Film Review Judgementall Hai Kya
By SUNITA VIJAY
Judgementall Hai Kya is a well- crafted, engrossing whodunit thriller that underlines the behaviour and handling of people with mental issues, as well as reasons that lead to the disorientation and the triggers that make the problem worse. The film credits in the beginning are a novel presentation making us anticipate a different experience with an interesting mention of the ‘cockroach’. It’s a well-made film that is as stimulating as the sincere perfection with which Kangana Ranaut plays the role of psychotic girl, Bobby Grewal, an unhinged character, effortlessly made alive by Kangana who is in great form for the loony trip. As a child an ugly incident shatters Bobby’s sanity. Her character is tangled and so is her muddled hair. She is a hard nut, difficult to crack. But she has reasons to justify her stand to herself maybe not to others, who find her unreasonably difficult. As a dubbing artist she comes across various characters and this potpourri of visual food fuels her condition to go on a fantasy ride where she visualises herself in that particular role. Not only this, she religiously gets herself clicked in the same costume at a photo studio. Her medical problem is named by doctors as acute psychosis. Keeping the condition apart, she is not a dimwit. Her sharpness is adorable but forceful. Apart from being a brilliant dubbing artist she has a fabulous fashion sense. She is different, far from the madding crowd. We are made aware of her problem so we love her sharpness and spiny attitude that pierces thorns in her associations in day to day dealings, yet she confidently maintains her status quo with her dark humour that scares the listeners. Her anger, irritability and spontaneous arrogant responses make others form an opinion that she is insane. The sharp writing conveys this in all her interactions with cops, with her tenant couple and her boyfriend. Strangely if someone choses a three months asylum over a fine of 20,000 rupees, the eyebrows will raise, questioning her sanity. The exemplary work by the director of photography makes it a worth watch. His lens captures all said-unsaid expressions of Bobby brilliantly. The use of cockroach to amplify her problem, her involvement in making scores of origami out of the dark news in the newspapers, her suspicious mind looking for offenders in men, her curious eyes catching sight of the man holding a placard with motivational slogans on daily basis make it a sitting-on-the- edge-of-the-seat experience. Every passing scene raises anxiousness as to what she will do next, suspense staying alive from beginning to the end except at few places where the plot runs sluggish. It’s not her insanity in true sense that is intriguing but her sharp-wittedness and power to be highly sensitive towards the happenings around her that makes her a crackpot. Bobby’s major problem remains to get obsessed with the characters she dubs, her tenant couple’s private moments (she stalks them from the keyhole) and with whatever she hears and perceives that creates a mental delirium. Consequently she suffers from occasional hallucinations, imaginative thinking, confused interactions; all this overpower her mental bearing and Kangana makes it all honestly believable. The synergism between Kanika Dhillon’s impeccable writing, Prakash Kovelamudi’s direction and the superb acting by the main cast, make it an interesting watch. Handling a difficult plot like this one with caution without lending a minutest of scratch to the delicate character is not easy. Movie gives us a chance to peep into Bobby’s home and living, see her awkwardness, her fears and ‘me’ moments. I am sure most of us might have done many of the things she was doing, not forgetting that living all alone with no discipline, restrictions and interference, fuelled with the ugly incident at home during her childhood days, created the mental ruckus she is in. Kangana’s rendition of the mishmash in her brain is praiseworthy. It is commendable to see her perform without faltering. Rajkummar Rao gives his share of support with nonpareil theatricals in a parallel role as her tenant but it is completely Kangana’s zone that is laudable. Rajkummar as Keshav brings in a gust of uncomfortable air with his presence making us smell a rat. Then there is a murder that further raises a question mark on both Keshav and Bobby as to who did it. Jimmy Shergill in his short and pleasant appearance as a director of a play raises expectation of sweet-healing romance building up between him and Kangana, imposing the fact that there are people who can handle difficult persons like Bobby with calmness and trust. Hussain Dalal as Bobby’s frustrated boyfriend provides intermittent comical respites. Satish Kaushik, Brijender Kala as cool cops are an added seasoning to this dark film. Judgementall Hai Kya has layers and layers of lessons to dilute the plot especially in the second half. The film is a mixture of thrill and comedy that delves deeper on mental health issue that is commendable. Occasional low moments challenge logic. As soon as the imaginative flight faces turbulence, it is compensated with other exemplary substitutes. Insanity resides in all of us. We all are flawed in one way or the other. People with mental health issue if treated harshly result in magnifying their problem. All they require is not to be judgemental about their conduct but to provide a right course of treatment with trustful atmosphere. The handling of the topic with close-to-perfection direction and acting is what makes this movie a must watch for all. The Judgementall Hai Kya team gives an experience that is a worth soaking in and pondering over the roaring issue that remains a neglected area even in the age of advanced medical science.
