by Chaitanya Tamhane
A sewer worker is found dead of an apparent suicide. An elderly folk singer is arrested. Did he trivialize suicide to such an extent in one of his songs that the worker was enticed into committing the fatal deed? This incident is one of many strange cases that are dealt with in a small district court in Mumbai. Here, the hopes and fears of ordinary people are played out while judges and lawyers go unmoved and with unerring composure about their work. But how do these lawyers act outside the courtroom? Are they even properly legitimatized to lead trials and administer justice? The hyper-realistic docudrama COURT enables us to take an unobstructed view behind the scenes of an Indian court and meet the actors within it.