Ram Jagadeesh’s Court-State vs. A Nobody, currently streaming on Netflix, has its heart in the right place, but it is far, far removed from reality. At times in courtroom dramas, logic, reasoning, and reality are set aside to make the narrative more thrilling and entertaining. But I felt that Court-State vs. A Nobody was way too idealistic in its approach, so much so that the twists and turns seemed too predictable. Also, there was a point in the film where, though I loved the drama and the flair in the dialogue and the performances, respectively, I wanted to shout at the top of my lungs that this is not how court proceedings happen. Also, I felt that the protagonist defeated his opponent, who was supposedly the most powerful man of the village, way too easily. I mean, I was expecting that the protagonist’s nemesis would put up a fight and go to any length to save his reputation, considering the man owned the entire system.
Well, I would say that Court-State vs. A Nobody is for you if you can set logic aside and just enjoy the dramatic plot twists. If not, I would recommend you watch films like The Trial of the Chicago 7, A Few Good Men, and a spectacular 2014 release titled Court.
Spoiler Alert
Why was Chandu sent to prison?
Before we find out how Chandu aka Chandrasekhar was sent to prison under the POCSO Act (protection of children from sexual offenses) and other related charges, we need to understand the power dynamics that existed in his village and its surrounding areas and the kind of man Mangapathi was. So Mangapathi had married the daughter of the village leader, and over a period of time, he had started dominating his entire family. Nobody could even move a finger without asking Manga, not even his elderly father-in-law. Basically, Manga was a criminal, an influential one, who had the entire police station on his payroll. He was very sensitive when it came to maintaining his and his family’s reputation. He didn’t let the girls dress themselves as they pleased, he didn’t let the teenagers talk to the boys, and he even didn’t like it when girls came back home late. In my understanding, Manga’s father-in-law had three children. The entire family feared Manga, and even after knowing him for so many years, they didn’t have the courage to speak out against him. Jaabili was one of the granddaughters of Manga’s father-in-law, Ramachandrayya and she was the kind of girl who didn’t hesitate in expressing her feelings. More than anything, Jaabili was a kindhearted girl who probably believed that one day a Prince Charming would walk into her life and whisk her away. Jaabili fell in love with the son of a watchman, who lived just next to Jaabili’s friend’s house. Jaabili, at first, made a prank call to irritate Chandu, but then eventually both of them developed feelings for each other. Jaabili didn’t care if he was the son of a watchman or a minister, as she knew that he was a beautiful human being inside and out. Jaabili often used to go to Chandu’s house, but her own family didn’t have any clue what she was up to. All hell broke loose when Manga, through CCTV camera footage from a hotel named Sitara that was given to him by one of his sycophants, came to know that Jaabili was meeting this boy who came from an underprivileged background on the day of a marriage ceremony. Manga, with the help of the local police, framed Chandu for sexually abusing Jaabili and made sure that he was kept in remand until the trial began.
What happened during the cross-examination?
Throughout the trial, Chandu didn’t get bail because his lawyer, Siva Rama, had been bought by Manga and his lawyer, Damu. Siva didn’t even bat an eye before selling his conscience, and Chandu’s underprivileged family realized that their lawyer wasn’t even trying to get him out of jail. One day, one of Chandu’s relatives got to know about a star lawyer named Mohan Rao, who had this reputation of never losing a case. The relatives decided to go and meet Mohan Rao, but after carefully going through the details, he decided to not take the case. The problem was that Chandu’s relatives had approached Mohan Rao just a few days before the final judgment was supposed to be pronounced by the judge. Also, no lawyer wanted to defend a case where the POCSO Act was involved. But then there came a twist in Court-State vs. A Nobody, as Rao’s junior, Surya Teja, decided to take the case without informing the former about it. Teja was trying very hard, for a very long time, to get his first independent case, but Rao never gave him the opportunity. This time around, Teja knew that if he won the case, he would be able to kick-start his journey and prove his mettle. Firstly, Teja went and asked for a retrial, and luckily the judge agreed to his request. Teja, one by one, proved in the court of law that all the witnesses that the prosecution presented were misrepresenting facts and painting a false image. But Teja’s trust was broken when the video of Chandu and Jaabili, where they were seen entering a room during the wedding, was presented by the prosecution. The prosecution’s purpose behind presenting that video was to prove that Chandu had sexually abused a minor, and they believed that the video would help their cause.
Teja got disheartened, and he felt that he was betrayed by his own client. But Teja didn’t understand that nothing had happened between Chandu and Jaabili in that room, and they were just, like little kids, pretending to get married to each other. When Teja’s boss, Mohan Rao, got to know that his junior had taken a case behind his back, he went to meet him. Surprisingly, he didn’t scold Teja but told him to not make snap decisions and opinions based on first impressions. He told him that the role of a good lawyer was to ask good questions. Teja decided to once again go and fight for justice with renewed faith. Through his strong arguments, he was able to prove that, based on the CCTV camera footage, one couldn’t draw conclusions, as nobody really knew what had happened inside the room. Teja made Chandu tell the judge about his side of the story and what had actually happened in that room. Teja told the court that the only way to prove that Chandu was speaking the truth was to match his testimony with that of Jaabili. But the problem was that Manga and his lawyer had paid a psychologist and made a false report about Jaabili not being in sound mental state. They knew that if Jaabili came to the court, she might end up speaking the truth. They didn’t want to take any chances, and so they tried their level best to make all sorts of excuses. But Teja was good at what he did, and he was ready to tackle every obstacle they put in his way.
Was Teja able to prove Chandu’s innocence?
In Court-State vs. A Nobody, Teja fought the case on merit and was quite easily able to prove that Manga and his lawyer were lying. Firstly Teja called the psychiatrist who was supposedly treating Jaabili to the witness stand and proved that he was lying about Jaabili’s mental condition. Then he asked the court’s permission to summon Jaabili for cross-examination, as the testimony of the victim was of utmost importance. Manga tried his level best to not let Jaabili come to the court. He went and told Jaabili and her mother, Seetha, that the judge had not come on that day and that they didn’t need to come to the court. But Seetha and Jaabili came to the court, and the latter gave her testimony. The declaration of judgment was merely a formality after Jaabili told the court the truth. She said that nothing had happened between her and Chandu and that Manga was lying about everything. The court found Chandu innocent, and he was acquitted on all charges. Chandu and his entire family breathed a sigh of relief, and they couldn’t stop their tears. A new investigation was started again into Manga and Damu on charges of corruption, though the former was quite sure that he wouldn’t take long to get bail and be free. I believe if Manga comes out of police custody, he will go after Seetha, Jaabili, and Chandu. His ego was bruised, and I do not think that he will let them go so easily.
As for Chandu and Jaabili, they met once again after the latter turned 18. They both hugged each other as they knew that now, according to the law, they were adults, and nobody could force them to do anything that they didn’t want. Their love was pure, and even in the face of such adversity, their bond didn’t break. Jaabili could have easily kept quiet and avoided the hassle. She knew that if she spoke the truth, then one day Manga would go after her. But still, she didn’t care about her life and made sure that Chandu got justice. So it all ended well at the end: the lovers got reunited, the antagonist was put behind bars, and, most importantly, a young and ambitious lawyer registered his first victory and proved that one could achieve anything they wanted through hard work and dedication.
