'Court - State vs A Nobody' is fun, but an enthralling watch too | Movie Review

If law is a stage, justice is the protagonist of this movie. Let's keep aside the verity of the legal aspects plotted in the story, like the rerun of arbitration of a case all over again on the final day of its judgement, and so on. In fact, the fictional narrative of the romance-oppression-justice triad sails on a riveting route.

The story of 'Court - State vs A Nobody', a Telugu-language courtroom drama, directed by Ram Jagadeesh, originates from a formulaic pattern - a boy, raw and impulsive, of subaltern stratum, falls for a girl from a powerful, patriarchal family. Their love escapades are busted and the girl's feudal uncle orchestrates the arrest of the boy, slapping a slew of charges, including POCSO, which can potentially hand him a 14-year jail term. That's when a junior lawyer chasing his dream of taking up an independent case steps in and, on the judgement day, starts retracing the whole trail of events connected to it and moves ahead.

What gives the narrative its artistic charm is the literary finesse - the screenplay is by Ram Jagadeesh, Karthikeya Sreenivass and Vamsidhar Sirigiri - especially when it comes to the profound layer of the tale. Powered by a brilliant cast - Priyadarshi Pulikonda as Adv Surya Teja, Harsh Roshan as Mettu Chandrasekhar, Sridevi as Meruvalli Jabilli, Sivaji as Mangapathi, P Sai Kumar as Adv Mohan Rao, the drama unfolds intriguingly with meticulous stagecraft and fine-tuned sequences.

After a certain point, when the courtroom scenes gather momentum with Priyadarshi as Adv Surya Teja taking the centre stage, the movie sheds its pattern-like form and assumes a fresh and pedantic approach. Priyadarshi has superbly handled the character, that passes through several transitions. There are obviously some hitches in the tropes, like excess measure of cruelty on the victims or some melodramatic exchanges among the characters, and so on, but the strength of the central theme keeps the saga afloat.

The nemesis of the lovers, Mangapathi, fiercely portrayed by Sivaji, is loud and ruthless. Yet, he never goes out of character and that leaves his track convincingly engaging. The repugnance his presence generates lends the needed cinematic heft to the conflict.

Among the several takeaways, what stands out creatively different are the tenderness of the romantic interludes and the exposition of the all-powerful villain's vulnerability.

The suaveness of Adv Mohan Rao (P Sai Kumar), Surya Teja's senior; the poignance of Meruvalli Seetha Ratnam (Rohini), Jabili's mother; the awkward reticence of Meruvalli Ramachandrayya (Subhalekha Sudhakar), Jabilli's paternal grandfather, are all uniquely etched out and add to the verve of the drama. Music by Vijai Bulganin, both BGM and the songs, is mellifluously interspersed with the narrative. Above all, the substantive arguments in the court, the verdict and the flawless culmination make the movie an enriching experience.