Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai movie review: Manoj Bajpayee gives a masterclass in Bollywood's best courtroom drama in years

Director: Apoorva Singh Karki

Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, Adrija, Surya Mohan Kulshrestha, Vipin Sharma, Jai Hind Kumar, Durga Sharma

Where to watch: Zee5

Rating: 4.5 stars

Not very often do you come across a film with a runtime of 132 minutes that is a slow-burn, without any song or dance, and yet manages to keep you on the egde of the seat for its entire duration. That feat, itself, should earn Apoorva Singh Karki’s Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai a standing ovation. But the film manages to do much more. A smartly-written and brilliantly-acted courtroom drama, this film shows why Manoj Bajpayee rules the OTT space like no other.

Insired by true events, Bandaa is based on the rape case in which self-proclaimed godman Asaram Bapu was sent to prison. The film follows the five-year-long legal battle fought by the minor victim (Adrija) and her family, with the help of Jodhpur-based advocate PC Solanki (Manoj Bajpayee). The film does not name the godman (filmmakers say they only had the rights for Solanki) but remains faithful to the details of the case and what transpired both inside and outside the courtroom from 2013-18.

Bandaa is a very faithful retelling of a real incident. And yet, it is an engaging story too. It does not compromise on the storytelling in the bid to stay close to the reality. Achieving that delicate balance is something writer Deepak Kingrani and director Apoorva Singh Karki have managed quite well.

The film also stays away from the histrionics, dialoguebaazi, and melodrama that several Hindi-language courtroom dramas have resorted to over the years. And yet, it never looks dry. Certain scenes where the lawyers use their legal knowhow to argue are so well written that even laymen can follow without feeling as if the film is getting preachy. As far as legal and courtroom dramas go, Bandaa is one of the best Bollywood has produced ever, not just in recent years.

Bandaa also succeeds in very sensitively portraying a delicate case. Despite being about a rape, it never explicitly depicts the sexual assault or talks about the attack in any insensitive manner. The scenes where someone describes the assault are designed to evoke feelings of disgust and shame, something the film manages well. Amid all the legal drama and sensitive depiction of assault, the film even manages to infuse some humour but not in a manner that distracts you from the seriousness of it all. But it does exist as a reminder that life is not all serious.

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The film hinges on the masterful performance of Manoj Bajpayee. Time and again, the veteran actor has raised the bar of dramatic performances. In Bandaa, yet again, as the small-town lawyer Solanki, he balances the man’s conviction and tentativeness so beautifully that the character becomes a breathing human that you can relate too. He brings out Solanki’s inner conflicts and his dry humour in his trademark style in a manner so deft that I feel it should be taught in acting schools. Some of his long monologues (particularly the closing argument) should rank among the best scenes of Bajpayee’s illustrious career.

But it’s not as if that it’s a one-man show. Among the rest of the cast, Adrija, who plays the victim Nu, shines in her limited scenes. Vipin Sharma also excels in the difficult task of depicting a human, almost-sympathetic portrayal of the defence lawyer, the man tasked with defending the rapist. The seasoned actor brings his A-game to show a human side of what could very well have otherwise been a ‘negative’ character. Among the rest of the cast, Surya Mohan Kulshrestha as the baba and Jai Hind Kumar as the victim’s father also do justice to their difficult roles.

Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai excels in almost department. The music sets the tone but does not hammer down the points. It also neatly evokes the sense of urgency (and often dread) needed in the narrative. The writing is crisp with all characters written like well-rounded humans and not carictaures or stereotypes. Full marks to Deepak Kingrani for including the track about faith and religion in a way that is so organic and matter-of-fact that you wonder if countering polarisation is really that simple.

My one complain with Bandaa starts and ends in the first four minutes – the opening credits are set to a title track that is a bit too peppy and off-key for this film. But the remaining 2 hours are enough for me to ‘forgive’ that easily. Bandaa is one of the rare films in the ‘must watch’ category to come out of Hindi cinema of late. Come for a Manoj Bajpayee masterclass, and stay for a lesson in how to make an entertaining, engaging film on a serious, sensitive issue. Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai releases on Zee5 on May 23.