A judge will shout “Order, order”, the defendants will mock each other. There is no dearth of courtroom stereotypes in our Bollywood dramas. We give you a list of the good, bad and ugly in the genre:
Damini (1993): The film showed Sunny Deol as a hot-blooded lawyer who fights for justice for a gang- rape victim. No contempt of court when you scream at the judge in frustration, “Ukhad ke phek do in katgharo ko, jala dijiye in kanoon ki kitabon ko”. Only if proceedings could get quicker by intimidating the judge all the time. Also, “Tareekh par tareekh”. Enough said..
Khichdi (2010): The judge and the people in the witness box, Praful (Rajeev Mehta) and Himanshu (Jamnadas Majethia) get chatting about the difference between the meaning of ‘hands up’ and ‘handsome’ in the middle of a proceeding (nahi Milord, nahi!) when the latter is framed for a murder. What does it take to become a lawyer? Just a black robe like Hansa’s (Supriya Pathak) and you’re ready to fight a case.
{{/usCountry}}Khichdi (2010): The judge and the people in the witness box, Praful (Rajeev Mehta) and Himanshu (Jamnadas Majethia) get chatting about the difference between the meaning of ‘hands up’ and ‘handsome’ in the middle of a proceeding (nahi Milord, nahi!) when the latter is framed for a murder. What does it take to become a lawyer? Just a black robe like Hansa’s (Supriya Pathak) and you’re ready to fight a case.
{{/usCountry}}Jazbaa (2015): A moment of silence for this one, please. Touted as Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s comeback film, all we got from it was a screaming and overly dramatic lawyer fighting the case of a rapist and murderer to ensure her kidnapped daughter is safe. Zooming into her eyes repeatedly, coupled with loads of aasoon and dard. Tissues or earplugs, anyone? Meh.
Mera Saaya (1966): What happens when you see your dead wife walking on the road one day? Sunil Dutt plays the lawyer fighting a case to learn that the woman who resembles his dead wife is really his wife. And how do you prove that? A birthmark your husband has or a diary that nobody knows about, obviously. We swear on Sadhana’s glycerin that she’s telling the truth.
Aitraaz (2004): Kareena Kapoor plays a lawyer wife fighting for her husband (Akshay Kumar) in a sexual harassment case against the rich and powerful Priyanka Chopra. This was a first in Bollywood and Chopra’s character is portrayed as a bold seductress. The role got her critical acclaim for her performance and also showed that the patni is always there for the pati, even in the courtroom, no matter what.
From HT Brunch, October 2, 2016
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