t hammer down the factors. It additionally neatly evokes the sense of urgency (and infrequently dread) wanted within the narrative. The writing is crisp with all characters written like well-rounded people and never carictaures or stereotypes. Full marks to Deepak Kingrani for together with the monitor about religion and faith in a manner that’s so natural and matter-of-fact that you simply marvel if countering polarisation is basically that easy.

My one complain with Bandaa begins and ends within the first 4 minutes – the opening credit are set to a title monitor that may be a bit too peppy and off-key for this movie. However the remaining 2 hours are sufficient for me to ‘forgive’ that simply. Bandaa is without doubt one of the uncommon movies within the ‘should watch’ class to come back out of Hindi cinema of late. Come for a Manoj Bajpayee masterclass, and keep for a lesson in make an entertaining, partaking movie on a critical, delicate problem. Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai releases on Zee5 on Might 23.

Adblock take a look at (Why?)