No One Killed Jessica

Rating : 7/10
Release Date : 7th January, 2011
Time : 136 minutes
Director & Writer : Raj Kumar Gupta; Music : Amit Trivedi
Starring : Vidya Balan, Rani Mukherjee, Rajesh Sharma, Neil Bhoopalam, Yogendra Tikku, Shireesh Sharma, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub

This is a brilliantly made film, one which keeps you gripped despite your knowing exactly how things will turn out. One which makes you glad and angry at the same time, as you leave the hall. Glad that someone made a film on a topic like this and at the way things eventually pan out. And angry, very angry that in our country we continually let those in power abuse those without it, to the point that they think they can get away with anything, even murder. And in most cases we let them …


It is a fictionalised account of what happened to an aspiring middle-class model, Jessica who is shot dead by a rich, spoilt, drunk politician's son at point blank range simply because she refused to serve him a drink after closing hours. She is shot at a party full of about 300 people, most of them rich and influential. And yet the courts acquitted the defendants, that too after 6 years. This is the story of how this came to pass and what became of it after.

Four things set this movie apart. Great direction, superb editing, excellent casting / performances and a pulsating soundtrack. The direction & writing sets the ambience perfectly, it captures the essence of Delhi with all its rudeness, power and money obsession, feistiness and even its heart. The editing makes sure the pace is at a fast clip throughout and despite it being a true story, the surprise moments keep coming through. The performances breathe life to the characters. Rani shows some spark after a long time as the TV journalist demanding justice. Vidya manages to somehow shrink and shrivel up as she plays Jessica’s sister Sabrina who despite being an introvert just keeps going ahead through sheer bull-headedness. There’s the inspector (Rajesh sharma) who’s had enough of high society people and their foibles. The extremely good looking star witness (Neil Bhoopalam) who is given an offer he cant refuse. Both the fathers, one weak willed and helpless (Yogendra Tikku), the other silent but powerful. The self indulgent high society aunt who is too confused at the wrong moments. And a soundtrack that makes the film come alive, enhancing the mood at every occasion.



If I have to nit-pick, I thought the pace flagged just a notch in the middle and towards the end of the second half. I thought the opening credits commentary, while interesting, was almost drowned out in the midst of the music, didn’t get a chance to standout. But these are really small points – in the larger scheme of things and versus most other cheap, gimmicky or mindless films coming out today, this one towers up and above.


A constant thought, sometimes articulated in the film, is this could so easily have been happening to us. Its so real. Another thought, again articulated briefly in the beginning, is that in Delhi you’re nobody if you don’t know somebody and that’s why everybody is always a somebody (‘tu jaanta nahin main kaun hoon ?’). Here’s to the day when everybody will genuinely just need to be himself to get justice and to other cities not becoming like Delhi…