Jai Bhim (2021/Tamil) movie focuses on the legal drama involving people belonging to the Indigenous community of India. In a way, this film offers a peek into the issue of casteism and social discrimination in India. The real-life court case of Justice Krishnaswami Chandru (Tamil Nadu) has loosely inspired this film.
Focuses on Persecution of Indigenous Adivasi People In India
Spoiler-Free Brief Review of the Jai Bhim (2021/Tamil) Movie
The synopsis
A pregnant woman from a primitive tribal community searches desperately for her husband, who is missing from police custody. To find her husband and seek justice for them, as their voice, a High Court advocate rises in support.
Will their battle for justice succeed?
Inspired by a real-life court case
This film is based on the true incident from 1993, wherein the indigenous tribal persons were wrongly arrested. And then were allegedly tortured by the police in Tamilnadu, India. Advocate Chandru (in the 1990s period) fought for justice in the courtroom, on behalf of arrested indigenous tribal people.
This courtroom drama movie focuses on the same. Notably, Justice Chandru assisted in developing this case as a documented movie script.
A fictionalized and dramatized version
It is worth noting that the real-life court case involving indigenous (Adivasi) people and the state police kept on going for more than a decade long period. However, the makers and writers have reduced the court case period to approximately a year in this movie. Maybe, they did not wish to show that “Justice delayed is Justice denied” in India. Now, one can imagine the plight of innocent indigenous (Adivasi) persons who spent decades in jail. That too on false cases filed against them by the authorities, the police officials. And somehow, in real-life scenarios, the court cases went on for years.
However, we did not like this fictional tale (inspired by a true incident in 1990s India) condensed the timeline to a year (from a real period of more than a decade) in this legal drama involving a court case in India. Nevertheless, the film has taken a few artistic liberties to bring us this important social-political-legal tale.
The conclusion
Despite the fictionalisation of the harsh ground realities in India, this Indian courtroom drama movie is not a typical masala film from India. The film does not allow you to escape the truth of the matter. It compels you to look at the rampant social and political discrimination in India.
For the indigenous (tribal/adivasi) people, the ground realities (social-political-legal) have not improved much, even in the new India of 2023. We recommend that you all watch this great legal drama movie because of the realistic subject matter, well-written script, and captivating acting by both Lijo Mol Jose and Suriya. It was released on Prime Video in November 2021, and then it received universal acclaim from critics in India. Later, this film was India’s official entry to the 94th Academy Awards (its details shared below), but it failed to make the shortlist.
Still, it is an important story of our times.
The team behind this film must be praised for undertaking a journey into the unequal world of Indian society.
Watch this film, if you wish to learn about the harsh social realities in the rural areas – the proverbial backyard of India. Applause!!
Rating of the Jai Bhim (2021/Tamil) Movie
| FM Rating | 4.25/5 |
Poster of the Jai Bhim (2021/Tamil) Movie
Key Details about the Jai Bhim (2021/Tamil) Movie
| Genre | Crime, Drama, Mystery |
| Original language | Tamil (India) |
| Released | November 2021 |
| Age-restrictions | A (18+) |
| Director | T.J. Gnanavel |
| Writers | T.J. Gnanavel & Rajendra Sapre |
| Cast | Suriya, Lijo Mol Jose, Manikandan K, etc. |
Trailers of the Jai Bhim (2021/Tamil) Movie
Jai Bhim (2021) Movie - Official Hindi Trailer | Suriya | Amazon Prime Video | YouTube Link.
Awards Won by the Jai Bhim (2021/Tamil) Movie
| Names of the Awards | Details of the Awards Winners |
|---|---|
| Filmfare Awards South 2022 | Jai Bhim – Tamil Film Industry – Best Film Lijo Mol Jose – Tamil Film Industry – Best Actress |
| Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards 2022 | Jai Bhim – Best Film Suriya – Best Actor Lijo Mol Jose – Best Actress T.J. Gnanavel – Best Director |
Focus: It was the India’s official entry to the Oscar Awards
"Jai Bhim weaves in real case studies helmed by Activist-Lawyer Chandru, who brought justice to indigenous tribes in Tamil Nadu through his relentless efforts. Writer-director TJ Gnanavel reveals how the story narrative was formed and executed."
Oscar | YouTube
Spoiler Alert: the harsh social and institutional reality in India
Justice Krishnaswami Chandru describes the real-life cases in India
The social & political realities
Please allow us to share the excerpts from the said article to highlight the harsh ground realities, that exist for the indigenous tribal communities of India in 2023.
This film is not a mere retelling of Sengini’s tragic tale, but is more about throwing light on the larger picture of the victimisation of vulnerable communities like the Irula tribe.
Justice Krishnaswami Chandru | The Federal
In the film, the lawyer tells Sengini to continue fighting the case (even after she knows her husband is dead) because it can prevent another custodial death. At this point, Surya is taking the film to another level. Instead of making a crime thriller based on one case, the film shows how the Irula (tribal) community is slowly learning to fight back against police atrocities. Twenty-five years later, after the Sengini case, even today, Irula tribals are facing similar attacks all over South Arcot.
But the difference is now the Irula tribals are fighting back. If there is an attack on an Irula village, an SC/ST complaint is filed. There are a lot of cases filed against the police for torture and illegal custody.
If you like legal courtroom drama inspired by real-life incidents, then check out our FM article about the Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai film, too.
Featured & Other Images: Jai Bhim film | Amazon Prime Video.
