Court - A Mirror

Court, really, really agitated me in the first half, to say the least. 

“What is wrong with this director?” I thought. The excruciatingly slow-mo pace of it all! I mean I couldn't care less about how the defense lawyer grocery shopped, how slow he drove his car  home, or the local train ride of the prosecution lawyer, her family dinner time etc.

Pic courtesy :http://marathistars.com/movies/court-2015-marathi-movie/

But sometime in the second half, between the testimony of the victim’s wife and the payment of the bail fee by the defense lawyer, I was convinced.

I was convinced why such dragged and slow pace of the movie was needed; and I realized why Bollywood is so much in demand.

Because reality is slow, reality is protracted, reality is bordering on mindless boredom,

In real life, there is only so much we can do when an innocent is wronged. 

In real life, there is art promoting regional hate (the play in which the actor shows how outsiders have hijacked the state of Maharashtra) and there is genuine appreciation, even moderate remuneration for such art. But when a Lokshahir speaks his mind, he does is free of cost and without any appreciation.

In reality, the laws that govern us are Victorian-age laws. Our legal system discourages application of mind. It is O.K. to physically assault anyone who hurt the sentiments of any section of people. And it is okay to foment such an attack. 

In reality, people do enter into gutters for cleaning them, even at the peril of their life; because that is the only possible means of putting food on the table. And when a poor woman becomes a widow, she is scared instead of sad.  She must forget her grief in order to feed herself and those who rely on her.

In reality, a very educated man of the society (the judge in Court) will find no harm in suggesting rings and numerology as the solution to a child's disease. He will be scared instead of decisive, when laws like UAPA are quoted. He will grant bail haltingly or even avoid giving it for he is fearful of a misstep on his part. He will not find it his conscience to alleviate the suffering of a diseased, 65 year old man.

Reality is bland! 

There were moments in the film when I wished for a Sunny Deol of Damini, instead of the defense lawyer. I wished for someone yelling out loud: tareekh pe tareekh pe tareekh. I wished for a Singham to defy laws of physics and save an innocent.

I wished that everyone wouldn't just normally withdraw from the court at 6:15 for summer vacation leaving Kamble to spend his days in jail.

What about the students he taught? What about the books he was publishing? What about the health of that sharp-tongued simpleton?

I wondered about the numerous Kamble's who suffer in silence, as we all turn the page to next day of our lives.