#112 Courting Trouble

- RSJ<br/><br/>Chaitanya Tamhane&#8217;s debut feature <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Court_(film)">Court</a> (2014) convinced me about two things. One, here was a global talent whose cinema will make us proud in future. He did that and more with his next feature - <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Disciple_(2020_film)">The Disciple</a> (2020). I knew of the precocious Tamhane back from 2007-08 when his knowledge and analysis of global cinema of all stripes used to leave us awestruck. We were no mugs about cinema ourselves. But he was different. Next level as they say. <br/><br/>That aside, it is the second point that I was left with at the end of Court that has stayed with me for long.<br/><br/>Ruka Hua Faisla<br/><br/>But to back up a bit, here&#8217;s what Court is about. <br/><br/>It begins with a day in the life of an elderly Dalit activist, Narayan: a writer of protest songs and a teacher for poor kids living in the slums. A simple man of deep conviction he has devoted his life to causes that are dear to him. Soon, he is arrested because a manhole worker died by suicide after listening to one of his angst-ridden songs that seemingly abetted it. <br/><br/>The trial is a Kafkaesque nightmare. It is clear that the manhole worker died because of inhaling the poisonous sewage gases. This isn&#8217;t anything new. The plight of these workers who go into the manholes without any safety equipment has been documented many times over. Yet, the public prosecutor and the state produce fake witnesses who testify against Narayan and bring up bizarre new charges like possession of illegal books (there&#8217;s one on Yoga) to make it watertight case against him. The state can&#8217;t accept the man died because of the abominable work conditions. <br/><br/>Instead it must have been that old mass murderer over the ages - poetry. <br/><br/>The autopsy report and the testimony of the wife nail the lie. This was no suicide. Meanwhile Narayan&#8217;s health continues to deteriorate while he is in custody. The ju