Top Ten Courtroom Dramas

1. Kanoon: This 1960 court room drama was a surprise when BR Chopra chose to keep song (the all important ingredient of our cinema) away. It dealt with the crucial question of death penalty. With jubilee star Rajendra Kumar and BR regular Ashok Kumar, the film had Nanda too and was a big success.

2. Yeh Raaste Hai Pyar Ke: This 1963 court drama also signalled the last film of jury law in the country. Directed by RK Nayar (Sadhana’s husband) also dealt with a love story between Balraj Sahani and Leela Naidu going sour with the arrival of Sunil Dutt on the screen and the willing of the commercial pilot deciding to kill his friend who betrayed him. Some great songs made the film great.

3. Waqt: Again a long drawn court scene is the pivot of the story of lost and found brothers.With the likes of Balraj Sahani and Rehman among the veterans and a multi star cast including two beaus Sadhana and Sharmila, this Yash Chopra film for BR Chopra was a big grosser and an interesting film.

4. Insaaf Ka Tarazu: BR Chopra now decides to go to court with two unknown names: Deepak Parashar, Zeenat and Raj Babbar. The film dealt with the evil of rape well before it screamed on the national headlines like an endemic. The court scenes with Om Shivpuri and Simi had the case of rape being exploited by the lawyers and Padmini Kolhapure doing the fine role of a child who suffers it all.

5. Mera Saaya: In 1963, Raj Khosla put together the team of Sunil Dutt and Sadhana alongside the great Madan Mohan and Raja Mehdi Ali Khan. You needed nothing more but the skilled film maker also took on a court room drama, mixed with a lawyer family and the look-alike dacoit. Interestingly while the film had soulful Lata numbers at her best for Madan Mohan it was Asha Bhonsle’s ‘jhumka gira re’ that won the top place at the popular countdown programme Binaca Geetmala that year.

6. Damini: Raj Kumar Santoshi was going through a golden period. Smitten by Meenakshi Seshadri he gave her the best role of her career: Damini and though Rishi was the romantic lead, stealing the thunder was Sunny Deol playing the lawyer who would be in court not threatening with his ‘dhai kilo kahaath’ but with the now famous tareeq pe tareeq. Sunny walked away and unbelievably true with the awards in a film starring Rishi.

7. Mein Aisa Hi Hoon: This Harry Baweja 2005 starrer makes it to the list simply for the performance of Sushmita Sen as the lawyer fighting for the custody of a minor boy in favour of mentally challenged father against the Money Bag claims of grandpa Anupam Kher. The way she manages her diction and underplays her emotions is worth a watch and enables an otherwise indifferent film to the list.

8. Aitraaz: This 2004 film had Subash Ghai investing in Abbas Mastan. Dealing with gender abuse at office it was in the reverse where it is Akshay Kumar who is the victim and Priyanka Chopra the predator. The film could also be remembered as the last hit at Mukta Arts and of the Akshay Kareena combine.

9. No One Killed Jessica: This adaptation of the real life incident involving Jessica Lal sure hit the headlines and made it via the court room scenes to the box-office as also the awards functions in 2011.

10. Jolly LLB: This 2013 movie was humourous and also tongue -in-cheek. It had Boman Irani and the very talented Arshad Warsi take a look at our judicial system. More importantly the film had a fine performance from Saurabh Shukla. The film was a surprise hit at the box office and established that you could in these days of multiplex cinemas be happy making a good film without big stars.

The list, like any other, is at best inclusive and has a list of the ones excluded including the famous ‘Awara’, ‘Mamta,’ ‘Jung,’ ‘Dhund’. ‘Kudrat’ etc. While the first of the list is excluded largely because the court scene were secondary to the magical romance, ‘Dhund’, because the list is over represented by Chopra films. Each would have another reason, but the above is the one chosen.