Here's why Arshad Warsi did Jolly well

With ‘Guddu Rangeela’ the second movie by the talented Subhash Kapoor is around the corner, my mind goes back to his debut gem, ‘Jolly LLB’. Frankly, this film is the reason why I watch films avidly today. So this time, I am expecting ‘Guddu Rangeela’ to be equally entertaining.

I first saw ‘Jolly LLB’ about a year ago, after which I went back to watch parts of it half a dozen times. Today, I am of the firm opinion that one day, this movie will be rated as one of the top three movies of all courtroom drama films made by Indian cinema. I also hope that one day Arshad Warsi will be given his due. If there is one hugely talented actor who we have repeatedly sidelined unfairly, it is this man. It is to his huge credit that he delivered a Circuit from the sidelines in ‘Munnabhai’.

However, it took a gutsy director like Subhash Kapoor to believe in Arshad Warsi and give him his first solo hero role of substance. He did get one in a long-forgotten, well-made movie called ‘Sehar’. The good thing is that ‘Jolly LLB’ worked at the box office.

The most impressive part of ‘Jolly LLB’ is that it is a very intelligent and slowly speeding-up screenplay. I doubt if in recent years there has been a better screenplay, which has so subtly mixed all sub-plots into the main plot. It is a story of a man who did not get justice for his own daughter. This part was played sincerely by Ramesh Deo. The movie showed the transformation of a selfish lawyer looking for personal growth, to someone who decides to stand up doggedly for the deprived. ‘Jolly LLB’ delivers a strong message but never gets preachy.

But the most lasting moments of ‘Jolly LLB’ are its moments of satire. My favourite scene is where ‘thana’ postings are being auctioned. The hilarious take on the system within the system is point-blank, yet it is delivered so comically packaged that you are joining the fun. That is how a satire should be.

‘Jolly LLB’ has some superb humour, delivered with aplomb by Arshad Warsi – “main maskhar-e-taiba” is one such Warsi dialogue.

The piece-de-resistance of this epic entertainer is the triangle of chemistry between Boman Irani, Arshad Warsi and Saurabh Shukla. How the cynical judge slowly moves from being in favour of the more established lawyer to the rookie. It manifests how a cocky lawyer walks into the fight with the rookie thinking this will be a walk in the park and then starts losing the plot, partly by his own over-confidence and partly by how the rookie keeps coming at him. The climax was the speech by all the three characters, which I doubt if in the last five or 10 years, both the hero and villain have got such strong and convincing lines. It was almost like Brutus v/s Anthony from Shakespeare – but I dare say, better than that. The closing speech by Shukla as the representative of the judge community, in my opinion was a phenomenal. His cynic judge surprises you in the climax, and how! Through Shukla, the director shows us why the judiciary deserves a better and more sensitive observation by an ever-judgemental society.

This is why my thought about Arshad Warsi being one of the most sincere genius and under-rated actors gets further strengthened. He comes out the winner, scene after scene with such rock-solid performances.

Watch ‘Jolly LLB’ because it is a movie that indirectly points out that given a chance, some of us cynics will fight for truth and justice. Watch ‘Jolly LLB’ love humour and well-written one liners or high voltage courtroom dramas. ‘Jolly LLB’ is a classic.

- Rahul Deo Bharadwaj