It’s not enough to make a statement against the establishment when the hero fights for the landless Irula tribals (also known as Irular and Iruliga), but the filmmakers used a three second shot (could be edited out easily) as clickbait for social media trolls. With cops beating tribals black and blue in the film, the only thing trolls are outraged about is that one shot! The trolls don’t care that our Constitution recognises 22 languages but language imposition is their agenda… Priorities! Priorities!
Suriya plays a human rights lawyer Chandru who takes on a case for one very pregnant ‘Sengini’ (played by the awesome Lijomol Jose, whose eyes act for her) supported by the teacher at the adult education centre, Maitreyi (well played, Rajisha Vijayan). They report how Sengini’s husband - the snake catcher Rajakannu (K. Manikandan) - was taken away by the cops and beaten mercilessly. Why? Because the ‘president of the village’ suspects him of having stolen his wife’s jewellery.
The system is rigged in favour of the rich and the powerful. We see how the tribals, who often don’t have a permanent address and are not even considered eligible to vote, get beaten down literally and figuratively for everything.
The elected political leader of the area says, ‘It’s bad enough that we have to grovel in front of lower castes for their votes, now I have to listen to your woes too?’
A young tribal lad says, ‘Every time something goes missing in school, like an eraser even, the first thing they do is empty my bag. It’s too humiliating to continue going to school every day.’
The way cops beat up Rajakannu to make him confess will make you turn away from your screen. How quickly the village president and his wife forget that it was Rajakannu who caught the snake that ventured into their house. How easily they forget that he returned the fallen earring, and that he not only did not accept payment for catching the snake, but released it in the woods.
The village president is connected and soon the little police station is pressured to ‘make an arrest’, ‘get (a) confession’, ‘punish the perpetrators’ by the police chief and the politicians. The police station is filled with sounds of agony. The beatings are so relentless, you are grateful for one constable who has a conscience (he protects the pregnant Sengini and gets her out of the jail cell). The three cops will give you nightmares with their brutality.
Because Rajakannu won’t confess, they have caught hold of his brother and uncle as well. ‘You’re all a bunch of thieves!’ The cops accuse the three. Sengini, who has last seen her husband unable to swallow food because he’s been beaten up, is told the three have run away from custody.
Chandru helps Sengini file a case in the Chennai High Court. The prosecution has evidence stacked against Rajakannu. His fingerprints at the crime scene, the fact that he has run away from custody… All Sengini wants the cops to do is find her husband.
As the case unfolds, we realise that justice is a tangled web. There are so many lies and horrors that are whitewashed that it’s hard to believe in ‘Justice for all’ guaranteed by the Constitution. The politics of the film could have been in your face. After all, the title of the film is ‘Jai Bhim’ and the red flags, raised fist and the sickle symbol make their presence felt when the tribals march in support of the missing three… But Suriya’s Chandru shows us, tells us only how Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar inspires him. ‘When will we acknowledge that the tribals are also citizens?’ Chandru asks and the courts agree.
As Chandru fights for Sengini, you are swept away by the righteous fight and believe that the courts can offer hope. You take that journey with Chandru, Sengini, Maitreyi and Sengini’s little girl, and wonder how Chandru is going to decimate the case the prosecution has built against Rajakannu. The film is a tough watch, and yet, little moments like how the little girl imitates Chandru make you smile. Justice Chandru - on whose life the film is based - has helped solve over 96,000 cases for the tribals. Suriya and Jyotika have made a donation of a crore towards the welfare of the tribals.
Watch the film because it’s real and gritty. Dancing cops will entertain you and make you cheer when they beat up bad guys with loud sound effects. This film offers a sharp comment (not just clickbait) on the state of human rights in our country.
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