This Sunday I attended the Media Screening of Talvar

Whose guilty? Whose innocent? 

Is it really so tough to find the guilty by our Indian judicial system? Why are the Indian crime laws and the system so weak and crippled from within and outside? Can anyone be chosen and wrongly indicted as killers? How can the key forensic evidences be tampered and played away negligently? And who takes the blame for the flawed investigations if any? I was flooded with all these questions and more at the end of the movie screening of Talvar.

 

I do not know which side of the story is true but yes the 3 viewpoints shown in the movie around the controversial and unsolved double murder case of Noida made me restless.  For me, the case had reopened all over again. I have lived and done my schooling from Noida and this case from my neighborhood had gripped my attention from Day 1. I had followed every piece of news shared on media platforms in angst and attention. To this day, I am not convinced that everything went right about it.

 

This Sunday, when I got the invite to attend the media screening of the movie, I accepted it immediately. Of course if not this, I would have definitely seen the movie after the official release date-2nd October. 

 

Talvar (English title: Guilty)

 

 

Does it remind you of a surname ‘Talwar’ that involved a double murder case in the city of Noida?  A fourteen year old girl is killed in her room. The servant of the house is also found murdered. The parents are asleep in the next room, they have no cluse happened in the house and then begins the search to find the guilty. This is the plot of the movie. The film clearly points out the most disturbing part of any murder crime and that is that the investigators, lawyers, witnesses, everyone makes their own theory about the killing before they have the facts in hand. To spice up the murder mystery, terms like ‘Honor killing’, ‘illicit relationship’, ‘characterless’ pop in from individual imaginations. 

 

At times, the evidences say something else and the witnesses have their own story. The movie captures the controversial investigations peice by piece and helps us understand that what actually happens after any crime takes place. No doubt, the police and the CBI play their part but its a hard business to connect all the dots. They have a tough role to play and the movie conveys the fact rightfully.  But at the same time we also learn how law-makers and their protectors thrive in their own malice. And to some  it may come as a surprise that even though there may not be sufficient information, the scientific tests like narco-analysis, lie-detector, brain-mapping  are not considered as evidences in court.

 

I must applaud Meghna Gulzar, Vishal Bhardwaj and the team for putting up a nice show together. Films can be a great way to question the truth. Honestly, I never felt I was watching a movie. It was more than that. I was hooked all along. Mr. Irrfan Khan as always is brilliant in his character. Neeraj Kabi and Konkana Sen play the roles of Talwar couple perfectly. The roles played by police officers and the servants are very convincing. Sumit Gulati’s character is small but an important one in the movie.

 

Most importantly, the film does its job fairly. It entertains, educates and enthralls without giving a verdict. 

In the same context, I would like to share a line from the book that has been written by journalist Avirook Sen around the same case. Aarushi’s father, Mr. Talwar writes a diary in the jail and here is what he wrote a month before his 25th anniversary.

 

 
‘No Aaru, no house, no clinic, no money, and sitting in jail for something we haven’t done.’

 
 

After the movie and the book, I have only one thing to ask.
Who is guilty? I yearn to know the truth!

Happy Blogging!!