It’s 7th of Jan today, and the temperature outside is 4 degrees, plus the infamous chilling killing Delhi winds and a lot of fog to top it all. I went for a late night movie (No one killed Jessica) and while leaving my house was almost sure I’d be the only fool to be out, watching a movie in this weather. But the hall was full, at a night show, from the first to the last row! It could also be the first day rush but a houseful in this weather is commendable.
And the movie, turned out to be just what I knew it would turn out to be- an overwhelming experience! Even before I walked into the cinema hall I knew it was going to be a good one. Not because it’s well made or because it’s for a cause (in this case, the cause has already been achieved) but because it tells a story that brings hope. It brings hope for everybody who is fighting for justice, for everybody who is scared to act, for everybody who wants to see Delhi get the status of a ‘true’ national capital.
Vidya Balan has done a marvelous job as Jessica’s sister Sabrina. Absolutely loved her poised and strong character! The newcomer Myra as Jessica is fresh and lovable. I instantly fell in love with her and felt the anger of her murder! And that is exactly the emotion that instances like these have evoked in the minds of the common man today. The fear of ‘it could have been me’ is what brings everybody together up against injustice. About Rani Mukherjee, I am not too sure if she was right for the role. She was unable to mask her natural suaveness by the façade of her character Meera. In short, she did not suit the role and the swear words seemed kind of forced onto her.
The movie had some very powerful moments and an excellent narrative. Meera says, “Everybody is somebody in Delhi, nobody is a nobody.” And as a Delhiite I second that. It truly justifies the character of the city. A lot has been said about Delhi lately in the movies, about power and its manipulation, about the vivacious character, about the crime…all bad things mostly. Even Jessica has a line “Yeh Dilli hai, yahaan ladna seekh le, nahi toh kuch nahi kar payegi!” (This is Delhi and you better learn how to fight if you want to survive here!) But this one also talks about hope. Sabrina says in the movie, “There’s no hope, there never was!” she’s proven wrong by the end of the movie. And the best part is- It’s not a made up climax, it happened for real!
Media’s role in this case cannot be denied. Although everybody loves to hate the news persons for the awful shit they telecast in their 24-hr news channels, the fact that they brought everybody together, that they gave common man the voice that helped build the pressure, can’t be over looked. I thought SMS was just a gimmick used by the television channels to fool people and make more money. Not that it’s not THAT, but it also is so much more…for the first time I saw it as a political weapon.
Another powerful weapon of the movie undoubtedly is its music and the background score. The tracks ‘Dilli’ and ‘Aitbaar’ were absolutely amazing and projected the helplessness of the weak in a battle against those ‘with power in their heads’.
I guess it’s time that we, the self-proclaimed social critics should put our cynicism aside and start believing that things are beginning to change. There will be a few hiccups, there are bad things all around but good things are coming our way. Attitudes won’t change overnight but surely more and more are joining the revolution; there is no option of giving up, we have to keep fighting. It is going to be a long and tiresome battle. So let’s rest if we must, but we can’t quit!
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