Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai review: Manoj Bajpayee is magnificent in this raw, harrowing tale of justice

Manoj Bajpayee helms 'Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai', releasing on Zee5 on May 23.

The story is familiar, isn’t it. A godman worshipped by hundreds of thousands of people has been accused of rape by a sixteen-year-old. She needs justice, and as the title says, just one good man is enough to help her win.

The beauty of this little film is that it is single-minded and does not lose focus at all. It’s a court case, fought by one man against the powerful figures that show up one by one to save the godman. Director Apoorv Singh Karki tells a David and Goliath story simply and well.

A couple of years ago, when the series Aashram (starring Bobby Deol) was streaming, there was an uproar against the show because somewhere it told us a truth: believers will offer their everything to the godmen — their homes, their money and, yes, even offer their daughters and sons in service — not realising that their daughters are going to be physically harmed and even killed if they cry rape.

But in this movie, there are no distractions, no shenanigans. Just a case in court. The plaintiff is a young girl who is accusing a famous godman of rape.

When their lawyer refuses to share simple information like the charges against the godman, and the father overhears him negotiating a bribe from the godman’s minions, the girl Su and her parents seek help from the female cop who wrote down the FIR. She suggests they seek help from PC Solanki.

Lawyer PC Solanki is a religious man, a single dad, who lives with his mother in a largish old-fashioned home in Jodhpur. He is of modest means, riding to and from the court on his scooter. Lawyer PC Solanki is played by Manoj Bajpayee in the film. Hard to imagine anyone else doing justice to the role.

The creepy babaji is played by Surya Mohan Kulshrestha who doesn’t have to say much, but will make your hackles rise. He is represented in court by mostly Vipin Sharma who does a fine job of a defence counsel. But the machinery supporting the baba is huge. Everyone assures him that they are getting famous lawyers like Ram Jethmalani, Swamy and more to plead his case, using all kinds of tactics: the baba is a good man, doing good things, this was consensual and the girl is adult, and more. They even try to get bail for the baba saying that he suffers from a disease that can be treated only in the United States.

Of course, they try first to bribe PC Solanki. When Babaji’s minions try to bribe him, he smiles. And when this fails.

Based on the real case of Asaram Bapu vs PC Solanki, which was in the courts for five years, the film concentrates wholly on the highlights of the case. It is brutal in its presentation. Each witness for the girl is killed by the bhakts. The girl’s family as well as the lawyer’s need protection. The tension is maintained as we understand why PC Solanki needs to win points at every appearance in court.

‘Kanoon ke haath itne lambe nahi hai jo America tak pahunch sake!’ PC Solanki muses. He knows that if the babaji makes bail, then it will be difficult to catch him or trace him.

You will love the scene where he tells the survivor (played by Aditi Sinha Adrija), "You have to fight the fear. Their fear. Because you have shown them that their god has clay feet. So, tie your dupatta around your waist and get that sword of truth…"

Rape victims are almost always put through a grinder when their case reaches the courts. The questioning is indelicate and if the power equation is tilted in the favour of the man, the girl is accused of plotting and scheming. Everyone has something to gain from the victim. But her lawyer says, I see her as Durga, fighting to right a wrong done to her. And yet he has to be on his toes each time a rich and famous lawyer stands on the other side, defending the godman.

The most stunning moments come when he seems to be defeated by his circumstances. His dilemma is universal: if truth is handed to you and you are responsible to shine a light on that truth for the entire world, can you afford to lose? And who is the god you will pray to after you fail?

His mother reminds him of a poem that he used to recite as a child, and the poem came out of the left flank and knocked my socks off. Many of us have studied Ramdhari Singh Dinkar in high school and it goes like this:

‘Sach hai vipatti jab aati hai, / Kayar ko hee dahlati hai,

Soorma nahi vichlit hote, / Kshan ek nahi dheeraj khote,

Vighno ko gale lagate hain, / Kaato ko gale lagate hain,

Muh say na kabhi uff kehte hain, / Sankat ka charan na gahte hain,

Jo aa padta hai sab sehte hain, / Udyog nirat nit sehte hain,

Shoolo ka mool nasate hain, / badh khud vippati par chhate hain.’

Now imagine the moment where a despondent son and his mother say this together so that he does not feel hapless any more. If there’s any actor who could emote this scene as well as Manoj Bajpayee, I would be happy to eat my hat. Politics of the state has changed and you will see in real life that godmen rapists are set free. But this film bats for justice.

It streams on Zee5 from May 23