Sooryavanshi released on November 5 in theaters. It feels a far cry from Hindi cinema, where screen stars - and cops - childishly thump their own chests while chasing down the wrong targets. The superstar has not only acted but also produced this important and relevant film. The often-brutal film feels more harrowing because of how much we feel for this tenderly portrayed couple. I had to avert my eyes in the torture sequences. The film is obviously inspirational - Suriya using every ounce of his screen charisma to make Chandru a dynamic and compelling character - and while the courtroom scenes are riveting (and reassuring) the film enchants us with the humane and sensitive romance between Rajakannu (played by K Manikandan) and Sengeni (a brilliant Lijomol Jose) who win us over to their side long before hell breaks loose. Chandru is the lawyer who takes her side. After Rajakannu is wrongly arrested for theft, his pregnant wife Sengeni fights the system in order to win her husband freedom. The film tells us the story of Rajakannu and Sengeni, two hard-working members of the snake-catching Irula tribe. Suriya stars as crusading legal warrior K Chandru, a Madras High Court judge who fought against caste discrimination and dismissed over 96,000 cases. TJ Gnanavel’s tough, unflinching Tamil drama tells the story of a true courtroom hero. This looks like an everyday affair for the cops - something done as casually as picking a neighbourhood cricket team - where they let the upper caste prisoners go free while holding back those from lower castes, pinning their pending cases onto them.

One afternoon outside a prison, several policemen stand and divide up a bunch of prisoners based on their caste. Jai Bhim begins with a supremely haunting scene. Jai Bhim is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Balki jai simha