Last year, Saudi Vellakka presented a sharp commentary on the inefficiency of the Indian judicial system. Jaladhara Pumpset also deals with a similar story of a woman’s 7-year-long legal tussle pertaining to a robbery. With several eye witnesses and other key evidences, it should have been an open-and-shut case. But it’s not, and the film shows how things get unnecessarily complicated and delayed.
Debutant director Ashish Chinnappa, who has co-written the film with Prajin MP, doesn’t restrict it to just another courtroom drama. The writing goes much beyond and tries to explore the complexities and turmoils of the two primary characters (Urvashi and Indrans). While Urvashi plays Mrinalini teacher, from whose house a pumpset gets stolen, Indrans essays the thief, Mani. Unlike other similar films, where the accused and respondent are usually at loggerheads, the two characters in this film share a peculiar dynamic.
At heart, Mrinalini teacher is a righteous do-gooder always looking out for others—so generous that she gets food for Mani and others. On the other hand, Mani is now a changed-man keen on winning the case somehow for his family. The narrative spends ample time to help us understand their perspectives before leaving it to us to decide on who to root for. There are many such interesting writing choices in the film, but the functional making doesn’t enhance the text a lot. Instead, it is the performances that come to rescue.
Urvashi is sublime yet again and shoulders the film to a great extent. Her supreme comedy timing, and effortless ability to switch between various emotions ensures Mrinalini is in safe hands. She gets good support from two other veterans, Indrans and TG Ravi. The latter plays a forthright advocate, who stands for truth even if it means he’s cash-strapped. Indrans also has his moments, especially the emotional scenes with his daughter, which he excels like always. While the veterans ease through their roles, the youngsters don’t really match up to them. Both Sanusha and Sagar are inconsistent, and the closure their characters get is also quite strange.
While Jaladhara Pumpset starts off like a legal fight between a retired school teacher and a local thief, it eventually comes down to the question of adhering to the law or conscience. While the writing does deserve some praise, it’s unfortunate that such profound themes couldn’t be explored more effectively.
Film: Jaladhara Pumpset 1962 Cast: Urvashi, Indrans, TG Ravi, Sagar, Sanusha, Director: Ashish Chinnappa Rating: 2.5/5
