System

I was trying to keep an open mind about Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari’s System when Neha (Sonakshi Sinha) says, “Uski vibe hamesha off thhi par woh murderer type kabhi nahi laga.” And that was that. I don’t expect every lawyer to speak in iambic pentameter or quote Thomas Cromwell. I do, however, feel it’s not unreasonable to have a protagonist in a legal drama—one who’s trying hard to prove she’s not a lightweight—speak like a professional and not some millennial at brunch. Neha is a public prosecutor, though she’d rather not be. She doesn’t like the sweaty courts, the desperate cases, the grind, her boss. She’s also not particularly competent. The first time we see her in court, the judge explains that she needs to prove the accused actually committed the crime, not that he might have—and she looks shocked. So when her famous lawyer father, Ravi Rajvansh (Ashutosh Gowariker), makes her a deal—win 10 cases in a row and join my practice—it feels like a little exercise in humility, or humiliation.

Director Ashwini Iyer Tiwari has been making films for over a decade. And yet, nothing gives away her lack of assurance more than her choice of background score. Iyer Tiwari’s style is what I like to describe as having soap-opera coherence (my mother is a huge fan of these films, which are technically proficient, but ideologically axiomatic). If the choice was ever between thought-provoking and manipulating tears, she overwhelmingly leans towards the latter. Having made films with noble (sometimes, even sweet) through lines, like a mother re (Nil Battey Sannata), or a woman making a comeback to professional sports after a prolonged sabbatical (Panga) – Iyer Tiwari’s films often find its underdogs in women. But there’s also a lack of rigour in her ideas curdling the simple into gratingly simplistic.

Another week, another commentary on uncomfortable societal truths packaged in the form of a mystery where solid performances and subtext are marred by predictable beats. At first glance, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari’s System masquerades as a legal thriller, but beneath its polished exterior, it promises to lay bare the facade of institutional neutrality. It positions the courtroom not as a temple of justice, but as a theatre of social stratification where truth is a manufactured commodity. The narrative (penned by Arun Sukumar, Harman Baweja, and Akshat Ghildial) forces a meta-textual collision. Neha Rajvansh (Sonakshi Sinha), a public prosecutor fighting the suffocating shadow of her iconic legal patriarch (Ashutosh Gowarikar), is subtly challenged from the margins by Sarika (Jyotika), a humble yet resilient stenographer who weaponises the very bureaucratic machinery designed to keep her invisible.

Things fall quite easily in the lap of public prosecutor Neha Rajvansh (Sonakshi Sinha) in Ashwini Iyer Tiwari’s new film System. Neha may be working to get the underprivileged justice in the Delhi court as a public prosecutor, but she comes from a position of privilege. While she is out there to prove a point to her successful father, she is also aware of her limitations and thus takes the help of courtroom stenographer Satika Rawat (Jyotika). Two women headlining a courtroom drama in Bollywood is novel, even though the premise is a known one. But does Iyer Tiwari’s film deliver a sharp courtroom drama? Only in parts.

System stars Sonakshi Sinha as a privileged young professional who strives to shed the ‘nepo-baby’ tag by breaking free from the shadow of an influential father. The meta casting is a common Bollywood gimmick: a version of Deepika Padukone and Siddhant Chaturvedi playing the restless outsiders in Gehraiyaan. The context here supplies the characterisation. Sinha’s Neha Rajvansh might be the daughter of a big-shot lawyer, but her rite of passage includes a ‘lowly’ stint at the state prosecutor’s office. Her reel-clicking, selfie-taking and manicured fingers must toil in the trenches to earn her place in her father’s empire: a legal-world equivalent of industry kids landing jobs as assistant directors before they are launched in big-budget productions. Like her old man, Neha treats her career as a medium of winning, not a battle for justice. When he challenges her to win ten cases in a row, she gets cracking — with the help of the court stenographer, Sarika (Jyotika). All she cares about is the gold at the end of this rainbow.

‘किसी ने जुर्म किया है या नहीं, इस बात से कोई फर्क नहीं पड़ता। अगर वह जुर्म साबित किया जा सकता है तो वह दोषी है, वरना नहीं।’ इस संवाद के इर्दगिर्द बुनी गई इस फिल्म की कहानी दरअसल हमारे कानूनी सिस्टम के उन छेदों को दिखाने का काम करती है जिसमें कभी कोई बेकसूर शख्स इसलिए सज़ा पा लेता है क्योंकि सबूत उसके खिलाफ होते हैं, तो कभी कोई कसूरवार इसलिए छूट जाता है क्योंकि गवाह और सबूत उसके खिलाफ होते हैं। दिल्ली के नामी वकील रवि राजवंश बड़े-बड़े केस चुटकी बजाते जीत जाते हैं। उनकी बेटी नेहा राजवंश सरकारी वकील है और अक्सर हारती रहती है। पिता-बेटी में डील होती है कि नेहा लगातार दस केस जीते तो रवि उसे अपना पार्टनर बना लेगा। नेहा एक-एक कर नौ केस जीत भी लेती है। तभी आता है एक ऐसा हाई प्रोफाइल केस जिसमें उसे अपने पिता के खिलाफ ही खड़े होना है। क्या जीत पाएगी वह यह केस? और इससे भी बड़ा सवाल-जीतना ज़्यादा ज़रूरी है या इंसाफ दिलवाना?

A privileged rookie lawyer teams up with a court stenographer to fight cases and seek justice for the underprivileged. System follows Neha Rajvansh (Sonakshi Sinha), a sincere but inexperienced public defender who has a lot to prove to live up to her name. Her father, Ravi Rajvansh (a functional Ashutosh Gowariker), is a hotshot advocate known for representing the wealthy and well-connected. To earn her place at his side, he expects her to grind it out as a ‘sarkari vakil’ and gives her a target: win 10 cases. To get there, Neha finds an unlikely ally in court stenographer Sarika Rawat (an excellent Jyotika).