'Jai Bhim' has bolstered people's trust in the legal system: Justice Chandru

The hard-hitting Tamil courtroom drama Jai Bhim (2021) was able to reinforce the common man’s trust in the country’s legal system, besides sending out the message that justice will be delivered finally if people resort to the legal route, Justice (retired) K Chandru has said.

The T J Gnanavel film was based on a case fought by Justice Chandru, who became a lawyer post retirement, for a couple named Rajakannu and Sengeni from the Irular tribe in Tamil Nadu.

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Speaking to advocate Thushara James at the Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters (MBIFL 2023) on Friday, Justice Chandru said that Jai Bhim has unmistakably proved as to what extent a film can create its impact on society and power centres. He said there were massive interventions for the Irular community post the release of the movie.

He said while going for a meeting in 1993, Rajakannu’s wife approached him with the missing complaint of her husband.

“After my retirement, I had mentioned this sensational case that happened during my practice as a lawyer in many interviews. I had written about the incident in a magazine during that period itself but it failed to garner attention,” he recalled.

Later, during a car journey with Gnanavel, Chandru discussed the incident with him and the former soon realised possibilities of a film’s plot in it.

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Chandru wanted a film that must be beneficial for someone and thus the problems of the Irular community came to the fore in the flick.

“The film showed justice to around 95 per cent of the real-life incidents. More importantly, everyone was able to understand more about the tribe and their real issues,” he said.

When the film was censored, as many as 46 cuts were suggested and A certification was inevitable for the film. The makers were not ready to trim even a scene and thus it was streamed on Over the Top (OTT) platform.

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The former Justice also said he had decided not to appear in the film even as it depicted his life and he was keen on supporting the team from behind.

MBIFL 2023 features an impressive line-up of Nobel and Booker Prize winners and Jnanpith awardees, among over 400 eminent names in creative fields.

(With inputs from agencies)