Here comes a movie with two aspects: The one with overwhelming story of an innocent branded criminal who had to suffer at the hands of powerful and corrupt system and the other there is a small world with stained walls and seedy environs of district and sessions court.
The world of Jolly LLB not only welcomes the local flavour, language and culture of Lucknow, Kanpur and Jhansi but the lines and articulation also gets as much attention as the cheap sneakers and tricot pants and shirts that Jolly sports.
It’s a world where surnames are more defining than the first names, where cheating in exams is a legitimate business, where class divides rise above religious ones, where a 15th assistant is treated like house help by the senior lawyer. It’s also where professions are inherited but also broken into and away from by more ambitious youngsters. And where a Munshi’s son dreams of having a lawyer’s chamber of his own even if he has to pay a bribe of Rs.12 lakh for it.
Women may not have much of a role in the film but it’s interesting how they are still shown negotiating their own space within the larger male mindset. It’s about knocking at conservatism from within. Be it drinking secretly within the walls of home or dressing daringly in the husband’s company, away from the neighborhood in the anonymity of Hazratganj.
There’s a fine line between the conventional and the radical that Subhash Kapoor (director) treads very cannily, at times even questionably. His is not just a male world but a janehu-wearing (holy thread) Brahmindom that a hero belongs to but before your own politicized mind begins counting good Vs bad, Hindu Vs Muslim one can find him dividing them equally between the two.
My verdict: what Jolly LLB 2 essentially shows is how the marriage of opposites- the mainstream dramatic tropes and a realistic tapestry- can be the formula to go for Bollywood. That is of course, until it gets done to death.
– Viany Gupta
Film Maker and Producer, Vinr Films
Vinay Gupta Producer, VinR Films is a third-generation entrepreneur, with rich and varied experience in a wide range of business domains. Vinay is a software engineer from Amity, NOIDA. and has completed his MBA from the IT division of Symbiosis International University. He is also the Founder Director of Dynamic Technosoft (Software Company) and a Director in Vinsam Consultancy Pvt. Ltd. (Investments & Wealth Management Company). In his professional career Vinay has diverse experience in the fields of information technology, software projects, infrastructure development, financial wealth management, film making etc.
