No One Killed Jessica

“Bh*****d.. hath kaise laga sakta hai ?? aaj agar hath lagayega to kal rape bhi kar sakta hai”

This is the dialogue by Jessica Lall aggressively beating a guy who teased her sister Sabrina. And that is what the central theme of the movie No One Killed Jessica (NOKJ); don’t tolerate – fight for the justice.

With NOKJ, Director Raj Kumar Gupta gives a film that takes a true story, fills it with adequate imagination and drama and turns it into a reel life event. NOKJ is the intense thriller based on the murder case of Model Jessica Lall who was shot dead by son of a well-known politician just because she refused to serve him drinks in a high-heeled celebrity party in Delhi, the rigorous trials followed by it, and the single-handed investigating fight for justice by her sister Sabrina Lall.

It shows the crippled face of Indian judiciary and legal system where using the loopholes in policing system how an accused was acquitted after seven years of exhaustive trials by the lower court despite having 300 high profile eye-witnesses and other circumstantial evidences. It ridicules on such system where, for a guy with power in head and a gun in hand, the value of life is way cheaper than drinks. How the sweet facade of high society party goers can be in reality extremely ugly. It displays the voice of a common man making a big difference in this perturbed world, reopening the once shut case and sending the freely moving accused behind the bars. The role of fourth pillar of democracy – media often dejected nowadays can also be so powerful enough to influence any such wrong decisions taken by the other three pillars of democracy.

The Performances of each character in the movie is power packed. Vidhya Balan plays a role of Sabrina Lall who unlike her swanky, party goer sister is artless and sober. She symbolizes the never-say-die attitude of today’s woman in her fighting for justice against the might of a politician. Her body language itself has become dull, she does’t even care about her looks and outfits. She is so exasperated that she can’t even talk making an eye-to-eye contact but she is dedicated, and when surrounded by reporters and asked whether she is scared as the people she is fighting with are so powerful, she has the guts to say “It doesn’t scare me”. The roll is portrayed in the same way how the common man survives in this country after cumbersome struggles. After seven years of her rigorous efforts for justice, having lost the case in lower court, having lost her mother during this battle, the already fed up Sabrina joins the combat again with the support of whole country. Her devotion and her wrath finally bring the justice to Jessica. Vidhya has acted beautifully in each such frame of the movie.

Rani plays roll of an unflinching and audacious media person – Meera Gaity, who is brave, brazen, tough-talking and independent news lady. She argues a lot and proudly tags herself a bitch. She doesn’t hesitate swearing, smoking and having sex but she is strong enough to re-visit the case and influence the wrong decision. She is the one who at the end proves that the utmost power is in the hands of public – the common man not in those political power circles. Rani has done an impeccable job in her new avatar of newshound.

The Support cast has equally done a fabulous job, be it a investigating cope Rajesh Sharma who even though takes a bribe but also wants justice for Jessica, and hates the nepotism in system or be it a debutant Myra who exquisitely played the courageous role of Jessica herself. The characters like defense lawyer, the money monger witnesses, and the model-actor also the prime witness of the case who at the end turned hostile are also been played in blameless manner and adds life to the infamous plot.

The Music and background score by Amit Trivedi needs a huge clap as he has done a wonderful job in giving the enthralling plot the heavy metal touch, and moreover to that when lyricist is Amitabh Bhattacharya, the final outcome is simply captivating. The dialogues make the Delhi more energetic on the screen. Cinematography is totally flawless.

In short instead of all such swearing words and an “A” certificate given to it it’s a must watch for every citizen or every family of the country. India at present is in the great need to come out of her traditional tolerance limits. It was Jessica there, but it can be any girl next door. It’s a high time to wake up and again and again India needs to prove that the power must be only in the hands of Public – The Aam Junta. Still there are so many such cases in our country pending like that of Aarushi, Priyadarshini Mattoo and many more. Can’t we have the Jessica way for them ?