Jolly LLB
Year: 2013
Director: Subhash Kapoor
Cast: Arshad Warsi, Boman Irani, Saurabh Shukla, Amrita Rao

Writer-director Subhash Kapoor had earlier delivered an intelligent comic caper Phas Gaye Re Obama. With Fox-Star studio stepping in as producers and getting a better-known cast, Kapoor’s next venture Jolly LLB had raised more expectations. So how does the film fare in the final analysis?

What’s the plot?

A struggling small-town lawyer (Arshad Warsi) comes to Delhi to make it big. After failing to make much headway, he decides that the best way to progress in his profession is to grab media publicity. So he files a PIL (Public Interest Litigation) against a recently let off rich heir, who in a drunken driving accident had mowed down some workers sleeping on the footpath. Now standing before the judge (Saurabh Shukla) and directly pitted against one of the best criminal lawyers (Boman Irani), the small fry immediately realizes that he is no match for the real shark! Now, he could either use this case for his selfish motives or stand up for the higher ideals. Which choice would he make? Would he succeed in his legal battle against the cunning veteran?

What’s hot?

·         Writer-director Subhash Kapoor presents a witty satire on the inefficient Indian legal system and shows us how the system is being manipulated in a million ways by corrupt cops, unscrupulous lawyers and moneyed people.

·         An appealing David versus Goliath story, drawing a lot from real life experiences.

·         Arshad Warsi’s affable, bumbling small-time lawyer and Boman Irani’s haughty, self-aggrandizing legal top-gun are superb but they remind of their earlier popular portrayals. Saurabh Shukla steals the show as a harried but intelligent and sharp-tongued judge. These three lead performances make the film worth watching.

What’s not?

·         Needless romantic track (with Amrita Rao as the heroine!).

·         Boring song-dance sequences.

·         Over-simplistic story-line.

Verdict

Jolly LLB is a funny, insightful and well-acted socio-political satire, which is worth a dekko!