Director, Dialogue Writer, Editor: Shahnawaz Ali
Cast: Raj Kundra, Errol Rodrigues, Mahadev Jadhav, Kumar Saurabh, Ganesh Deoka, Mahesh Ghag
Where: In theatres near you
Rating: 3.5 stars
Raj Kundra’s biopic depicts the story about his 63 days of jail to bail experience on charges of producing Pornography content the scandal took place in 2021. Though the film has not touched the case matter at all as the matter is subjudice. The story highlights an important fact about all the accused remanded to Jail custody as - Under Trial, and their charge-sheet is under process. These accused are put behind the four walls so that they do not tamper their case records.
However each one is only accused till he is proven guilty. But once facing under-trial situations, certain accused have no family members who can get them out of the JC custody even though a few may have been granted bail. These accused undergo a heinous mental set back initially. However, this happened with Raj in real life which has been depicted pedantically on reel. Raj’s height of patience ceases when he repeatedly hears about his bail being rejected.
The emotional story of these accused has been marvellously told through a splash of comedy, black humour and a few light moments .It also presents the awful and pathetic food, sanitary conditions that these accused face inside. These accused come from different poor strata of lives and inside they also misbehave/fight and become rowdy at times. They fight with their jail mates and are subjected to punishments by the police authorities.
Under –Trial is a film which sends out an important message about bringing in reformation in the living conditions of these accused and more importantly a need for them to be educated so as they can follow the bail procedures and be set free from the jail.
This is Raj’s first solo hero film. He has performed naturally so his real heartfelt thoughts are clearly seen on reel. Raj needs to be applauded for having penned his biopic truthfully also performing it energetically on celluloid will keep the audiences glued to the screen .Without an iota of doubt the film’s content is well written by Raj and put forth in a well-balanced manner by director Shahnawaz Ali. His direction is praise worthy for bringing this heart felt saga simply in a comic manner - Without any star value, devoid of any item numbers/sexy, peppy and foot tapping music, yet catches the attention of every viewer.
A true male gaze film that shows accused from a hazy background but all of them excel and shine in every frame. Even the characters in police uniform have left no stone unturned while performing their ruthless character to the best of their ability. Screenplay, editing is apt.Camrea work needs a special mention too.
A special mention: Shilpa Shetty’s rock solid support to her husband on reel through her,”Thumkas” on TV and telephonic conversations with Raj in ,”UT 69” proves this phrase praiseworthy--Har Aadmi ke peeche ek aurat ka hath hota hai”.She tried hard to bail Raj out from jail.
All in all no one will miss this film, a must watch film. ‘UT 69” will set a unique example in the minds of Human Right Authorities and all concerned within its premise. And they will surely work towards bringing reformations in our jails and treat the accused not like animals but like human beings.
