Section 375 Movie Review: Compelling Courtroom Drama

The trailer of Richa Chadha and Akshaye Khanna starrer Section 375 immediately caught our attention and the film is as interesting as the trailer.

A junior costume designer Anjali accuses famous director Rohan Khurrana of sexually assaulting her. However, despite having all the evidences against him, Rohan denies raping her. Public prosecutrix Hiral Gandhi is representing Anjali and celebrated lawyer Tarun Saluja is fighting Rohan’s case. The conflicting stories of the victim and the accused form the rest of the plot.

Akshaye is outstanding as Tarun Saluja and infuses life into this realistic film with his power-packed performance. Richa Chaddha is a good actress, but the zeal, energy and the conviction that a lawyer needs inside a courtroom is missing.

Meera Chopra is playing the rape victim and she has a blank face throughout the film. Rahul Bhat has played the director and he is good. Krutika Desai is appealing as the judge but it’s Kishore Kadam as the second judge, who impressed me the most. His annoyance and his straightforwardness look very genuine.

This film has a documentary-style realism, and the milieu is very authentic. It’s a compelling courtroom drama and is also relevant in today’s times. Section 375 also has some weaknesses, like the lawyers are seen banking more on emotional drama than on evidences and witnesses.

The film has been stretched slightly and there’s also a lot of redundancy. That said, it keeps you hooked right till the very end.  Dialogues are powerful and the film is sprinkled with a lot of facts. Several recent cases have also been mentioned indirectly. Amit Bahl has made a powerful film and has executed it well. Though, in my humble opinion, the screenplay could have been crisper.

If you like masala entertainers, then this isn’t your cup of tea however, if you want to watch a compelling courtroom drama, then you should watch Section 375.