Court

I love to go for movies, and love to watch them on a big screen. Any, off the tract movie I seldom miss. So it was natural that I beelined for 'Court', award-winning Marathi movie. As such I have a soft corner for Marathi movies so many a time I have watched them either alone in a multiplex or in the company of not more than 10 patrons. 'Court' definitely drew decent crowd but it was prime time slot on Sunday!

I would love to dissect, not analyse, the movie on two levels. It's real worth and it's award-winning status. I am feeling sad to do so but that's it, dissection.

To start, I felt like I ended up paying for a very slow, not much to reveal, without any shockers in the plot, a documentary that ended so abruptly that, it was the only twist in the entire narration. I don't know where it lost that bite but as it went along it never caught me by my neck and made me swirl in my seat with uneasiness. The narration no doubt was without any pretensions but it lacked that zing, making it a totally bland dish. It just goes from one scene to another without really making any impact. And the shots linger so much that maybe a yawn escapes, especially in the scene where the court is adjourned for the day and attendant closes the room. Same for the last Arnala picnic. It drags on and on. On a different level, to show the difference between the statuses of Public prosecutor and the lawyer of the defendant, 'the dining out' scenes seemed contrived and mundane. For anybody in present-day Indian ethos with eyes widely open, it comes hardly as a shock, and the purpose of it serving as an eye-opener is totally lost without making any impact whatsoever. These are the realities of the day to day life that everybody is aware of and there is hardly any drama in it, to make it, into a full-length feature film. Made on the similar lines, about the futility and treachery of the Police and Judicial system, even in a country like US of A, 'Nothing but the truth' makes you cringe in the seat. Comparisons are always hideous but....    

It's so realistic that it does not pounce on you. You feel as if you have read a newspaper after morning's tea, leave everything at that and head for your daily chores forgetting about everything you read in a jiffy.  

On the second level: It has won President's Golden Lotus as an outstanding movie of the year. As a Marathi moviegoer, I felt extremely proud of it for two reasons. One, it being a Marathi movie and second, so far President's Awards are always held in high esteem!

Now is it really a Marathi movie? Of course, it's about Marathi but not in Marathi. And does it espouse the cause of Marathi? Many characters including the defence lawyer, never utter a word in Marathi. On the contrary, he wants the proceedings to be translated into a language other than Marathi. That too after living in Mumbai for life long! The court proceedings are conducted in Marathi accented English, naturally. So there goes half the chunk.

Awards! That's absolutely a different issue altogether. Manojkumar and Shankar Jaikishan getting them for 'Pehchan' was a big let down for a person like me who always felt that they should be always on merit! Shah Rukh Khan getting even nomination for ' Chennai Express' and ' Happy New Year' is an indication of, up to what level the standard has stooped.

So far President's awards were above this. Now I doubt! What criteria do they apply for selecting a movie for the highest slot is really bothersome. Or was the standard of other contenders was that dubious?