One of the biggest challenges in filming a real life story is that it has already been told. So how do you make it exciting, unpredictable or entertaining? Also can you really do any of these things without altering the original story? And yet, "No One Killed Jessica" (NOKJ) manages all this, for the large part, swimmingly.
Based on the controversial Jessica Lall murder case, the first half of the film follows Jessica's sister, Sabrina (Vidya Balan) as she seeks rightful justice to convict the accused responsible for her sister's death. How everything comes together (or doesn't) to conspire against her is believable and presented in a subtle yet impactful manner. Sabrina is obviously confronted with a generous dose of Delhi's red tape and corruption, laced with the heavy-metal background song, "Dilli Dilli" and she resigns to her fate. Of course the song, "It happens only in India" will play in your head on several occasions through the film.
Sabrina's journey is running parallel with another one. Introducing high-flying, motor mouth, TV reporter Meera Gaity (Rani Mukherjee), who will stop at nothing to bag the top story on the network. From being teary-eyed while covering the Kargil war to outwitting her boss with tacky one-liners, she does it all. Have we mistakenly walked into No One Killed Barkha? Not. The media played a crucial role in reviving the Jessica case after the accused had been let off (remember?). At this point, it's not really astrophysics to predict where and how these stories would converge. So how the film manages to keep you glued to your seat is surely an outstanding feat.
NOKJ takes you through a range of emotions that you don't expect to experience in a movie like this. So, scattered across the film, are tiny details that would lighten a rather tense scene, while retaining its sincerity and importance. So an establishing shot of a court scene has a pickpocket having his way through a crowd of TV journalists gathered to report on the Jessica case. Inconsequential to the story yet brings a smirk on your face. Another would be when Sabrina breaks into a chuckle as the public prosecutor's witness interrogation becomes border-line humorous. The scene was very grim but when Sabrina can't contain her laughter, the rest join in too.
Vidya is flawless in portraying determination as well as faltered confidence. An admirable practicality that she brings to the character at a point when you'd expect her to breakdown makes the film less weary and fresh. Rani's return to films after her last stint in 2009 can be defined as trying, loud and overconfident (unless she's playing Barkha, in which case she's bang on). The same adjectives also describe her slow-mo strutting across the screen, each time she thinks she has nailed something. The film's supporting cast is just about right. But it is the dialogues, screenplay and script that win it for the movie. Amit Trivedi manages a soundtrack that complements the filth and grime that our capital city embodies.
Many of us would've been indifferent to the Jessica case. Either because it did not affect us or because when the accused was let off despite a pile of circumstantial evidence against him, we were hardly surprised. This happens all the time in our country. But this film explores how justice can be pursued even when denied at the first go. Will this manage to fuel the Aarushi case or other pending failures of our legal system? We can only hope it does.
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