Director: Prakash Kovelamudi
That’s true of the film too. At only two hours, Judgementall Hai Kya feels overlong and overstretched. The film’s second half is so weak, it makes you forget a lot of what you enjoyed in the first half. Which is a real shame because it’s shot and scored imaginatively, and makes a strong case for inclusion and empathy. Kangana Ranaut is solid, and Rajkummar Rao brings a real element of mystery to his character, never allowing us to feel like we’ve entirely figured the guy out. But the film falls way short of greatness on account of a muddled script that loses steam halfway.I’m going with two-and-a-half out of five for Judgementall Hai Kya. While you admire the attempt at originality, you can’t help feeling frustrated at just how it all comes apart in the end.
Hindi cinema has an extremely dodgy record of depicting mental illness. Judgementall Hai Kya comes with an empathetic gaze, which is a big step forward. The ambition of the story – both in content and style – is very exciting. But Kanika’s screenplays seem to suffer from the soft belly syndrome. Manmarziyaan, Kedarnath and now Judgementall Hai Kya exert a solid grip in the first hour but in the second, the plotting becomes unsteady. Judgementall Hai Kya dips and soars. Like Bobby, the film can be exhausting. But like her, it’s also a true blue original. And you should give it a shot.
On the whole, Judgementall Hai Kya is meant only for a tiny section of the audience — the classes and the elite. The film’s humour may work but the confusing drama would end up testing the patience of the rest of the audience. The film will at most places face rejection by the public.
Watch this film. As evidenced by a man Bobby sees carrying homilies on placards on a street corner, Judgementall Hai Kya knows the difference between accepting and determining something. It is a film about malicious misdirection, and the validity of our narratives — especially those labelled incorrect. It’s okay to jump at a cockroach even if you’re the only one who sees it. From the right angle, a bug is a feature.
This is the kind of movie which will sharply divide audiences. And that’s as it should be. Once I began seeing it as the murmurings of a different mind, I bought it as a caper, as burlesque, where nothing is as it is. I had problems with some of it, but I really liked the rest of it.
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