Never Ending Movie Carnival
Never Ending Movie Carnival
What: ZEE5 420 IPC review: Vinay Pathak, Ranvir Shorey and Rohan Vinod Mehra are well nuanced in Manish Gupta’s intriguingly weaved court room suspense drama.
OTT movie 420 IPC synopsis
A simple chartered accountant Bansi Keswani (Vinay Pathak) looks after the personal accounts of his influential client Deputy Director of MMRDA. The deputy director is charged of corruption and Keswani is questioned but later set free as he comes clean.
A couple of months later Bansi Keswani gets arrested for an alleged forgery in the office of his client - builder Sinha (Arif Zakaria).
A young defense lawyer played by Rohan Vinod Mehra is fighting the case for Keswani.
An established senior public prosecutor played by Ranvir Shorey is fighting the case for the builder Sinha.
Will Keswani walk free again?
A crook or a victim?. Sarkar, Rahasya and Section 375 fame writer director Manish Gupta takes fraud, forgery and money scam in 420 IPC.
After crime drama, murder mysteries and false rape, it’s the economic offences/ frauds/forgery in 420 IPC by Manish Gupta. Any other filmmaker would have exploited the potential and easily added glamour, violence and sex in 420 IPC and considering it to be an OTT platform have maintained a constant flow of cuss words no matter whether required or not.
Like Section 375 Manish Gupta sincerely sticks to the requirement and makes it as real, simple and engrossing without adding any extra sensationalism and that’s highly commendable.
The subject of fraud, economic offence in movies is not run of the mill and Manish Gupta’s brilliance in handling Court room dramas by maintaining the dignity of Court as seen in Section 375 is repeated in 420 IPC as well.
The writing is fine and narration is engaging. The court room scenes are the major highlight. You won’t see the lawyers screaming and their arguments are politely but firmly tackled by the Judge.
Ranvir Shorey as the Parsi prosecutor brings in some nice nuances while Rohan Vinod Mehra leaves a cool impression. Vinay Pathak is in his element and Arif Zakaria is controlled and subtle. Gul Panag is good.
Unfortunately, 420 IPC in its quest to explore the human psyche, manipulation, fraud and wrong doing fails to strike that sweeping chord which Section 375 was able to do.
Maybe the topic of Section 375 was more sensational and universal. 420 IPC too had universal appeal but somehow it becomes more of a personal saga.
Though Manish Gupta tries to avoid taking a moralistic stand and falling prey to cliché Bollywood courtroom practices, some compromises do happen and the revelation is not that solid.
Final words
All said and done, 420 IPC is an interestingly nuanced suspense drama by a no nonsense writer director Manish Gupta where the refined talent of Vinay Pathak and Ranvir Shorey add extra nuances and the young Rohan Vinod Mehra makes an impression.
A child born from life & fed by cinema. A filmi keeda from child & a film journalist for the last fifteen years. a father, seeker, foodie who loves crooning bollywood melodies twitter.com/cineblues More By vishal verma