Jail - Movie Review

Cast: Neil Nitin Mukesh, Mugdha Godse, Manoj Bajpayee, Arya Babbar

Rating: **1/2

Director: Madhur Bhandarkar

Music: Shammir Tandon

A statistic at the end of the movie reveals that out of 3.5 lakh inmates in jails across India, roughly 2.5 lakh are yet to be convicted and are merely waiting for a trial. A famous real life example of this is the much loved Sanjay Dutt who served in jail for 18 months before he was convicted under the Arms Act in 2007. For the ones who are innocent, and especially for the ones who are not as affluent, such long trials leave them and their families completely shattered.
 
If you have been watching Madhur Bhandarkar films you would know he intends to, or at least tries to, bring out shades of real life on the reel. His attempts have been fairly successful if we look at his three National Awards so far. ‘Jail’ is just one more such attempt - this time to tell us that people inside jails are just about as normal as people outside. Worse, they may be as innocent! Madhur takes inspiration from such an innocent character. There is no suspense to ‘Jail’ as it is bound to end on a better note for the primary characters.
 
Parag Dixit (Neil) is caught in a narcotics racket but he is clearly innocent. However, all proofs being against him, the simpleton becomes a victim of the legal system which refuses to let him go. The film is completely about Parag and his struggle in jail and the metamorphosis he goes through in the solitude of a crowded jail. With the only person who can testify his innocence passing away, he is left with no option but to rely on his lawyer who does not seem to shut his mouth when it comes to the pay cheque. Parag's fiancée (Mugdha) and mother go through their own struggle but the director prefers to keep his focus on Parag.
 
In terms of writing, ‘Jail’ is slow in the first half. The second half does not disappoint as the pace increases and also brings in hope. However, the screenplay is rather simple and dialogues poor. The part where Parag's life outside jail is shown is rather tacky. Madhur, who has shown great capability in showing harsh facts of life, fails completely in creating romance. Parag's love and longing for his love as he waits for his next trial does not really come through. What comes through well though is the hoard of other characters that Parag meets in the jail. Each character has his own story to tell, and it is told well.

Interestingly enough the director could not restrain from taking a pot shot at a rich Mumbai youth who had run over a few footpath dwellers a couple of years back and yet got away pretty easily. And all these actors come up with measured performances too. Manoj Bajpayee has least dialogues and yet takes away claps with the way he expresses. Arya Babbar gets a good role and he does it with aplomb. Mugdha Godse needs to work on her dialogue delivery. That brings us to Neil. This actor has proved his credibility in his earlier films. ‘Jail’ looks like an extension of the role he essayed in last film ‘New York’. However, this time around, the usually restrained actor gets overboard at times.
 
Technically, ‘Jail’ is shot well but could have been edited much better. Clearly Madhur falls a couple of steps behind what he did in ‘Fashion’.
 
‘Jail’ as expected is a drama. However, if you expect to watch the gruesome way inmates are treated in jails, as shown in some earlier movies, you could be in for disappointment. The director keeps everyone clean and good and just raises a finger at the slow judiciary system. The main focus remains showing the despair of an innocent person as he is locked in jail away from his family for no fault of his, and no one is even willing to listen to him. ‘Jail’ borrows the concept of hope from ‘The Shawshank Redemption’. And it also has some similarities with another Hollywood flick ‘Felon’ that released last year. But ‘Jail’ is completely regionalised in every aspect for the Indian sensibilities. Watch it if you are in mood for some serious stuff.