‘23’ movie review: A hard-hitting film that raises tough questions

23 movie review: Telugu indie film 23 (Iravai Moodu) explores real incidents, social commentary, and justice system equality in a docu-drama style.

It is tough to look at 23 (Iravai Moodu) solely as a film. The  indie-spirited Telugu venture based on real incidents, written and directed by Raj R, is part social commentary, presented in a docu-drama style. Armed with a cast that includes 25 newcomers and a few established names, Raj questions if the justice system is equal to everyone. George Orwell’s statement from Animal Farm, ‘All are equal, but some are more equal than others’, sets the tone of the film that wants its audience to look at crime and its perpetrators through different perspectives.

The film’s premise is shaped by three incidents that shook undivided Andhra Pradesh in the 1990s. In 1991, the Tsunduru massacre witnessed brutal caste violence against Dalits. In 1993, 23 passengers lost their lives after two Dalit men set a bus on fire in Chilakaluripet. In 1997, a car bomb explosion in Film Nagar, Hyderabad, reportedly killed 26 and injured several others. 

The film wastes no time getting to the crux of the narrative that explores the underbelly of violence, the scars on its victims and its perpetrators. The film begins with the Dalit massacre in Tsunduru and how caste, money and power decide the fate of the perpetrators.

Raj takes the creative liberty to bring the narrative to life through a love story. Sagar (Teja) and Susheela (Tanmai) are a young couple nurturing a dream — to avail a loan of ₹10,000 to start an idli centre, earn a steady income and plan a life together. She earns a meagre sum as a daily wager, fending off a lecherous supervisor. He desperately seeks a loan, only to be shown the door by a corrupt officer. His friend Das (Pavan Ramesh) makes no bones about being used by the cops as false witness for cases and pockets small sums. Desperation drives Sagar and Das to make one wrong move, which spirals into a life-changing incident.

It is easy to gauge what is in store for Sagar and Das. The sequences featuring Sagar and Susheela on either side of the prison are faintly reminiscent of the separation and longing in Sapta Sagaradaache Ello, but the similarities stop there.

Several characters pop up as the story progresses — a benevolent lawyer who believes in Article 22 and that every accused has the right to defend his case, a psychologist (Jhansi) and a jailer who bats for reforms.

The first hour is devoted to unravelling the story and its principal characters, and the second hour explores multiple perspectives. In a telling scene, a prisoner who is about to be released pleads with the jailer that he is not ready for the outside world. A day later, the jailer, who learns that the free man has committed yet another gruesome crime, feels equally guilty. 23 is about such smaller moments as much as it is about the larger picture involving the three prime incidents of crime.