It seems a lack of compromise is also part of tradition and is something that contemporary Indians wants to implement. The courtroom drama prods at this aspect with old laws being questioned for being outdated and how they should be reconsidered. Instead, it contrasts the old with the new, with Indian traditions and the updates of the youths, aesthetically and with their behaviour. It's not interested in the characters as people but what they represent in the situation, wherein Pawar is being tried for inciting a man to suicide through his songs. It studies the westernisation of Indian culture through its network of characters, darting between the folk singer Sharmila Pawar and his 'Americanised' defence lawyer Vinay Voya, but without peeling back their layers.
It's almost like a political thriller where no- one can be trusted, but it's not a film that relies on tension or conclusions. Court is a slower burn with incredible wide cinematography that captures a disquieting stillness. When those to the west think of India, we often imagine the hustle and bustle depicted in Slumdog Millionaire coupled with the energy and glittery elegance of Bollywood movies. Chaitanya Tamhane's Court approaches many fascinating and bitingly topical subjects for a constantly changing India. An ageing folk singer is tried in court on charges of abetment of suicide. A sewerage worker's dead body is found inside a manhole in Mumbai.
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