Janaki V vs State of Kerala (JSK) review: Suresh Gopi, Anupama Parameswaran’s drama is too jarring to be effective

Janaki V vs State of Kerala review: While the film manages to convey the challenges that a survivor has to endure if and when she decides to pursue the legal route, it lacks an effective screenplay.

A still from Janaki V vs State of Kerala

Janaki V vs State of Kerala (JSK) plot: The case of sexual-assault survivor Janaki becomes the most followed in the State, especially after the government comes under scrutiny for the death of her father. The case takes a turn when renowned advocate David Abel Donovan appears for the defendants. Can a broken system deliver Janaki the justice she seeks?

Janaki V vs State of Kerala review: You know that the makers of JSK weren’t looking to be subtle about their storytelling when its male protagonist, advocate David Abel Donovan, literally waves the Constitution of India in the face of High Court judges - and follows this up with a monologue as well as engages with an opposing lawyer who upholds the conservative ideals of the family system in the country. But subtlety and sensitivity are probably the first few aspects that the makers should have cared for, while making a movie about a sexual-assault survivor, who wages a long, lonely battle for justice against the system.

Director-writer Pravin Narayanan might have had the right intent when he chose the subject, but JSK never does justice to it. It has a pretty straightforward narrative, which ideally should have centred around Janaki to be more impactful. Instead, we have an array of underdeveloped characters, including Suresh Gopi’s David, who is an anti-thesis to Mohanlal’s Vijayamohanan in Neru, and Madhav Suresh and Askar Ali’s supporting roles, who try to piece together what happened during the night that Janaki was assaulted. This defuses any sort of tension that the movie tries to build up, especially because the revelations aren’t anything out of the ordinary.

Also read: Janaki vs State of Kerala OTT partner locked: Suresh Gopi, Anupama Parameswaran’s film to release on this platform

The first few scenes of the film introduce David, a high-profile case that makes him lock horns with the political and religious heavyweights, a protest that prevents him from entering a police station, before finally zeroing in on Janaki and her case. This confusion is prevalent throughout the movie, as the central character of the story, whom we assume is Janaki, doesn’t quite get her due, mostly because the makers try to pander to Suresh Gopi’s character in the second half, by giving him an unnecessary action scene and long, jarring lines of stating the obvious.

You would wish the movie had showcased the characters’ tact, rather than being physical and preachy. While the director does manage to convey the challenges that a survivor has to endure if and when she decides to pursue the legal quest for justice, that part of the storytelling is marred in its execution.

Anupama Parameswaran as Janaki does the best from what she is offered in the script, but you do feel that she is relegated to a supporting character in this, mainly due to its weak screenplay. Shruthi Ramachandran, who plays an extended cameo, is one of the bright spots in the movie that could have been edited better.

At a time when Malayalam movies such as Neru, Vaashi, Nna Thaan Case Kodu and Kaathal: The Core had presented the court scenes authentically and sensitively, the makers of JSK could have done better. When you have to load everything that you are trying to convey in the final 10 minutes of a film, and that too through monologues, you know that justice has not been served well.

Janaki V vs State of Kerala verdict: This Suresh Gopi, Anupama Parameswaran film lacks an effective screenplay, making it hardly engaging for the audience.

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