Skip to main content

Justice must appear to be done!

Jolly BA, LLB 2 (2017)

Is it not scary or what? Here I am heading to Lucknow for a literary festival, and on the plane, I randomly chose a film to watch. And the movie I decide to view is set in Lucknow, of all the places in India. Is it mere coincidence? Is it synchronicity, the higher powers over me having a quiet chuckle at my expense? Is it trying to show who the boss is? Or am I having a delusion of grandiose that the world revolves around me and for me? Daunting or am I just creating an issue out of nothing? A mountain out of a molehill or cherry-picking what suits me and cry "Boo!"

 This Akshay Kumar movie, which is the second offering after the excellent run of Jolly LLB. Sadly, the sequel does not live up to the standards of the former. It fails to impress in the humour department, and the story is pathetically predictable.

Jolly is a junior lawyer in an established law firm. He has not shown his mettle and is often looked down upon by his boss, partly because of his humble beginnings. To prove his worth, he sets up his own law firm by deceiving a client of her money. The client, a pregnant mother, tries desperately to clear her deceased husband's name who was accused of terrorism. She screams of police brutality, but nobody seems interested. Upon realising that she has been cheated, she commits suicide. The remorseful Jolly promise to continue the widow's work.

The law remains the last bastion upon which the common man can seek justice. Even though the truth is multifaceted and is dependent on perspectives, the ordinary Joe should have an avenue to air his grievances and hope for sympathy, remuneration and dignity. Increasingly the legal system appears not to seek justice but just mete punishment. The judicial system fails to portray independence and merely act as a rubber stamp of the ruling political master. Altruism and morality remain only in rhetorics, as a smokescreen to convince, not in action. It exudes a corrupt image that is easily bought over by power, money and all the ugly primal, animalistic instincts. Paradoxically this was the very reason why our forefathers tried to establish a system where the average person, deficient in own ways, also gets a place in the sun to carry the duties of his existence. The autonomy of the judiciary appears only on paper. 
Creative Commons License

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Gory historic details or gore fest?

Razakar:  The Silent Genocide Of Hyderabad  (Telegu, 2024) Director:  Yata Satyanarayana In her last major speech before her disposition, Sheikh Hasina accused those who opposed her rule in Bangladesh of being Razakars. The opposition took offence to this term and soon widespread mob throughout the land. Of course, it is not that that single incident brought down an elected government but a culmination of joblessness and unjust reservations for a select population group. In the Bengali psyche, Razakar is a pejorative term meaning traitor or Judas. It was first used during the 1971 Pakistan Civil War. The paramilitary group who were against the then-East Pakistani leader, Majibur Rehman, were pro-West Pakistan. After establishing independence in Bangladesh, Razakars were disbanded, and many ran off to Pakistan. Around the time of Indian independence, turmoil brewed in the princely state of Hyderabad, which had been a province deputed by the Mughals from 1794. The rule of N...

The products of a romantic star of the yesteryear!

Now you see all the children of Gemini Ganesan (of four wives, at least) posing gleefully for the camera after coming from different corners of the world to see the ailing father on his deathbed. They seem to found peace with the contributor of their half of their 46 chromosomes. Sure, growing up must have been hell seeing their respective mothers shedding tears, indulgence in unhealthy activities with one of them falling prey to the curse of the black dog, hating the sight of each step sibling, their respective heartaches all because of the evil done by one man who could not put his raging testesterones under check! Perhaps,the flashing lights and his dizzying heights that his career took clouded his judgement. After all, he was only human... Gems of Gemini Ganesan L-R: Dr Revathi Swaminathan, Narayani Ganesan, Dr Kamala Selvaraj, Rekha, Vijaya Chamundeswari   and Dr Jaya Shreedhar.  ( Abs:  Radha Usman Syed, Sathish Kumaar Ganesan) Seeing six of Ge...

Chicken's Invite? (Ajak-ajak ayam)

In the Malay lingo, the phrase 'ajak-ajak ayam' refers to an insincere invitation. Of course, many of us invite for courtesy's sake, but then the invitee may think that the invitation is for real! How does anyone know? Inviters and invitees must be smart enough to take the cue that one party may have gatecrashed with ulterior motives, or the other may not want him to join in the first place! Easily twenty years ago, my family was invited to a toddler's birthday party. As my children were toddlers, too, we were requested to come early so that my kids could run around and play in their big compound. And that the host said she would arrange a series of games for them to enjoy. So there we were in the early evening at a house that resembled very little of one immersed in joy and celebration. Instead, we were greeted by a house devoid of activities and no guests. The host was still out shopping her last-minute list, and her helper was knee-deep in her preparations to ...