karve_ameya

A folk singer from a depressed section of Indian society struggles for his right to free speech and expression. Court is a movie that depicts the state's trial on this folk singer for sedition charges. The movie does a good job in bringing out the nuances of a civil, democratic society's struggle to maintain this most basic and important pillar of citizens' rights.

The three sub-plots are the souls of the movie:

1. Depiction of four sections of the urban Indian society -- the lower income group (folk singer and the victim), the middle income group (state prosecutor), higher income group (defense prosecutor) and the neo-middle class (the judge)

2. Widening rift between haves and have-nots, deepening the sense of injustice

3. Desensitization of the society at large toward the serious issues

Tight script and editing, good performances by all -- the judge and state prosecutor in particular, authentic locales enhancing camera- work and direction make this one of the best Indian movies in recent times.

Jabbar Patel has predominantly depicted political issues on the screen (with success too), but in UMBARTHA he doesn't only do that. While he has handled the issue of how the rehabilitation centres meant for desolate women are "actually" run (sex racket, money minting), he has also portrayed the sensitivities of a woman as a wife, a mother, as a member of her family, as a qualified social worker and as a head of the one of the many rehabilitation centres.

The protagonist (Smita Patil) has excelled in portraying her character to perfection. Also the support cast, as is the case with almost all the Jabbar movies, has done a good job. Hrudaynath Mangeshkar has beautifully woven the lyrics of Vasant Bapat, Suresh Bhatt and Narendra Sharma into his music. Songs are used brilliantly to portray emotions - 'Chaand maatala..' has subtle undercurrents of the same-sex relationship between the two women of the rehabilitation centre, Smita Patil recollects the beautiful moments with her husband through 'Sunya sunya maifilit..', and equally good is the prayer song 'Gagan tejomay..', voices being rendered by Lata Mangeshkar and Ravindra Sathe.

All in all, definitely a message-driven movie. A sure trigger to the thought process!

This movie gives an opportunity to watch one of the greatest duels of the contemporary great Marathi actors Dr. Shriram Lagoo and Nilu Phule. It will be wiser not to get trapped into comparisons as to who surpasses whom in that department, but watch them perform their roles with great acumen - Phule as the Patil of the village, and Lagoo as the man in search of the answers to the questions that trouble him throughout his existence.

The backdrop is set on the lines of the heavyweight sugar barons of Maharashtra, and how they muscled their way up through the co-operative movement in the region - poultry, sugar and wines - giving an illusion of the regional development. Phule (Patil) plays this character in a village. Lagoo is a man identified as the master (his identity is not revealed throughout the movie), and seems to be the one always on the move, a vagabond albeit aged. He happens to reach this village and ends up meeting Phule. From then on, it's always a clash between the master's probing, incisive questions and Patil's futile attempts to escape them. This is the underlying theme.

Brilliant screenplay (Vijay Tendulkar), superb direction (Jabbar Patel) and performances that can never be forgotten (Lagoo and Phule) make this movie an absolute delight to watch. No wonder it was India's entry for the Golden Berlin Bear. "Kunachya khandyavari kunache ojhe" (someone carries the burden meant for someobody else's shoulders) became an everlasting song, along with "Hya topikhali dadlay kay" (what's hidden beneath this hat, a very strong statement on the Gandhian cap worn by the Congress political figures in those days). Overall, this movie rates very high in the Marathi film industry and shares the spots with all-time greats like "Shyamchi Aai".