From Rustom To Nail Polish: 9 Courtroom Dramas That Explore #ShadesOfLaw

Since the earliest days of cinema, a majority of people have come to love the movies with the most drama and mystery in them. And the best of both worlds is delivered to the people in courtroom dramas. There are moments of drama, mystery, and head-to-head arguments in a fast-paced notion. So celebrating the best of courtroom dramas, here are five much-discussed verdicts and cases in Hindi films and shows that took the genre to the next level.

Watch the trailer of Nail Polish here:

Ek Ruka Hua Faisla

This  Basu Chatterjee directorial is one of the most legendary films in this genre in the Hindi industry, and a remake of the American film 12 Angry Men. After the judge hears the witnesses and sees the proofs, he hands over the case of a kid killing his father to 12 jurors. When the jury session begins, only one out of the 12 jurors is not convinced of the kid’s crime. He does the impossible task and one by one convinces all the other jurors that the kid may not really have been the killer and it would be unfair to sentence him to life. This one small decision sends the case back to the court for reconsideration.

Watch Ek Ruka Hua Faisla on ZEE5.

Mulk

One of the most hard-hitting films of the current times, Mulk is the story of a lawyer’s family facing accusations of being terrorists. These accusations come as a result of one of the boys from the family becoming a terrorist and carrying out a bomb blast in a city. The court proceedings take place to prove that the family had nothing to do with the boy’s plans and that they were unaware of it. The verdict produced at the end was a real social statement that said how harsh and bad it is to tag someone as terrorists for their religion, even if there are proofs that claim that they are not involved in terrorism.

Watch Mulk on ZEE5.

Rustom

Loosely based on the real case of KM Nanavati, Rustom is a courtroom drama about a Navy officer facing charges for killing his wife’s lover. This film explores the concept of the accused fighting his own case, without a lawyer. The case seems open and shut from the beginning since Rustom does kill the man. However, it is later revealed that the man was a traitor to the nation and Naval Officer Rustom killed him for the country’s safety. The verdict at the end of the film was to release Rustom since he held out the killing for his service to the nation and not personal vendetta.

Watch Rustom on ZEE5.

Also read: Nail Polish: How This Courtroom Drama Is All Set to Raise The ‘Bar’ On The First Day Of The Year 2021

Court Martial

Starring Rajeev Khandelwal, Court Martial is a film about an army officer facing the charges of shooting at two other officers and killing one of them. In the film, the officer facing the charges, Ramchandra, has already agreed to his crime and is ready to accept the court-martial and the death sentence. However, officer Bikash Roy (Rajeev Khandelwal), takes a stand for him and aims to make the officers admit to the court why the attack took place. A case of caste discrimination opens up and a ‘poetic justice’ takes place in the court. However, the verdict still says that officer Ramchandra will face charges and punishment, since, however justified his attack may be, he still killed a fellow officer.

Watch Court Martial on ZEE5.

Code M

This is a show based on a murder case in the Indian Army. It features Jennifer Winget in the lead role of Lawyer Monica Mehra, who is assigned the case. The case which seems a simple murder case at first takes a strange turn. In the show, we see even the opposition lawyer very curiously deciding to drop the arguments and join hands with Lawyer Mehra to seek the truth. The revelation of truth opens up more than just a simple murder – from a secretive homosexual affair to caste discrimination.

Watch this gritty case in Code M on ZEE5.

The Verdict: State vs Nanavati

This series is another take on the case of KM Nanavati. It is also far more connected to the real events of the case. It serves the same premise at first, of the Naval Officer Nanavati discovering his wife’s extramarital affair and killing her lover, Prem Ahuja. Here in the series, the case takes a different turn and reveals different truths.

Watch this journey of the real case, in the show The Verdict: State vs Nanavati on ZEE5.

State vs Malti Mhaske

This film is about the case of Malti Mhaske, a Dalit housekeeper, who is accused of killing her employer, a Brahmin. When in the eyes of everyone she has already been deemed the culprit, a lawyer, Tara, takes it up upon herself to defend her. As the case proceeds, we find out a lot about the employer’s treatment of Malti and what went on in the house.

Watch this case unfold in State vs Malti Mhaske on ZEE5.

Sach Kahoon Toh

Starring the veteran actor Vikram Gokhle, Sach Kahoon Toh is a courtroom play on ZEE5. In this dramatic case, a man is accused of killing his girlfriend. But the only witness in the case is his wife! It is only his wife who is in favour of the accused and it is up to her and the lawyer Singhania (Vikram Gokhle) to save the man.

Watch this brilliant story made into a play: Sach Kahoon Toh on ZEE5.

Nail Polish

The latest addition to the most intriguing and shocking courtroom thrillers is Nail Polish. The case in the film is about the killing of 38 migrant children. An influential sports coach, Veer Singh, is the prime accused and the case is fought to prove if he is guilty or innocent. However, in the midst of the case, he suffers a serious trauma and gets affected by an identity disorder. Since his second identity did not commit the crime, and now nothing can be proved in his absence, the case comes to an indefinite halt. The movie later reveals very shocking details about the case and a very strange turn of events, never seen before in a courtroom movie.

Watch Nail Polish on ZEE5.

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