Dec 24, 2008 09:54 AM
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The 80s was also a period of experimental films and serious cinema. Movies were made not for commercial success and some of the best films were churned out during this period, which are remembered and appreciated even today. One such film is Ek Ruka Hua Faisla. Inspired from the English flick Twelve Angry Men (1957), Ek Ruka Hua Faisla is a rare remake which is better than the original!
The story of the movie: Twelve members of a jury gather together in an enclosed room to decide the fate of a 19 year old boy who is accused of murdering his father. The court has directed the jury to come to a unanimous decision to the case. However one of the members in the jury feels that the son may not have really murdered his father and is being framed. The rest eleven members oppose this view. What follow is arguments, quarrels for the jury members and complete entertainment for the viewers as the lone member tries to prove that the son may not be the murderer!
Ek Ruka Hua Faisla is unique in many ways:
The film has no songs and no heroines. The entire film (of 2 hrs duration) is shot inside a room. All this was done some 23 years back when no one had the guts to make such kind of film
As I mentioned earlier, the film is better than Twelve Angry Men (TAM), from where it is inspired. TAM wasn’t too funny and its beginning portions were dragging. Ek Ruka Hua Faisla on the other hand is totally interesting from the first scene. The film doesn’t get boring or dull even for a moment, due to its sarcastic-funny dialogues.
Throughout the film, one doesn’t come to know the names of the twelve jurors. They are just known as ‘Juror No.1,’, ‘No.2’ and so on!
Character Sketch and Performance Analysis:
Juror#1 (Deepak Kejriwal): Like everyone, he too loses his temper many times, but only occasionally. He performs as per his character demanded.
Juror#2 (Amitabh Srivastav): A gentlemen who seemed to be an expert in mathematics. Throughout the film, he gets scolded from Juror#3 for opening his mouth!
Juror#3 (Pankaj Kapoor): One of the best performances of Pankaj Kapoor (see it to believe it!). He plays the role of a rigid proud person who was in favour of punishing the accused as he was fully sure that he had indeed killed his father (check the pic). But later, the viewer comes to know the real reason for having such a negative attitude towards the accused.
Juror#4 (S M Zaheer): He’s rarely seen in films but seems like a fantastic actor. His performance was completely praiseworthy since he wonderfully did his job. He plays the role of a gentleman, who rarely loses his temper and he believes that the accused is guilty. Watch out for his 2 minute long scene, taken in one shot, wherein he tries to prove as to why the accused seems guilty.
Juror#5 (Subash Udghate): Like the accused, this person once used to stay in the slum areas. But he had no sympathy for the accused and felt that he should be hanged. A noteworthy performance. What works for him is his looks-he really looks like a person from a lower class.
Juror#6 (Hemant Mishra): Nothing special about him. His character was neither extraordinary nor important and his performance was okay.
Juror#7 (M K Raina): The funniest character of the film! M K Raina plays the role of this guy who’s in a hurry as he wants to catch the show of Dilip Kumar’s flick Mashaal and therefore, wants the decision to be taken as soon as possible!! This guy, with his arguments, reactions and dialogues provide dollops of laughter (check the pic)! And surprisingly, M K Raina is the same person who pitched in a serious performance in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi as Anushka Sharma’s father!
Juror#8 (K K Raina): He was the one who felt that the accused may not be guilty from the beginning itself. An architect by profession, he doesn’t lose his temper even once and faced an uncompromising jury with bravery (check the pic). K K Raina hasn’t performed in many films but this is undoubtedly one of the best performances of his career!
Juror#9 (Annu Kapoor): Annu Kapoor plays a person, more than 70 years and is completely unrecognizable. In fact, throughout the film, I didnt got a hint that he’s Annu Kapoor; its only when I read his name in the end credits that I came to knew! A brilliant performance indeed! In fact, his character is the one you’ll remember for a long time after the film is over.
Juror#10 (Subbiraj): A brilliant performance by Subbiraj who plays a person who has a negative prejudice for people coming from lower class. He feels that these people are dangerous to the society and they should be eliminated and that’s why feel that the accused should be hanged.
Juror#11 (Shailendra Goel): Shailendra plays a Tamilian who begins every sentence with the phrase ‘Maaf kijiye lekin…’! His best scene was when Juror#10 asks him as to why he begins his each sentence with ‘Maaf kijiye’ and he replies “Woh isliye kyonki meri parvarish aapki tarah jungle mein nahi hui”!! Good performance!
Juror#12 (Aziz Qureshi): Another funny person in the jury who calls him very ‘creative’. His speciality is that he gets influenced easily by other’s views and will change his vote from guilty to innocent frequently!
The screenplay of the film was without the shred of doubt outstanding and totally gripping. Basu Chatterjee’s direction was topnotch. The director wonderfully executed the goings-on and made the film a good entertainer. He also threw light on how one’s past experiences, prejudices etc comes in the way of a fair trial. The climax was totally acceptable and justified.
On the whole, Ek Ruka Hua Faisla is simply a classic! A brilliant script, sarcastic fun and excellent performances makes it unforgettable. It has already become one of my all time favourite movies. Watch it and it’ll become your favourite too!
