Director: Nagesh Kukunoor

Cast: Monali Thakur, Nagesh Kukunoor, Shifaali Shah

Rating: 2.5 stars

We could go into mind-numbing statistics about girls who are sold into the murky world of human trafficking. It takes one face among countless others that make the circumstances of commercial sex workers all the more heart-breaking.

Nagesh Kukunoor’s Lakshmi could have been just that but wavers mid-way towards a satisfactory pay-off.

Singer Monali Thakur (of Zara Zara Touch Me fame) takes on the challenge of playing a 14-year-old who weathers horrifying abuse from her ‘benefactor’ Reddygaru (Satish Kaushik) and her pimp Chinna (Nagesh Kukunoor). Empathy from her co-worker Swarma (Flora Saini) and brothel madam Jyoti (Shifaali Shah) provide little solace for a spirit that wants to destroy the shackles that bind her.

 

“You’ll go to hell,” she says in a quiet simmer to Jyoti.
“I am already there,” retorts the older woman.

A sudden twist in the tale offers Lakshmi the chance to testify against her wrongdoers where she could either break free as a beacon of hope or retreat to languish in anonymity.

After a spate of lackluster films, Nagesh Kukunoor returns with a woman-centric plot that is engaging and will make the weak-hearted squirm. Despite reports which describe Lakshmi as a hard-hitting Endeavour, the seasoned viewer is likely to find the film watchable. Thematically, it could have walked the dangerous tight-rope between exploitation and realism, but the makers take a safer middle ground.

There are a few moments which strike a false note. Lakshmi’s seamless acceptance of her circumstance does not convince. Neither is the scene where Reddygaru tries to persuade her to withdraw her case from Court. She is alone at the time, which appears odd, considering the stringent police protection that surrounds the minor in rape cases. If their absence in the film is meant to depict systemic failure, it should have been emphasised.

The graphic media coverage regarding the survivor is also preposterous since rape survivors that are minors have their identity protected at all times.

Lakshmi’s prosecution lawyer, Avinash’s (Ram Kapoor) reluctance to take her case changes almost immediately into readiness, a temperamental transition that seems abrupt.

Procedurally too, there are flaws. Criminal cases, like the one under trial here, are first argued in the lower criminal courts. Here, the characters are seen conducting the trial in the High Court. Avinash refers to those filing a criminal suit as plaintiffs when that term is used only for those filing civil suits.

Strangely too, the prosecution is conducted, not by a public prosecutor but by a private lawyer suffering from a nervous breakdown. Also, the entire evidence of the trial should have been initiated by a medical examination of the rape survivor and not just mentioned in passing as an afterthought.

Thus, the absence of detailing undermines the message of the film. If the second half hinges on courtroom scenes, the least the makers could have done was put in a little effort in research. The experience should have been as enlightening as it would have been absorbing.

Monali Thakur is good casting for the part. But one will have to wait and watch more of her to grasp her range as a performer. Nagesh Kukunoor and Shifaali Shah are the lifeblood of the film. Their characters are the ones you take home once the credits begin to roll. Satish Kaushik is menacing as Reddygaru.

Despite good direction and strong cast performances, Lakshmi wobbles a little in narrative. It is still a good watch for the weekend if you’re up for something grim. For many, the film might just be a wake-up call.