No One Killed Jessica
To those who didn’t a chance to read my previous post (for example here), hereby I declare that I am an avid fan of Hindi movies. Maybe it's too much to say that I grew up listening to songs from Bobby or Sangam, but I admit that my 'relationship' with Hindi movies does not started by the time Kuch Kuch Hota Hai hit our shores. It began a long way before that, to be honest.
It's time for another review, so here is No One Killed Jessica.
The movie title itself intrigued me so much when I first learnt that the movie would be Rani Mukerji’s next upcoming film. I was excited because she is one of the best actors in Bollywood, and I was craving for another solid power packed performance from her since her last two films, Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic and Dil Bole Hadippa! While she was quite entertaining in the latest, the former film was like ehhh?
Ok, back to the review.
No One Killed Jessica was based on a true story, the killing of Jessica Lall and the events that unfold after her murder.
The movie opened with Meera Gaity (Rani) in a voiceover, talking about Delhi, where she was born and posted as a news channel correspondent. Then we were introduced to a sleepy Sabrina (Vidya Balan), mumbling to the phone before waking up wide eyed at the mention of her sister being shot. She rushed to the scene to find the key witness at the verge of losing himself.
Flashback a few hours before the shootout. A big party was nearing its end, where Jessica (Myra) continued to serve drinks for approximately 300 socialites alongside her friend, Vikram Jai Singh (Neil Bhoopalam). As the drinks were over, Jessica and Vikram busied themselves to close the bar when a trio of friends, led by Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub as Manish Bharadwaj came, asking for drinks. She denied him and he produced a gun, threatening her to serve the drinks while Vikram and Naina looked on, horrified. Jessica asked him to put the gun away repeatedly, aggravating Manish and he shot twice, once at the ceiling and one at Jessica.
The shot proved to be fatal, as Jessica collapsed with a bloodied temple. The trio managed to flee even being stopped by Naina’s mum, Mallika, while the panicked Vikram screamed on top of his lung, ‘Somebody shot Jessica!’
Cut back to Sabrina, who disbelievingly repeated the fact, ‘he shot her… because she refused to give him a drink?’ Vidya was mesmerizing in this scene, her quite voice combined with astonishment her tone make one wonder, does a human life was cheaper than a price of a drink. Sabrina accompanied Jessica in the ambulance to another hospital and she herself pronounced her sister dead.
The next scene introduced Meera for the first time, reporting from Kargil, where India was fighting Pakistan at the LOC (yes, it IS a real life event. Read about it here). A devastating event to cover as a journalist, but it earned her a standing ovation from her colleagues upon arrival. From there we could see she craved for a new story, but unwilling to cover Jessica’s murder because she felt it was an open and shut case, since there were almost 300 eyewitnesses at the scene.
What she didn’t know was how Manish family tried to bail him off, even though Manish himself had confessed to the grey police officer, N.K. (Rajesh Sharma). The police went on to find more and more evidences including two live cartridges from the scene. We saw N.K. told Sabrina that the murderer might get away, since only seven people out of 300 as previously thought, gave their testimonial. Vikram Jai Singh was the key witness.
The movie entailed as witness were shown to be indirectly and subtly threatened or ‘bought’, evidences tempered by corrupted police officers and the menacing lawyers putting up an act in the court to save the offender’s arse. But apart from that, Sabrina’s family was torn apart after years of seeking justice. First her mom, then her dad. We could totally understand Sabrina’s frustration and loss of patient if after few ardours years of waiting, Manish and the gang were acquitted instead of punished.
This is where Meera finally received her call. Headline of a newspaper article, No One Killed Jessica finally spurted her to get moving to nail the bastards down. She did everything she could to wring out the truth, from various hidden camera stunt to playing out a recording given by N.K. for the world to hear the criminal’s own confession.
Her plight moved the people, calls started pouring through, as well as SMSes. One of the calls was from a group called Middle Finger Protests (known as Human Rights Protection Group now) from Chandigarh, which supported re-opening of the case. There were thousands of others too, which ultimately enable Meera and her news channel, NDTV to forward the SMSes and petitions to the President, urging a re-trial. A candlelight vigil was organised too at India Gate, New Delhi and for the first time after being fed up with the failing judicial system, Sabrina went and spoke about her sister again.
The movie ended with Meera handing out a paper to Sabrina (which I presumed the criminal’s verdict, a life imprisonment). Sabrina cried with anguish, for the first time ever letting out the tears she had been holding for a long seven years. Because she had said;
Phew.
