Jai Bhim movie review: Pain of the downtrodden, voice of the voiceless

'Jai Bhim is light. Jai Bhim is love,’ that's how Suriya's latest screen outing ends, prompting deep thoughts with its hard-hitting and intense plot.

In 2018, director Madhupal gave us a courtroom drama, Oru Kuprasidha Payyan, in which an individual is caught in a surreal tale of a legal mystery.

With Jai Bhim, director TJ Gnanavel digs deeper. If it was Ajayan and Hannah in Oru Kuprasidha Payyan, here we have Chandru, who takes up the case of a tribal woman, Senganni, whose husband Rajakannu’s whereabouts are unknown since he was taken away by the local cops on cooked-up charges of theft.

There have been films like Nerkonda Paarvai, which, at some point of time, let the lead star take the spotlight. However, Jai Bhim does not lose its focus and stray towards stardom -- that is the best thing about the movie.

Neither does Suriya take the centre stage, nor does he let his stardom get in the way of the powerful and relevant story.

While Suriya simply anchors the film, it's Lijomol who gets applause for her phenomenal performance. The soul of the film runs through Lijomol, backed by Manikandan. Moreover, Rajisha Vijayan plays a pivotal role rather than the usual romantically inclined female lead.

Despite its three-hour run-time, there is not a single scene that looks dull, though there are some visually disturbing ones.

Retaining its pace, the film perfectly portrays the pain of the downtrodden and the voiceless.

The music by Sean Roldan is just perfect, tugging right at the core of the movie, while cinematographer SR Kadhir's camera captures the nuances of the gripping story.

Rather than being a mere courtroom drama, Jai Bhim is a much-needed film from the past that will be relevant in the years to come, with new hope and a new beginning.

(The movie is available on Amazon Prime Video)