LAW treats the serious subject of Rape in a very light-hearted manner, by even showing the judicial system, less emphatic. It is a narrative that is trying to expose a society which often downplays rape and the impact it has on a victim.
PrimeVideo LAW Review by Filmykeema
A Sexual Assault Drama That Lacks Intensity
THE STORY: A young woman has been gang-raped by three men. Nobody seems to believe her or care. Nandhini’s father (Avinash) advises her to move on. The officer at the police station regards Nandhini’s complaint as the punchline of a joke. You should have clicked a selfie with the animals, the jovial inspector (Mandya Ramesh) tells Nandhini (Ragini Prajwal).
She is even met with demeaning jokes about women, unsympathetic treatment, harsh judgement and the usual victim-blaming questions: What were you doing out so late in the night?
Brahma (Hebbale Krishna), the maverick Crime Branch officer in charge of the case, has his doubts about Nandhini. The judge (Mukhyamantri Chandru), who appears to be a refugee from Commedia dell’arte, whines over his wife and ticks off his dim-witted assistant in the middle of court proceedings.
Some of the scenes in the series are appalling too, for instance the victim-shaming parade led by a police inspector, played by Mandya Ramesh. The cop uses his dubious laughter to add insult to injury that begins to get on your nerves.
While the mean-spirited defence lawyer (Rajesh Nataranga), described as a formidable adversary, gets into the spirit of things too. I think she has watched a good film before coming to court, he says while attempting to discredit a crucial witness.
Among the clownish characters is the father of one of the three perpetrators, supposedly an influential politician with bottomless pockets. Brahma’s assistant keeps making sarcastic asides to ensure that his very short stint in the 119-minute film will count.
Raghu Samarth’s Kannada-language court room drama currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video, gives a serious subject a chalta hai treatment. The narration with twists, does give you some predictable moments. However, LAW works hard on being an entertainer about sexual assault – which is quite difficult subject to deal with.
The movie tries hard to narrate a message that not all crimes against women get reported because of the social stigma and the family’s fear about: “what will people say?”
The 2 hour movie on Prime Video doesn’t actually absorb you, as it is not what you expect in a film that deals with the pain of Rape and what the victim goes through.
Ragini Prajwal’s debut peformance is not very impressive too. She tries hard to get into the skin of the character though.
There are umpteen stories that involve crime and investigations. Sometimes, the case even gets dismissed due to lack of evidence and the accused are set free. According to Prime Video, ‘Law’ is a paradigm shift from the rest in this genre. Nandhini, a law student who is caught in a precarious situation fights for justice for a gruesome crime that took place.
Watch the trailer of LAW Movie
For us, it is an okay movie to watch, it is certainly not a paradigm shift in its narrative.
Law movie star cast: Ragini Prajwal, Mandya Ramesh, Avinash, Krishna Hebbale
Law movie director: Raghu Samarth