GOA (India) 28 November 2022: Jai Bhim (Tamil), a hard-hitting take on the caste and class oppression on a 1995 incident of ‘custodial death’ in the Dravidian Irula community, where three are arrested on false charges.
The pregnant wife with the help of a left-wing school teacher and a human rights lawyer file a ‘Habeaus Corpus’ (produce alive or dead in the court) petition in the court. The public prosecutor tries to defame the accused as habitual criminals and offenders, while the lawyer for the accused gathers factual evidence to defend his clients. A leftist party, meanwhile, agitates to support the accused and their community. The simmering case moves ahead as new facts of violence and torture of the accused emerge.
The lawyer of the accused fights from within the system and says the law is a powerful tool for these causes. I cannot bring the man killed by cops back to life but can stop this from happening again. This in essence is Jai Bhim that shook the conscience of India.
Director Gnanavel, while interacting with the media and IFFI 53 delegates at one of the ‘Table Talks’ sessions shared the thought behind choosing the title ‘ Jai Bhim’ for the movie. “For me, the word Jai Bhim is synonymous with the word oppressed and marginalized people for whom Dr. BR Ambedkar always stood for.
Expressing his immense joy over the movie’s unimaginable reception from all quarters, Gnanavel said the movie connected with all just because it dealt with a subject that is universal. “Post Jai Bhim, I heard hundreds of such stories on caste discrimination, the flaws in law enforcement and justice system,” he said and added that through his movie he is trying to portray that the Constitution is a real weapon in fighting against injustice.
Describing how cinema can play a catalyst in social change, Gnanavel said though there is a savior in the film who fights for the oppressed, his film tries to give a message based on a thought voiced by the great scholar BR Ambedkar that education is the only tool that could empower people. “In real life, there are no heroes. One has to be their own hero by empowering themselves through education. My movie will achieve its real goal only when all the oppressed are empowered.”
