Patna Shuklla, which has released today on Disney+ Hotstar, is the story of a woman helping a student get justice. The film is a bit routine and reminds one of several courtroom dramas that we have seen in the past. The pace also drops in between and some developments are very convenient. Thankfully, the film has its share of plusses. It tackles an important subject and also raises an important point that not just the system, but even the common man has encouraged corruption at his convenience and hence, no one is innocent. This is also one of the first films to show ‘bulldozer justice’, which is often a punishment against those who fight the system. A twist in the pre-climax is unexpected. Raveena Tandon suits the part. She is great in the courtroom scenes but shines in the emotional moments. Manav Vij (Siddharth) lends able support. His character, with his flaws and plus points, is very realistic. Anushka Kaushik (Rinki Kumari) delivers a confident performance. Late Satish Kaushik is quite adorable. However, his character gives a déjà vu of Saurabh Shukla in the Jolly LLB Series. Jatin Goswami (Raghubir Singh) and the late Rio Kapadia (Sinha; vice chancellor) leave a mark. Dayashankar Pandey (Surendra Mohan) is wasted. Raju Kher (Tanvi’s father) is okay. Balendra Singh (Srivastav) and Palak Jain (Srivastav’s daughter Meghna) do well in small roles. The actor playing Zaibuddin Ansari is memorable. All in all, Patna Shuklla is a watchable courtroom drama.
My rating – *** out of 5!