Official Trailer:

When we open the newspaper do we stop and ask who decides which news get to be the headline, which ones make it to the front page or end up as a small item in inner page? What we get to read? Or who controls the topics in 24×7 news channels? What we get to see and hear? Two similar incidents, one gets to be on the front page and the other ends up in the fifth. Decision made based on the profession of the victim? Are we being told the truth? Worse, are we made to believe something else as the truth? Is the media using our prejudices to fool us in to believing what they say? Playing on the prejudices of the masses? Do we really know who the real culprits are behind murder of a woman in Hyderabad other than those four men who got killed in the encounter even before the trial? Did we just believe the story because those four men fit the profile – their complexion, looks, prior criminal records, area they come from? Is that the truth? Shouldn’t we stop and think a little critically so that we don’t fall into these fast-thinking mind traps? These are the questions Jana Gana Mana sets out to ask. It does that with powerful writing, dialogues, and performances.

First half takes the time to set up the premise. As we start to wonder where the conflict is, movie takes a turn for good when the drama shifts to the courtroom. Whole second half happens in the court except for the last few mts. Courtroom setup fits – isn’t there any other better place to get to the truth? The court events are dialogue heavy, but the staging and performances keep us hooked – the slow collapse of the narrative, the unravel of the truth, no-nonsense approach to how the defense lawyer challenges the assumptions of people from different segments of the society, including the victim’s family, and the judge. Where I felt great about the writing is when the rug gets pulled under our feet – as audience how we also fall prey to our prejudices – assumptions we made on the cop character by the looks and what we have seen. Brilliant!!

Yes, there are few issues with the movie, staging could be better, the rush to close the threads towards the climax, but these are minor squabbles. Overall, the content, the writing, and the questions it raises, elevates Jana Gana Mana to a worthwhile watch. At the least, next time we will not get carried away by the headlines or the breaking news 😀