Section 375 Movie Review, Release Date, Star Cast, Story
Section 375 Movie Release Date:
13th September, 2019
Section 375 Star Cast:
Akshaye Khanna as Tarun Saluja
Richa Chadha as Hiral Gandhi
Rahul Bhatt as Rohan Khurana
Meera Chopra as Anjali Damle
Shriswara as Kainaz Khurana
Kishore Kadam as Justice Madgaonkar
Kruttika Desai as Justice Indrani
Sandhya Mridul as Shilpa
Shrikant Yadav as PSI Kasle
Vibhawari Deshpande as ASI Manali
Shama Ninawe as Anjali’s Mother
Rajendra Shisatkar as Anjali’s Father
Section 375 Movie Review:
The #MeToo movement in Hollywood started in a big way in 2017 after episodes of sexual assault by well-known producer Harvey Weinstein became public. It reached India a year later and became a huge social movement. Though the movement exposed the people to some genuine cases, it also emerged that some of the allegations were false or were made with some ulterior motive. The latest film Section 375 is inspired by matters of this nature and hopes to make a difficult point. So does Section 375 succeed in its endeavour? Or does it fail to impress? Let’s analyze.
Section 375 is the story of a filmmaker accused of rape. Anjali Dangal (Meera Chopra) is a junior costume designer on the sets of a film. She asks him to go to director Rohan Khurana’s (Rahul Bhat) residence to show him the costumes. When she reaches home, Rohan and the house maid are present. Rohan sends the maid out of the house on some pretext and then forces Anjali. Anjali reaches her house and tells her family that Rohan raped her. The same evening, Rohan is arrested from the sets of his film. The Sessions Court found Rohan guilty and sentenced him to ten years’ rigorous imprisonment. Rohan’s wife Kainaaz (Shreeshwar) goes to the famous criminal lawyer Tarun Saluja (Akshay Khanna) to file a case in the Bombay High Court. Tarun looks at Rohan’s file and realizes that the Sessions Court’s decision was unfair. The case is accepted in the High Court and the trial begins. Tarun’s former disciple Hiral Gandhi (Richa Chadha) is a public prosecutor and Anjali’s lawyer. As the case begins, a lot of unknown and deliberately hidden details are revealed. It seemed that the open and closed case of rape was more suspicious than expected. What happens next becomes the rest of the story.
Manish Gupta’s story has tremendous potential and is the need of the hour. It is very relevant even today. Manish Gupta’s screenplay (with additional screenplay by Ajay Behl) is quite effective for most parts. The film gets a bit technical but will be easy to understand for its target multiplex audience. Manish Gupta’s dialogues (with additional dialogues by Ajay Behl) are quite acidic and sharp. However, in some places, there are too many English dialogues.
Ajay Behl’s direction is quite apt. He mesmerizes the audience with his story and never loses his attention even once in a span of 120 minutes. Also, he presents both sides quite well and convincingly. It is a courtroom drama, but like traditional Bollywood films of this genre, the film is not made in a dramatic fashion. Yes, a lot is happening in the film but everything is done in a more realistic way. On the other hand, the second half is where the film falls a bit. One hopes that the film with so many unexpected moments ends with a bang. Sadly that doesn’t happen. Also, it is perplexing that Hiral, who used to shout ‘objection’ every time Tarun offers anything or makes an attention-grabbing statement, when Tarun explains to the court that Anjali has been injured due to injury to her inner thighs. How he got the mark, he doesn’t react at all. Except for Tarun, the personal lives of Heeral and Anjali are never shown and this takes away the impact to an extent.
Section 375 starts on a good note. Tarun Saluja makes a strong point explaining the concept of justice and law by giving the example of the 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape case and also indicating what to do next. The scene in which Anjali meets Rohan at his house and is allegedly raped is cleverly executed and only part of it is shown to go on unexpectedly. This is followed by perhaps the most heart-wrenching scene of the film – the medical officer asking Anjali for the very casual details of the rape in front of her mother. And also, the said medical officer is a male! Apparently the film goes high after the trial starts. The way it comes to light that the investigating police officer Milind Kasale (Srikant Yadav) has done a lousy job, it is going to take the viewers by surprise. After the interval, interest is maintained as many more details are revealed in the courtroom. The finale, however, lacks punch. Also, the verdict announced at the end may divide the audience.
Akshaye Khanna takes the cake when it comes to performance. Other actors also do well but Akshay leaves a very strong impression. Be it his dialogue delivery or his style of court interrogation or his sly smile when it comes to judges or heel, Akshay’s acting is spot-on. Richa Chadha is very good as a no-nonsense lawyer whose idea of ??justice is different from Akshay’s character. She has a heartwarming scene when Hiral is discussing about her partner and sharing her meal with her ‘rival’ Tarun. Rahul Bhatt gets into his character. He is very good in the opening scene when he comes on the sets and blasts everyone. Meera Chopra has very few dialogues in the beginning but she has a significant part in the second part and she does well. Krutika Desai (Justice Bhaskar) is good while Kishore Kadam (Justice Madgaonkar) is very impressive in his part. The latter also contributes to the laughter quotient. Shrieshwar speaks a lot with his silence and makes his presence felt. Shrikant Yadav is very nice. His less than a minute conversation with Richa after the court mess is memorable. The same belongs to Dibyendu Bhattacharya – his performance takes one of the most important scenes to another level. Sandhya Mridul (Shilpa) is lovely in the special appearance.
Section 375 is a song without song. Clinton Cerejo’s background score is subtle and dramatic though. Sudhir K Choudhary’s cinematography is quite apt. The alleged rape sequence has been shot well from different angles and the perspective changes with each angle. And he also uses some hand-held, zoomed-in shots that help with the effect, too. Nilesh Wagh’s production design is good. Amira Punwani’s costumes are realistic. Editing by Praveen Angre is crisp.
Overall, Section 375 is a tough courtroom drama that raises some important points. At the box office, it is likely to witness significant growth in multiplexes after spreading word of mouth among its target audience.