'Janaki Vs State of Kerala' review: A polished Suresh Gopi can't save a confused, inconsistent legal thriller

For a brief period, I thought we were in the presence of greatness when Janaki V vs State of Kerala (JSK) opened with a sequence that gives us a basic picture of Suresh Gopi's character, David Abel Donovan. Flashes of the superstar's work in the popular action movies of the 90s and early 2000s whizzed by as David confronts a dubious, high-ranking priest and an arrogant politician in succession. The approach to rendering dialogues in these early portions is unabashedly old-school, reminiscent of what we saw in, for example, Prithviraj Sukumaran's Lucifer. As Gopi launches a fiery word salvo laden with an expletive that begins with 's', I wondered: Is this finally the return of the OG?

Alas, it was a false alarm. I don't mind an old-school masala entertainer if done well. But here's the problem with JSK: It wants to create the impression that it's trying to do something huge through seemingly "big" diversions and buildup moments. It takes you in one direction, making you believe you're watching some intricate mechanism. It's when you're finally done with it, after around 150 minutes, you realise that the trip you undertook to reach a destination was much longer than necessary. JSK wants to say something; perhaps the makers were serious (or not) about addressing a particular topic, but the paths it took to get there offer the least measure of intrigue and excitement. I asked: They went to all that trouble to say this?

Anupama Parameshwaran lends her role of Janaki — a sexual assault survivor — the necessary seriousness, playing the character as someone who forges ahead, despite occasional setbacks in the ensuing legal drama. It's, perhaps, the strongest role he got from Malayalam cinema so far, the weight of which recalls Anaswara Rajan's character in Neru. One of the film's positive qualities is that it gives her the necessary space, without letting David's presence meddle with the degree of attention Janaki deserves, to the point that she reveals herself to be the main character instead of David.  

That said, one wishes director Pravin Narayanan had taken more time and effort to find ways to keep the whole film simpler and more refined. There is enough to appreciate here, albeit scarce. One example is Askar Ali's commendable turn as Firoz, a junior cop who wants to make amends for a past misdeed. Another example is the little flourishes Narayanan applies in certain scenes, like the one where Janaki goes to meet a senior cop, Mathayus Baby (Yadhu Krishnan, as spirited in middle age as he was as the scene-stealing child in Sreedharante Onnam Thirumurivu). Janaki gets a strong urge to puke, due to the whirring fan blowing the smell of his lunch in her direction. Or is it the man's stinking persona that repelled her? The visual staging here makes sense later, when someone points out the cop's incompetence, which made things worse for everyone involved, including the government.

Speaking of which, no government is spared here, within the context of the events depicted. Whatever the political leanings of the filmmaker(s), one can't accuse the film of leaning to one particular side. In one courtroom scene towards the end, which I wish were staged better, Gopi gets the upper hand on a right-leaning advocate who argues for — and I'm paraphrasing here — the "upholding of culture and tradition" and whatnot in a crucial moment involving a woman's right to choose. Saying more about this scene might give away pivotal plot points.

The point is that one wants to defend the cause the film argues for, but not the approach. JSK could've been a better, more sophisticated legal drama had it not given in to, for one, the temptations of forcefully incorporating cliches and nods to past roles of Gopi that don't align with how we understand David is supposed to be, in this film. In this regard, JSK can get as bewildering as, say, its choice to arrange scenes in such a way that makes us wonder whether they're happening in Thiruvananthapuram or Kochi. There's more.

What was, for example, the need to give Gopi a fight scene in the third act — that too an unconvincing, unimpactful one? As I watched it unfold, a real-life "punch dialogue" from Gopi immediately echoed in my mind: "Don't try to play the fool with me, Nikesh." I want to tell the film the same thing, especially when they brought in an eye-rolling, far-fetched 'hacking' twist that made me go, "Are you serious?" It's a combination of such elements, and, of course, the needlessly stretched runtime that eventually renders the film powerless, regardless of its good intentions. 

Film: Janaki V vs State of Kerala

Director: Pravin Narayanan

Cast: Suresh Gopi, Anupama Narayanan, Yadhu Krishnan, Askar Ali, Shruti Ramachandran

Rating: 2/5

Movies Review