Director: Vivek Budakoti
Cast: Raveena Tandon, Manav Vij, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Late Satish Kaushik, Anushka Kaushik, Raju Kher, Jatin Goswami and others
Where: Streaming on Disney+Hotstar
Rating: 3 stars
Courtroom dramas are a safe bet for filmmakers to have great footfall, be it in theatres or on streaming platforms. Right from the iconic dialogues of Sunny Deol in Rajkumar Santoshi’s Damini to the very recent Manoj Bajpayee’s impressive monologues in Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai, the courtroom spectacles are remembered for their exceptional performances and rock solid screenplays.
Several directors tried their best to narrate the exposition of educational scams happening across the country. Why Cheat India (2019), Farrey (2023), Chalk N Duster (2016) Paathshaala (2010) and even Taare Zameen Par (2007) have challenged the education system but director Vivek dragged his plot to the courtroom keeping a subtle drama in place a tad bit like Oh My God 2 (2023).
Tanvi Shukla (Raveena Tandon), a big-time homemaker and a small-time lawyer in Patna decides to fight against the system just to prove Rinkie (Anushka Kaushik) is innocent after she loses her expected marks by a well-known university.
Mishra (Chandan Roy Sanyal), a big shot lawyer takes on as a prosecutor against the underprivileged Rinkie and covers up the ugly deeds of Raghubir (Jatin Goswami), a semi-known politician, who is the hidden face of the scam.
But Tanvi’s father, husband Sidharth (Manav Vij) and even judge Arun (Satish Kaushik) believe in Tanvi’s side of the story. Will she be able to win the case against the monsters Mishra and Raghubir?
Vivek’s direction isn’t technical enough but he tells his story in a simple and straight manner. But, he tries to stir tension in the second half, which is engaging. A courtroom drama that is headlined by a female protagonist expects to have a mundane climax but Patna Shuklla surprises with a light twist that works in the favour of the film.
However, Vivek stitches the core narrative with the interpersonal relationships of each character in the film. They initially are distracting but turn out as a necessity for this 125-minute film. Vivek’s film doesn’t scream or hammer about women empowerment like many others in the past and that’s the beauty of the movie.
Raveena Tandon is the lifeline of Patna Shuklla. She rides the entire film on her own shoulders quite well. From being a doting mother to a loving wife, a helpful neighbour to a loving daughter, she as Tanvi is great. Chandan Roy Sanyal is so pleasant to watch. Jatin Goswami, Anushka Kaushik does justice to their roles. Late Satish Kaushik gives comic relief to the film.
Vivek’s Patna Shuklla might not be a very hard-hitting and strong headed courtroom drama but Raveena’s act makes this lighter tone movie an interesting watch for sure.
