‘Vashi’ movie review: Medium never crosses the watch category

The courtroom drama that Malayalam cinema has been churning out in large numbers in recent years is often filled with dread due to the possibilities of the protagonist indulging in lengthy dialogues that have no place in the actual courtroom. In VashiThe judge, enraged by a shouting match between the two advocates, tells them that this is not a news channel discussion, but a courtroom.

Film directed by Vishnu. Yes. Raghav also sticks to the judge’s orders for the most part, as the courtroom scenes are not really over-the-top. Instead of using the court as a platform to deliver a provocative speech, an attempt is made to stick to purely legal arguments. At the center of the film is an ego struggle between newly-appointed public prosecutor Ebin (Tovino Thomas) and defense lawyer Madhavi (Keerthy Suresh). Married couples face a trial time when they end up on either side in a matter involving constructed consent.

Although only a small percentage of incidents related to sexual harassment of women are being registered in the country, there has been much discussion about how laws designed to protect women can be misused. Vashijust like 2019 hindi movie section 375, also attempts to add to the conversation, which includes the alleged rape of a woman after her superior at work promised to marry her. Here the matter and its trajectory are also almost the same section 375, But what differentiates both the films is the clash between the lawyer pair and their ego.

The screenplay, by the director himself, alternates between the courtroom and the domestic situation of the two lawyers, for the most part. Some of the supporting cast, especially Baiju as his close friend from the legal fraternity and Ronnie David as Ebin’s influential brother-in-law, spice up these parts. But the conflict between the couple gets a somewhat lazy treatment, almost as if the author didn’t want to cause too much trouble between them. It is clear how quickly it is solved without much effort.

It appears that this ego clash, between two people in the same profession who have to go up against each other for personal pride, was created only for novelty. In the case they’re dealing with, it’s not the kind of theft to keep things complicated for two hours. This relatively light, risk-free approach ensures that the film moves along with ease, but never rises above the moderate, watchable category. The question remains how high are the handful of cases of abuse of the law that remain unreported, as well as actual cases of assault on women.

Vashi is playing in theaters now