A Tamil film inspired by the Hollywood classic 12 Angry Men, is a big stretch for the imagination. The first fail is the whole premise of the film – there is no jury system in Indian courts. Not since the Nanavati case. And no amount of adaptation would get us past this stumbling block.
*****
Vaaimai, written and directed by Senthil Kumar, that had been lying around in the cans for quite a few years is finally out. Once open, the contents of this Pandora ’s Box cannot be unseen. Its ‘star cast’ boasts an array of retired actors: Thiagarajan, Goundamani, Ramki, Manoj Barathiraja, Poornima Bhagyaraj (and Shanthanu Bhagayaraj, another important member of the cast, not belonging to this category is unfortunate). Prithvi Pandiarajan plays Velan, a daily-wage worker who is sentenced to death for killing a politician. His mother, played by Poornima Bhagyaraj, is also arrested for allegedly assisting him in the murder. And since she doesn’t have an alibi, the ‘nation feels’ that she must be hanged too. There are people chanting “Eye for Eye, Die for Die” – taking poetic license with grammar, the legal discourse, justice, and what should or shouldn’t be their business, to name a few things – outside the court. Then, the judge orders a jury to take a decision on the issue. This metamorphosis of the Indian legal system, however, isn’t exactly poetic.
*****
Then come the mindboggling members of the jury, introduced by Vijay Sethupathi’s voice: Thiagarajan as Gen. Dheenadhayalan, under whose leadership India won the Kargil War (but that matters least compared to his other attribute as the voice insists, “he has a good dressing sense”); Manoj Barathiraja who is a great actor and writer; Goundamani as a neurologist named Benny Quick (or Penniquick – we stopped caring).
*****
Recommended
The jury confronts evidence that is elementary even for a 10-year-old, but not so for the judge. And as the jury is in conference, the judge sits on the roof of the court reading the newspaper (because current affairs cannot wait?).
The music seems to have been provided by the Demo function on Casio keyboards for kids. The music director has also randomly pushed the ‘special’ keys for noises of airplanes, exploding bombs etc. (because it is there?).
*****
The only redeeming quality about the film is that it is 95 minutes long – it could have been 96!
*****
The Vaaimai Review is a Silverscreen original article. It was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the movie. Silverscreen.in and its writers do not have an advertising relationship with movies that are reviewed on the site.