2 months ago
15
The courtroom drama isn’t as over-the-top and outrageous as we see in most of the other films of the genre that revel in a heightened sense of performances read more
 "Pressing issue, lacklustre execution")
Cast- Ranvir Shorey, Manoj Joshi, Hitu Kanodia, Denisha Ghumra, Akshita Namdev, M.K. Shivaaksh, Rajeev Surti
Director: M.K. Shivaaksh
Language: Hindi
Manoj Joshi is a fine actor who is much more than the comic relief in those Priyadarshan comedies. In the last six years, he has played the role of a lawyer in three outings that turned out to be turds. His first was in a film called Kaashi: In Search of Ganga, next in line was the recent Hamare Baarah, and now he dons the black coat again in Accident Or Conspiracy Godhra. One was a fictional account of a schizophrenic, the second one was based on facts, and the third is an account of what happened in the state of Gujarat back in 2002.
And since the theme is against the backdrop of shocking real life events, as the trailer claims, we see gruesome visuals of what unfolded on that fateful day. Director M.K. Shivaaksh’s approach to shoot the scenes inside the train and capture the disaster and details outside reek of staleness. Despite the restraint of an actor as incredible as Ranvir Shorey, Accident Or Conspiracy Godhra barely allows us to feel for the victims. The subject is bold and debatable. The film also says the state hasn’t forgotten its most barbaric mishap. It also poses pressing questions with Shorey raising the issues that were left unanswered for long. But it all comes undone by sloppy portrayal.
The ensemble features largely fresh faces and unknown names that do their best to lift the material. In one scene, a character asks if the man he’s talking to knows the name of any one of those 59 people who died that day. It wasn’t only the state that felt the flames, the media and the people in power were trapped in the pandemonium too. People who ask and people who answer, both were overwhelmed by the calamity. And coming back to Joshi, one of his characters (a real life one) has witnessed the same tragedy in a 2019 film that was a biopic. Is it enough to laud the makers of this film to have the courage to touch upon an issue that was remembered but never addressed? Or should we also talk about how this crucial narrative has been marred by forgettable performances and lacklustre writing?
But to give credit where it’s due, the film also has Shorey with all his prowess trying to sail the boat to the finish line. The courtroom drama isn’t as over-the-top and outrageous as we see in most of the other films of the genre that revel in a heightened sense of performances. There are no cliched monologues or those cringe Geeta Ki Kasam scenes. Only if the overall impact of a film dealing with a subject as controversial as this was much more than what ultimately comes across.
Rating: 2 (out of 5 stars)
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English (US) ·