A Potpourri of Vestiges Review
By Murtaza Ali Khan
With uncertainty still looming over,
the OTT platforms continue to make merry. A lot of the small and medium budget
films are making their way directly to the OTT platforms. Manish Gupta’s ‘420
IPC,’ which is currently streaming of ZEE5, is essentially a courtroom drama
that’s the latest in the long list of such films. Produced by ZEE Studios and
Rajesh Kejriwal and Gurpal Sachar under their banner Kyoorius Digital P.L, ‘420
IPC’ stars Vinay Pathak, Arif Zakaria, Ranvir Shorey, Gul Panag and Rohan Vinod
Mehra in major roles. The film revolves
around a chartered accountant Bansi Keswani (Vinay Pathak), who gets arrested
for an economic offence. Mehra plays the part of Pathak’s defence lawyer with
Shorey essaying the role of an eccentric public prosecutor and Panag portraying
the part of Pathak's wife.
Over the years, we have seen a lot of Indian films and series set in a courtroom making a mockery out of the judicial processes. We all have seen legal dramas which are all about loud dialogues and histrionics. And wherein the courtrooms are depicted as circuses and the judges are supposed to be ring masters yelling “Order! Order!” again and again. But all that has been changing gradually with filmmakers striving for realism in place of melodramought some dignity to the genre. One such film is ‘Section 375,’ which is also based on a screenplay by a. In recent times, we have witnessed a decent number of well-made courtroom dramas which have brGupta.
Towards
the end of ‘Section 375,’ a female lawyer tells her mentor, “Sir, I don’t think
that the justice was served.” The senior lawyer retorts, “We are not in the
business of justice. We are in the business of law.” The lawyer’s remark makes
it absolutely clear that justice and law are not synonymous. At the end of the
day, all laws are subject to human interpretation and a good lawyer understands
that there are enough provisions and technicalities to be toyed around with. It
all boils down to one thing—whether you can prove it in the court of law.
Now,
Keswani comes across as a simple Chartered Accountant who has
influential clients like the Deputy Director of MMRDA. When this client is
arrested by the CBI for a 1200 crore scam and another client accuses him of
stealing and forging 3 blank cheques of Rs. 50 Lakhs each,
Keswani’s life turns upside down as he fights the grave accusations of theft,
forgery, and attempted bank fraud. Is Keswani a crook or a victim? Well,
that’s really not the most important question. The real question is: Can Keswani’s
lawyer prove his innocence or not?
Having explored murder mysteries and
rape cases in his previous films, Gupta wanted to make a suspense film that did
not involve any gruesome crime and had an undercurrent of humour. It was during
his extensive search for ‘Section 375’ that he got the idea for a film based
upon court procedures in economic offence cases which have been an unexplored realm
as far as Hindi cinema is concerned. That’s how ‘420 IPC’ came into being. Just
like ‘Section 375,’ the screenplay again is very good. Here is an engaging courtroom
drama with a tight script with an edgy plot that keeps the audience hooked till
the end.
The acting performances are solid
all around. Vinay Pathak shines yet again in a role that comes across as
deceptively simple even though it has several layers. Rohan Vinod Mehra delivers another
measured performance following his impressive in turn in the 2018 film ‘Baazaar’.
Gul Panag also looks convincing in the role of Keswani’s wife. The film’s real
surprise package is Arif Zakaria who never ceases to amaze with his versatility.
Perhaps, the only weak link in the acting department is Ranvir Shorey whose
portrayal of a public prosecutor leaves a lot to be desired.
‘420 IPC’ has its share of
weaknesses but there is no denying that it’s a well made courtroom drama. While
it lacks the brilliance of ‘Section 375,’ it nonetheless succeeds in presenting
the court procedures in economic offence cases which is one area that largely
remains unexplored as far as Hindi cinema is concerned. Writer-Director Manish
Gupta whose earlier credits also include films like ‘Sarkar,’ ‘Darna Zaroori
Hai,’ ‘The Stoneman Murders,’ and ‘Rahasya’ shows great control over the material at hand. With ‘420 IPC,’ he attempts to tread uncharted
territories and dares to ask difficult questions about our judicial system and
the society at large. It’s heartening to see a well-researched courtroom drama
with a taut storyline and without any gimmicks.
A version of this review was first published at The Daily Guardian.
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