I know this is more like a movie synopsis, but well. This is my blog. I write whatever I wanted. Haha~
So.
The verdict: 8/10 points.
The performances: Impressive. Although sometimes I think Rani was trying a bit too hard to be a bitch. But as expected, she commanded the screen every time she appeared. Vidya shone as Sabrina. Poignant, and without having too many words to convey, her body language and eyes spoke volumes. Her quiet voice tugged your heartstring. I think I’ll remember the way she delivered the line,
Rajesh Sharma as the police officer was brilliant. While he was not shy admitting he took a bribe, he wanted more than anyone else for the justice to be served. Neil Bhoopalam as Vikram Jai Singh, the key witness that turned hostile was fantastic. But to know that this person actually exist on this earth made me a little bit sick. I don’t know what I would do if I was given a choice of a bullet in my head or a million dollar in hand. The man wanted to live, but if he really had to, I would rather he lived quietly instead of trying to be a movie star. I mean, a movie star? What the heck?
Other actors were brilliant too, from Sabrina’s family to Manish family, including his nonsensical ‘i don't care about anything, but just save my son’ mother. Myra, who played Jessica was very good. In fact, the real Sabrina told the media that it was a bit thrilling that Myra resembled Jessica in a lot of way.
Dialogues: Tight and straight to the point. Not cheesy or too wordy. Simple, but delivered well by the actors.
Cinematography: Shot as a Guerrilla style. Love it, since it seemed so realistic and one cannot help but to believe it.
Music: I think En. Q was very glad that this film has incorporated scenes in the songs. Otherwise I would have to skip the songs like every time we watched a Hindi movie. They sounded ok, the voices raw and they were absolutely not a stereotypical melody.
Directing and editing: Superb editing and directing. First half was absolutely brilliant. Second half of the movie needed a better editing. And the ending? It was nice, because Jessica finally had her justice, but the event (candlelight vigil) before the ending was too stretched out. Had they cut 15 minutes of unnecessary scenes, No One Killed Jessica could be one of the contenders for The Best Feature Film at the Filmfare or National Film Award.
Moral of the story: People had the power to change everything when a system meant to protect them failed.
Less serious moral of story?
Emm... a movie could do well without a hero. Two heroines were more than sufficient. Haha~
Cik Atun: Against all odds.
It's time for another review, so here is No One Killed Jessica.
The movie title itself intrigued me so much when I first learnt that the movie would be Rani Mukerji’s next upcoming film. I was excited because she is one of the best actors in Bollywood, and I was craving for another solid power packed performance from her since her last two films, Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic and Dil Bole Hadippa! While she was quite entertaining in the latest, the former film was like ehhh?
Ok, back to the review.
No One Killed Jessica was based on a true story, the killing of Jessica Lall and the events that unfold after her murder.
The movie opened with Meera Gaity (Rani) in a voiceover, talking about Delhi, where she was born and posted as a news channel correspondent. Then we were introduced to a sleepy Sabrina (Vidya Balan), mumbling to the phone before waking up wide eyed at the mention of her sister being shot. She rushed to the scene to find the key witness at the verge of losing himself.
Flashback a few hours before the shootout. A big party was nearing its end, where Jessica (Myra) continued to serve drinks for approximately 300 socialites alongside her friend, Vikram Jai Singh (Neil Bhoopalam). As the drinks were over, Jessica and Vikram busied themselves to close the bar when a trio of friends, led by Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub as Manish Bharadwaj came, asking for drinks. She denied him and he produced a gun, threatening her to serve the drinks while Vikram and Naina looked on, horrified. Jessica asked him to put the gun away repeatedly, aggravating Manish and he shot twice, once at the ceiling and one at Jessica.
The shot proved to be fatal, as Jessica collapsed with a bloodied temple. The trio managed to flee even being stopped by Naina’s mum, Mallika, while the panicked Vikram screamed on top of his lung, ‘Somebody shot Jessica!’
Cut back to Sabrina, who disbelievingly repeated the fact, ‘he shot her… because she refused to give him a drink?’ Vidya was mesmerizing in this scene, her quite voice combined with astonishment her tone make one wonder, does a human life was cheaper than a price of a drink. Sabrina accompanied Jessica in the ambulance to another hospital and she herself pronounced her sister dead.
