F E AT U R E
Where would
Bollywood’s women be
if they didn’t have male
lawyers to rescue them?
A
niruddha Roy Choudhary’s courtroom drama Pink
features a jaded lawyer coming to the rescue of
three young women who are locked in a legal
battle with their molesters. It is a cocktail of old tropes
and new debates that begs to be savoured thoughtfully.
Even as the movie’s deft handling of nuanced issues
like consent have attracted praise, its incorporation of
the stock character of a male who saves damsels in distress has raised eyebrows. Although the lawyer Deepak
Sehgal in Pink is a reincarnation of an old archetype, he
helps to establish a truth that is rarely discussed: feminists come in many genders. Regardless of their overarching purpose in the narrative, Hindi cinema is replete
with disillusioned, superhero lawyers who swagger to
the rescue of women in trouble, swapping their capes
for appropriately somber black coats.In Baat Ek Raat Ki,
Rajesh, a successful lawyer, saves Neela from drowning. After conducting a few enquiries, he finds that Neela has confessed to murdering a man and is in police
custody. However, Rajesh is irrationally but instinctively
convinced that Neela doesn’t have it in her to commit
as heinous a crime as murder, and decides to represent
her in court. He pieces together the story of Neela’s past
by cajoling her mother, gently bullying her employer and
confessing his love to Neela. The case goes to court and
Rajesh manages to prove Neela’s innocence by performing theatrical feats of intellect and cunning. In Meri
Jung, Arun earns the undying gratitude of two women
through his heroics in court. When Geeta requests him
to defend her sister, Asha, who has been accused of
murder, he reluctantly agrees. In court, Arun thumbs his
nose at the entire concept of forensic analysis when he
swallows poison to prove Asha’s innocence. Asha is exonerated and Geeta falls in love with Arun. Meri Jung is
a riotous melodrama, complete with screaming matches
in courtrooms, ornate Urdu words masquerading as
legalese and massively entertaining fight sequences.
Damini is as dramatic as Meri Jung, but manages to be
much more socially relevant. The eponymous character
witnesses her brother-in-law and his cronies raping the
domestic help, Urmi. Damini is relentless in her pursuit
of justice for Urmi but encounters formidable enemies in
her family, police officers, and the defence lawyer. When
she is about to despair, she meets Govind. Govind is a
lawyer who has ceased practice because his experiences have left him disenchanted and angry with the legal
system. Damini manages to convince Govind to represent her, and he becomes her avenging angel. Equipped
with a “dhai kilo ka haath” and an acerbic tongue, he
is preternaturally skilled at swatting away bad guys as
well as proving facts in court. In court, Govind vents his
anger at the system through the now iconic dialogue:
“Insaaf nahi milta, milti hai toh bas tareekh.” In securing
justice for Damini, Govind not only saves her, but also
rescues himself from a life of drunken misery.In Thikana,
Ravi is a profligate, alcoholic lawyer who is a fierce advocate of truth. When he realises how his aimlessness
is affecting his sister, Shashi, he decides to clean up his
act and accept employment from a dancer, Shaila. She
requires Ravi to petition police protection for her brother
Avinash, who believes himself under threat from a powerful politician. Although the petition is rejected, Ravi
finds out that Avinash has been murdered by his sister’s
fiancé. Ravi’s newly discovered commitment towards
making a respectable living is threatened by his love for
Shashi. Thikana does not feature too many courtroom
scenes, but derives its drama from Ravi’s personal life
and his efforts to unearth the truth. Phir Milenge is a film
of an entirely different ilk, featuring courtrooms that look
real because of their dinginess and lawyers murmuring
in hushed, but decisive voices. After Tamannah discovers that she is HIV positive, she is unceremoniously
fired from her workplace. She decides to sue her employer and meets Tarun, a slightly bored and extremely
green corporate lawyer. Although he initially refuses to
represent her, Tarun caves in the face of Tamannah’s
determination and his own idealism. As Tarun begins to
understand Tamannah’s dilemma, his attitude towards
HIV positive patients undergoes a transformation. After
he loses in a Civil Court, Tarun realises that the case is
not merely about his client who has grown to become
his friend, but several others like her, who are deprived
of basic rights and legal recourse. Tarun finally manages
to win the case in the High Court after he sermonises
about the stigma around AIDS, but the jubilation is muted. It is not the victory which matters, but Tarun’s growth
and Tammanah’s future.
19 | BOOM