No One Killed Jessica

"No One Killed Jessica" is a film based on a famous murder that occurred years ago in Delhi. The character of Meera in the film is a personification of the reporters who went on the warpath when the punk who murdered her was acquitted--even though there was a mountain of evidence against him. How did he get acquitted? In India, there's a long tradition of corruption and folks who are rich and important have been able to literally get away with murder. And, the punk's family is a politician...exactly the sort to remain unpunished. But Meera is determined to make this case huge as is Jessica's sister....to force action and force people to be accountable. The film chronicles the case and is also about the police cover-up and the press insisting that truth prevail.

Non-Indians watching this film might be very surprised by the story and how widespread corruption has been in India. However, as I've seen a couple hundred Indian films, I see that this is actually one of the most common recurring themes in their films--that the police cannot be trusted and the government is run by kleptocrats. So, reporters refusing to let such an injustice get swept under the rugs IS unusual and I can only assume they risked much to expose this conspiracy. I also assume that some pressure must have been exerted on the studio that made this film...yet they made it anyway.

This is a very well made film and I am glad I watched it. I had a couple minor quibbles: the occasional use of the shaky cam as well as some unnecessary musical interludes which are common in Indian films but which didn't really fit the story. But these didn't negatively impact the film and overall it's extremely well made, compelling and worth seeing.

No one killed Jessica directed by Raj kumar Gupta is a "hybrid" of real and fiction, that describes the murder of a model named Jessica Lal, her sister's fight for justice and eventual punishment of accused. Anyone born in the late 80's and earlier would be aware of Jessica Lal, a model,killed by a politician's son(in 1999), for refusing drinks at a party and who went Scot free thanks to political influence and corruption.

The movie's first half shows how Jessica got involved in the unfortunate incident, her sister Sabrina's(Vidya Balan) fight for justice and how a gritty reporter-Meera(Rani mukerjee), who initially refuses to take up the case, regretfully picks it up after the accused gets let off. The second half we see Meera fight for justice and with the support of media and people she is successful in reopening the case.

The movie moves at a smooth pace. Although Meera's role is very tiny in the first half of the film, Gupta makes use of the time to build her character. A brash, honest reporter who stops at nothing to get the job done. Rani Mukerjee (Black) is a terrific actor who for some reason has made all wrong choices in picking up mushy stereotypical roles since her award winning performance in Black. But here she shines again as Meera, although her role is not as impressionable as the one in black, she deserves accolades for it.

Vidya Balan as Sabrina does a good job too but sadly her's is a role that is not as satisfyingly written as that of Meera. We see Sabrina Lall as a woman who has no boyfriend, no life because she spends all her time trying to get her sister's killer arrested .This cannot be real! The Real Sabrina Lall, I am sure had a life in which she studied or worked or did something other than moving from police station to court for eight years!. On the other hand Jessica's character has been sketched out neatly and just enough to connect with the viewers.

The supporting characters are okay but the scenes of the common people watching television, their reaction and reactions of eminent public figures(depicted through look-alike)inadvertently evoke laughter mainly due to the poor acting.

The music by Trivedi impressively highlights certain scenes like the opening credits and songs like 'aithbaar' plays perfectly in tandem with intense scenes involving court and Sabrina's plight. In fact the rock tunes in the background score help some scenes from seeming too dramatic.

In Conclusion, Although No one killed Jessica gets over dramatic sometimes,it does a decent job of entertaining and educating the viewers. Watch No one killed Jessica, to remember 'that' event which roused the whole nation to fight against corruption with unity, for truly and sadly we don't see it happening often.

Should a person who wants to relax a little, stay away from the never ending burdens of life,to grab a popcorn and coke and have their free laughing classes inside the theatre, watch this film ? NO. Cause after coming out of the theatre he/she is bound to realize how insignificant an average citizen is in front of money and power which rules the country.

This is a very hard-hitting film, maybe a slap on the face of everyone who desperately try to remain unaware of the wrongs happening in this country.Just like Sabrina(Vidya Balan) was,till Jessica got murdered.

Keeping it in mind that this film was purely based on true events ,kudos to the director for not sensationalizing any part of the film for making it "filmi". And it wasn't a documentary either. The story is obviously known to everyone so don't expect nerve-ripping surprises.It is a movie which makes you have a seat beside Sabrina while she is sitting beside her ailing father,Shout in agony "Lets nail those bastards" with Meera(Rani Mukherji) as she promises to bring justice.

Raj Kumar Gupta is a very promising director who uses Vidya Balan, Rani Mukherjee to perfection.The first half belongs to the silent Vidya and the second to Rani.

The music by Amit Trivedi and lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya fits right into the story. Final word, this film makes you think.For example what had you done had you been in the prime witness Vikram's place."Mujhe ek Crore rupaiya nahi chahiye par ek goli bhi nahin khani" Isn't this the mentality of almost every middle-class citizen of India ?

It had great potential. It started well, but somewhere in the middle it falls short of delivering the kind of impact that was expected from a film like "No One Killed Jessica". But that in no way takes away the effort that has been put in to make a film like this; something that requires a lot of balls. The screenplay gets a bit overstretched in the second half which becomes the weakest point of the film. Talking of strengths, Vidya Balan steals the show (literally) with a performance that is understated, uninhibited and totally spontaneous. She deserves a standing ovation. Newcomer Myra shows tremendous potential, while Rani as the sour-tongued journalist is delightful but by far not her best. Amit Trivedi's music too is the highlight of the film. Hats off to the entire team for making the movie that deserves to be made, and passing a message that deserves to be passed.

After a long time, there's chance to see a good Hindi movie based on true events. I almost lost my hope from Hindi movies, since few months I was used to watch crap films. But again I got to see a nice film, with nice performance by everybody. I like the movie because of many reason here are they:

Music: Amit Trivedi has again proved that whatever he do different from others is always good, prior to this I liked his "Amir" and "DevD". The starting song "Delhi" has a dramatic form which suites very much to the situation, the other songs like "Yeh Pal" and "Aitbaar" are also too good. The performance given by all singer are very good.

Story: As we know that this is based on true events, I still remember the news when I was in studying in std 11th. Sabrina will get sympathy from the audience of this movie. In the film there's a parallel story of a journalist's life which is played by Rani Mukherjee, not sure if that's a part of the true story. But one thing is sure that there was a important role of Media towards the justice. Direction/Screenplay: Direction and Screenplay of the movie was good, the flashback in between the story was well adjusted. The contemporary incidents were also included in the movie such as Indo-Pak war, Kathmandu plane high-jack.

Performance: The performance given by all the people in the movie according is very nice; Vidya and Rani are in lead role. Vidya has done a very good job, in this film she has got the full chance to show her capability as an actress. She will get sympathy from audience since she has done a challenging role of Sabrina, definitely this will help much for her career. Rani on the other side has been seen in a modern girl who is very frank, people who have seen "Bichoo" film will get a glimpse of same Rani again. Apart from these the policeman and the guy who use to swear every moment "Maa Kasam" has also done well.

I'll recommend everybody to watch this film, I'll give 9.5/10 to this.