The next scene introduced Meera for the first time, reporting from Kargil, where India was fighting Pakistan at the LOC (yes, it IS a real life event. Read about it here). A devastating event to cover as a journalist, but it earned her a standing ovation from her colleagues upon arrival. From there we could see she craved for a new story, but unwilling to cover Jessica’s murder because she felt it was an open and shut case, since there were almost 300 eyewitnesses at the scene.
What she didn’t know was how Manish family tried to bail him off, even though Manish himself had confessed to the grey police officer, N.K. (Rajesh Sharma). The police went on to find more and more evidences including two live cartridges from the scene. We saw N.K. told Sabrina that the murderer might get away, since only seven people out of 300 as previously thought, gave their testimonial. Vikram Jai Singh was the key witness.
The movie entailed as witness were shown to be indirectly and subtly threatened or ‘bought’, evidences tempered by corrupted police officers and the menacing lawyers putting up an act in the court to save the offender’s arse. But apart from that, Sabrina’s family was torn apart after years of seeking justice. First her mom, then her dad. We could totally understand Sabrina’s frustration and loss of patient if after few ardours years of waiting, Manish and the gang were acquitted instead of punished.
This is where Meera finally received her call. Headline of a newspaper article, No One Killed Jessica finally spurted her to get moving to nail the bastards down. She did everything she could to wring out the truth, from various hidden camera stunt to playing out a recording given by N.K. for the world to hear the criminal’s own confession.
Her plight moved the people, calls started pouring through, as well as SMSes. One of the calls was from a group called Middle Finger Protests (known as Human Rights Protection Group now) from Chandigarh, which supported re-opening of the case. There were thousands of others too, which ultimately enable Meera and her news channel, NDTV to forward the SMSes and petitions to the President, urging a re-trial. A candlelight vigil was organised too at India Gate, New Delhi and for the first time after being fed up with the failing judicial system, Sabrina went and spoke about her sister again.
The movie ended with Meera handing out a paper to Sabrina (which I presumed the criminal’s verdict, a life imprisonment). Sabrina cried with anguish, for the first time ever letting out the tears she had been holding for a long seven years. Because she had said;
I made a promise to Jess. And to myself.Until justice is served... I won't cry.
Phew.
I know this is more like a movie synopsis, but well. This is my blog. I write whatever I wanted. Haha~
So.
The verdict: 8/10 points.
The performances: Impressive. Although sometimes I think Rani was trying a bit too hard to be a bitch. But as expected, she commanded the screen every time she appeared. Vidya shone as Sabrina. Poignant, and without having too many words to convey, her body language and eyes spoke volumes. Her quiet voice tugged your heartstring. I think I’ll remember the way she delivered the line,
Is the value of life... so cheap in our country? Cheaper than a drink?
Rajesh Sharma as the police officer was brilliant. While he was not shy admitting he took a bribe, he wanted more than anyone else for the justice to be served. Neil Bhoopalam as Vikram Jai Singh, the key witness that turned hostile was fantastic. But to know that this person actually exist on this earth made me a little bit sick. I don’t know what I would do if I was given a choice of a bullet in my head or a million dollar in hand. The man wanted to live, but if he really had to, I would rather he lived quietly instead of trying to be a movie star. I mean, a movie star? What the heck?
Other actors were brilliant too, from Sabrina’s family to Manish family, including his nonsensical ‘i don't care about anything, but just save my son’ mother. Myra, who played Jessica was very good. In fact, the real Sabrina told the media that it was a bit thrilling that Myra resembled Jessica in a lot of way.
Dialogues: Tight and straight to the point. Not cheesy or too wordy. Simple, but delivered well by the actors.
Cinematography: Shot as a Guerrilla style. Love it, since it seemed so realistic and one cannot help but to believe it.
Music: I think En. Q was very glad that this film has incorporated scenes in the songs. Otherwise I would have to skip the songs like every time we watched a Hindi movie. They sounded ok, the voices raw and they were absolutely not a stereotypical melody.
Directing and editing: Superb editing and directing. First half was absolutely brilliant. Second half of the movie needed a better editing. And the ending? It was nice, because Jessica finally had her justice, but the event (candlelight vigil) before the ending was too stretched out. Had they cut 15 minutes of unnecessary scenes, No One Killed Jessica could be one of the contenders for The Best Feature Film at the Filmfare or National Film Award.
Moral of the story: People had the power to change everything when a system meant to protect them failed.
Less serious moral of story?
Emm... a movie could do well without a hero. Two heroines were more than sufficient. Haha~
Cik Atun: Against all odds.
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