Bihar Legal:
Nobody takes Tanvi Shukla’s (Raveena Tandon) career as a lawyer seriously, not even she herself. She probably drives her scooter to court to take up minor matters to be able to say she is not “just a housewife.” Male lawyers in the court complex see her as a harmless diversion, the judge (Satish Kaushik) tells her, not unkindly, that she is a better cook than litigator; her husband (Manav Vij), downplays her ambition saying she prepares good affidavits.
In Vivek Budakoti’s film Patna Shuklla, Tanvi’s main occupation is to look after her husband and school-going son. Taking up cases like that of a client suing a tailor for stinting on fabric, she could never have imagined that her life was about to be upended.
Rinki Kumar (Anushka Kaushik), daughter of a poor rickshaw-puller approaches her to fight her case– she failed in her BSc exams and she is convinced the results are wrong because she had written her papers well. The college goes through the motions of checking and inform Rinki that the marks given to her are correct.
Rinki tries to end her life, and Tanvi, holding herself responsible somehow, starts digging into the matter. She discovers that there is a scam on, to alter students’ roll numbers for a fat fee. Raghubir Singh (Jatin Goswami), son of a politician is involved. Which is why a major lawyer (Chandan Roy Sanyal) is sent to oppose Tanvi.
Once she is committed to Rinki’s case, Tanvi does not back down, and Raghubir unleashes the full force of his villainy on her and her family.
Budakoti has kept the narration simple, concentrating on the emotions and relationships. In a society that’s largely patriarchal, both Rinki and Tanvi’s fathers are supportive; even though her persistence harms him, her husband quietly stands by her. The judge is stern in court but respectfully defers to his wife at home.
In spirit, the plot has similarities to Sirf Ek Banda Kaafi Hai — one person fighting injustice and upholding the law.
The strong and sincere performances help lift the film, which might otherwise have ended up a typical underdog story, with the stakes raised by political interference. Manav Vij plays against type to portray an ordinary man, whose decency is tested to breaking point. He steps aside to let Raveena Tandon shine. Anushka Kaushik excels as the young woman whose determination rocks the system in corrupt and apathetic Bihar.
(This piece first appeared in seniorstoday.in)
