Nov 07, 2009 10:57 PM
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(Updated Nov 07, 2009 11:15 PM)
Parag Dixit [Neil Nitin Mukesh] becomes the wrongly accused criminal in a drugs case and the movie is all about how the Jail treats him, punish him and tempt him. In the process Madhur Bhandarkar, the director passes his thoughts on this grave situation.
Did a criminal have a right? Did an accused criminal have a right? The present system seems don’t believe that a criminal or an accused criminal have such rights. Madhur Bhandarkar have a clear vision that, even criminal deserves the protection of justice in which name they are been punished.
When innocent but accused in crimes are compelled to stay with proven criminals doesn’t this ‘jail’ feed to the traps of ‘real’ criminals and lead them for serious crimes? Visit the movie ‘Jail’ to see the sad fate of inmates of these correction shelters. We can see a vicious circle which runs the entire system as it is. Lack of facilities is always been told as an excuse but the film ‘Jail’ shows the cost of this excuse.
The story lacks novelty and is simple. It is predictable in most part. The character creation is not powerful though the situations were demanding and intense. Few actions by the protagonist were silly and some twists in the story were not so realistic. At the end, the director compromised the theme to satisfy the commercial ego. The motivation of the character is not explained nor the thoughts which compelled him for a U turn.
Technical crew of the film didn’t support the director’s cause either. Cinematography was too plain. It looks too amateurish in some places but good in some other places. Sound effects were too loud to begin with and it doesn’t create much presence, except in few scenes later. Music and background music were partially effective.
Casting of Neil Nitin Mukesh in the lead role is fully justified with a fine performance. Mugdha Godse played the sincere lover of Parag in a convincing manner. I wonder is this the same girl in All the Best!! The writers gave less reason for the sincerity and the character was not really created but the execution was simply excellent! Manoj Bajpai’s Nawab is another character which didn’t explain the stand he took in the film but here too performance was very good. Like in most other art house movies, performance by sub casts were superb!
Few scenes from the movie require special mention. 1. The door to Parag (Neil)’s dark cell gets opened. Wow!!! 2. Murder done by Nawaab (Manoj Bajpai) in the night club. 3. Scenes involving the advocate of Parag in the lower court and his interaction with Manasi (Mughda) with regard to fees. 4. Parag saying thanks to the court for allowing him to say he is not accused after being in jail for more than a year and a half.
Overall, the movie can be weighed as ‘good’ but will be missing the tag ‘very good’ for a big margin. The good message and performance were let down by less imaginative storyline, weak characterization, average screen play and less effective technical side. The movie definitely worth a watch for its message, cast performance and few good moments of ‘realistic expressions’.
