Join WhatsApp Channel
Neha Rajvansh (Sonakshi Sinha) is a rookie prosecuting advocate, daughter of the celebrity bigwig defense counsel, Ravi Rajvansh (Ashutosh Gowariker). She would like to join her father’s firm, but Ravi insists that nepotism is a dirty word and so she must win “10 consecutive cases” so that she can come in on merit. Neha accepts the challenge after winning her first case.
Ravi addresses her as “Princess” but treats her like she is something the cat brought in! Neha has several raw edges to her assessment of clients, events and other professional matters, and she is offered help and guidance by the experienced court stenographer, Sarika Rawat (Jyothika), who gives her crucial tips and pointers as she has seen it all. She thus helps Neha, who wins nine cases in a row.
Sarika is obviously financially compensated by Neha for her efforts, and she needs the money. This is because her husband, Laxman (Nishant Singh), is permanently handicapped in a fire accident, and their daughter (Aashriya Mishra) is a prodigy and the couple would love for her to get her the best in life, starting with higher education.
Neha’s tenth case is the most difficult. A family friend, a big-shot businessman, Vikram Bajral (Vijayant Kohli), is accused of murdering influencer Inaaya Kothari (Freya Kothari), whose death appears to be suicide. Neha follows Inaaya and she is shocked when she commits suicide. Pitted against Neha this time is dad Ravi. He reprimands her for taking the case and against him as counsel, telling her that he would make professional mincemeat of her and thus the prosecution. The culmination, therefore, is predictable, but what happens on the way is the twist.
And that twist is clever, largely unexpected and yet a shade fanciful. In the end, the film tackles issues like gender discrimination, social inequalities, nepotism, technicalities and manipulations, betrayals, ethics and conscience versus legal machinations and more. But it is essentially a tale of vendetta, and that’s no spoiler.
Sonakshi Sinha is surprisingly just adequate as Neha, but Jyothika as her helper who has to fend for her family and struggles to make ends meet is brilliant as Sarika, who places duty towards her husband and child above even certain societal conventions. Ashutosh Gowariker is not exactly the right choice but is decent. Nishant Singh impresses as Laxman and Aashriya Mishra as the Rawats’ kid is quite a find.
In supporting roles, Gaurav Pandey as Neha’s lover, Akshay, Upendra Chauhan as Inspector Rathi, Sayandeep Sengupta as Raghav, Diwanshu Gambhir as Juggi and Pranay Narayan as Adv. Mukesh Ahlawat are adequate. Addinath Kothare as Ravi’s son, Alok, passes muster.
The music is ho-hum and the script does not have a uniform pace and smooth flow. Ashwiny’s direction is competent, but personally, I expected much better cinema from this adept director of wonderful films like Nil Battey Sannata, Bareilly Ki Barfi and Panga.
The film is a shade different from many courtroom dramas, but as a Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari film does not reach the heights of her past work.
Rating: ***
Amazon Prime Videos present Baweja Studios’ System Produced by: Pammi Baweja, Harman Baweja & Smitha Baliga Directed by: Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari Written by: Harman Baweja, Arun Sukumar, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, Tasneem Lokhandwala & Akshat Ghidial Music: Ana Rehman, OAFF & Savera Starring: Sonakshi Sinha, Jyothika, Ashutosh Gowariker, Addinath Kothare, Vijayant Kohli, Nishant Singh, Freya, Gaurav Pandey, Upendra Chauhan, Sayandeep Sengupta, Diwanshu Gambhir, Pranay Narayan, Aashriya Mishra & others
