Ram Jagadeesh interview: The drama in ‘Court’ concerns the POCSO Act

Director Ram Jagadeesh discusses the Telugu film ‘Court’, produced by Nani, starring Priyadarshi

A week before the theatrical release of the Telugu film Court - State Vs A Nobody, debut writer-director Ram Jagadeesh is excited but equally nervous. “If I can, I will finetune it some more. My team tells me it’s high time I stop,” he says with a laugh. Ram speaks with pride about his film, produced by actor Nani’s Wall Poster Cinema, starring Priyadarshi, Harsh Roshan, Sridevi and others.

Court is set in 2013 in Visakhapatnam, Ram’s hometown, a year after the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act came into effect. “The story is inspired by a number of cases, not one particular incident,” says Ram, who shares the screenplay credits with his friends Karthik and Vamsi.

Ram researched for a year and a half and spent six months writing. If one were to look up Ram Jagadeesh on social media, there is nothing beyond the Court references. “I don’t spend time on social media. Nenu paatha kaalam manishi (I am an old-fashioned guy),” he says. That lack of distraction helped him focus on writing.

Ram had his task cut out. “A courtroom drama has to engross the audience with conversations and cross questioning. A good screenplay is essential to hold people’s interest.” Ram watched a number of films, from the 1957 courtroom drama 12 Angry Men to the recent investigative thriller Murder on the Orient Express, to observe the screenplay. 

Among Indian films, Ram watched Damini, the Jolly LLB series and Chaitanya Tamhane’s Court. “I watched Chaitanya Tamhane’s film when it released in 2014 and was struck by its true-to-reality depiction. Back then, I did not know that one day I too would make a film of the same name,” says Ram.

Accompanied by production designer Vithal Kosanam, Ram visited district courts in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to observe the layouts, intending to portray the court in the film as realistically as possible. He also zeroed in on cinematographer Dinesh Purushothaman. “Dinesh had filmed two 100-crore Tamil films — Love Today and Maharaja — and yet, was not chasing the big projects. He was on the lookout for good stories. I did not look further.”

Ram learnt filmmaking by working in direction departments of films such as Ra Ra… Krishnayya, Oye Ninne and Urvasivo Rakshasivo. “Cinema halls were my first teachers,” he says, stating that he was drawn to cinema since childhood. In Class VIII, he was intrigued by the work that went behind the screens. Krishnavamsi’s Khadgam made a lasting impact, “I can talk about that film for hours, even today.”