‘Jai Bhim’ movie review: Suriya is earnest and the film is honest. Yet, there are trade-offs

‘Jai Bhim’ is perhaps one of the boldest films to have come out of Tamil cinema. For, it doesn’t dare turn its back on hitting where it hurts the most. Its politics is not weighted down by the presence of a star like Suriya

At one point in this nearly three-hour-long film, there is a goosebumps-raising moment that has a tribal woman — also the protagonist — turning her back on power, refusing to bow down to the system of dominance that has exploited the fruits of their labour, quite literally. Looking at it purely from the point of view of Tamil cinema’s masala conventions, it is essentially a “mass” scene written for a Dalit character to give her a chance to look at her oppressors in the eye and perhaps tell them: “You cannot break me.”

Senggeni (Lijomol Jose), the wife of Rajakannu (Manikandan, in yet another brilliant performance) who is fighting a lonely battle in the road to justice for husband’s custodial torture and death, gets this rousing moment because of her lawyer Chandru (Suriya). Or rather, because of the backing of a huge Tamil cinema star. Does it reflect reality? No. But does it work as a self-congratulatory, mass scene? Yes. It is also, thanks to Sean Roldan’s pummelling music, a really good stretch that communicates the intention that went into conceiving such a placement in the first place. Yet, something seems broken. Either the desired effect it has on us or the scene construction feels superficial at some level.