Insaf Ka Tarazu

DISCLAIMER This movie is based on another Hollywood movie. The names of people and places are changed to hide the identity of the original.

PLOT Having said that this movie is based on a Hollywood movie - Lipstick (1976), I would not go much into the plot of the movie.

Jeenat Aman is a model in love with Deepak Parashar. Raj Babbar is an Industrialist who falls for her, but as he can't win her love he tries the hard way. Padmini Kolhapure, her school going sister, witnesses the rape. Raj Babbar is taken to court, though Simi - Jeenat's lawyer - tries hard, Dr. Shree Ram Lagoo - Lawyer for Raj Babbar manages to save Raj by turning tables onto Jeenat - by questioning her character.

Cut to future, Padmini Kolhapure has finished the studies and she goes for job interview. Finds that the interview is with Raj Babbar, who promptly rapes her too. Jeenat, when she knows about it kills Raj Babbar and is arrested & taken to the court.

DIRECTION AND ACTING

The original is not rated as high as the copy, is by virtue of the good direction. The direction is very good, and Jeenat Aman gives performance of her life. Raj Babbar is excellent, Padmini Kolhapure plays with ease the transformation from a school going girl to a young adult rape victim with ease. Deepak Parashar is not as wooden as his later appearences. Simi and Dr. Laagu are performers to watch.

TRIVIA During the initial numbering, Dharmendra makes cameo appearence as a Army personnel accused of killing a rapist in a court scene.

MUSIC Not worth mentioning, but the rest of movie is so good that the music can be tolerated (or avoided by simply making a trip to toilet). Mahendra Kapoor, BR Chopra's favorite singer has sung the title song (in his unique high-pitched voice).

OVERALL 7.5/10

In a typical Bollywood movie of yesteryears rape was depicted in a trashy and disrespectful way with the heroine yells out "Bachao Bachao (save me, save me).

With the rise in rape in countries like India, directors have started to tackle the subject on a more sensitive manner.

Insaaf Ka Tarazu is probably the first Bollywood movie to tackle the subject of rape in a mature and sensitive way. Who better to direct it than the wonderful B.R. Chopra who has experience with dealing with social issues like his masterpiece, the man VS machine saga Naya Daur.

Insaaf Ka Tarazu is a very enjoyable and well made movie.

Now onto the performances. Zeenat Aman is brilliant, her transformation from beauty queen to a disgraced woman was believable and well acted. Her finale speech was so moving and inspiring to rape victims.

The shining star of the movie however is the woefully underrated actor Raj Babbar as the devious Ramesh Gupta. I never expected such an unforgettable performance from an actor with only a few films behind him. It's sad that post Ghayal he got stuck in supporting or villainous roles.

Even child star Padmini Kholapure showed signs of a seasoned performer and she would go on to have a successful career as a lead heroine. Shreeram Lagoo's performance is also commendable as the conniving lawyer Mr Chandra.

It's reassuring that back in the days when rape was seen as nothing more than an exploitation device in Bollywood, there were some directors who went against the grain and made a movie that is a tribute to womanhood.

Superb hard hitting movie, one of its kind! 👌👌👍👍 Today film makers make only filthy movies and web series, because they don't have talent to make such beautiful meaningful movie!

Acting, dialogues, cinematography, direction - this movie scores over all these aspects. Well, afterall it's a B R Chopra production, has to be superior, well made and fully justifying the subject without getting trapped into any vulgarity!👌👍

New Gen must watch this movie to realize How a Classic movie is made.

Insaf Ka Tarazu review :

The most successful as well as controversial rape revenge drama made in Bollywood; B. R. Chopra's Insaf Ka Tarazu introduced Raj Babbar in a sensational negative role of a rich young man who brutally rapes a model Zeenat Aman and then gets a clean chit from the court. As if that is not enough, he goes on to rape Zeenat's teenage sister (Padmini Kolhapure).

The film starts with superstar Dharmendra (in a cameo) playing an army jawan who kills a rapist. He confesses the killing but pleads guilty as he compares the person to the enemy across the border. Both are a threat to the nation, he argues. The court scenes involving Raj Babbar vs. Zeenat Aman case are the movie's highlight and I loved the way Simi Garewal grills Babbar even as the cunning slimy Shriram Lagoo gets him freed by proving the rape to be consensual sex.

Above all, Insaf Ka Tarazu belonged to the style icon Zeenat Aman and this is her best performance after Raj Kapoor's Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978). Raj Babbar took a calculated risk playing a villain as a newcomer but the gamble paid off as he quickly graduated to lead roles after its success and also became a BR Chopra protegè appearing in most of their later movies. Padmini Kolhapure was completely convincing as Zeenat's younger sister who falls victim to Babbar's lust. Infact, that pre-climactic scene where he asks her to strip naked in front of him, oogles at her body and then goes on to violate her makes for a highly disturbing watch. The ageless Simi Garewal was elegant as ever.

The other positive factors of the film are its hard hitting dialogues (Shabd Kumar) and the crisp editing. Chopra's direction was intense and the audience had never seen such a realistic rape sequence in mainstream Bollywood. It lead to a lot of controversy with some critics panning the film as deliberately titillating. But obviously, they weren't viewing it from the right perspective.

Insaf Ka Tarazu became a huge hit and came up for multiple re-runs throughout the '80s and '90s. I wasn't allowed to watch it as a kid and saw it much later in a re-release at Citylight Cinema, Matunga.

The film gave a big boost to Zeenat's career and she gave another huge hit in Feroz Khan's Qurbani the same year and established herself as a top star. Deservedly!!

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.

A beautiful model who is engaged with her fiance, attracted by a businessman in a modeling party. Thus he obsesses with her beauty and fall in love with her, when he comes to know she has a love interest with another man, he takes the chance to rape her in her house while she was alone. In this consequences, the model seeks the help of the court. But nothing is proved and the accused becomes released. After some months, the man gets another chance to rape another girl. And he succeed this time as well. But this time he has bad luck after all.

The movie had a potential to be a great one, but illogical sequences made it an average one.

Spoiler ahead....

The court sequences were not logical. So many illogical and unrealistic things happened. The second raping was also illogical. The interview at night. Undressing the girl as the rapist wish. I didn't like the way it was done.

Overall, an average courtroom flick.

But the message for the society is just solid and brave. Recommended 30%.