Good actors undermined by gaudy visuals and underresearched facts
An esteemed judge retires and turns into the angel of justice responsible for the disappearances of criminals he had acquitted due to lack of evidence. Though this premise of One Day: Justice Delivered sounds like an intriguing thriller written by Sydney Sheldon, the movie is actually not that interesting or thrilling.
Though the core story of this film is pretty decent and with a better screenplay and direction, could have translated into a much better picture. However, the absolute lack of research in the nuances of the subject matter and the gaudy choice of visual storytelling by the director Ashok K Nanda were two major set-backs both for the movie and the actors in it.
I believe that Anupam Kher’s portrayal of Justice Tyagi was one of his very best performances. Kher who is actually an extremely emotive actor adapted the calm and composure necessary for the character of a retired judge and also made it look quite natural. Even the body language and mannerisms of that Kher has given the character are proof of the extremely hard work that he put into his acting.
The character of inspector Sharma, an honest but lazy policeman turned sidekick of a vigilante retired judge is also brought to life with extreme ease by Kumudh Mishra.
I also liked the dashing portrayal of Laxmi Rathi, the hardened lady-cop by Esha Gupta. However, there is a scene in the film where Esha very noticeably breaks character and yet that scene somehow made its way to the film.
That and many such directorial choices have turned an otherwise decent film into a gaudy disaster.
The script of this film is already filled with a series of gory crimes committed by persons in high places who escape punishment by using their financial and political power to alter evidence. Further, the movie is about a calm and composed retired judge bringing them all to justice by a retired judge out of guilt that he could not convict them while he was servicing in the judiciary.
No using a tiny amount of comic relief by introducing fun and almost comic characters like Lakshmi Rathi and inspector Sharma is certainly acceptable in a film made for the Indian audience. However, the screenwriter has added some extremely over the top and unnecessary action scenes while the director has gone further and inserted a cheesy dance number and CID-like visual sequences.
Not to mention that both the writer and the director have completely disregarded the facts about restrictions on a retired judge’s social and family life.
Therefore the resulting concoction of stellar opposites juxtaposed into a visual presentation has turned One Day: Justice Delivered into a movie with good actors which is highly undermined by its over the top visuals and underresearched facts.
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