New Delhi: The Aarushi murder case has already inspired one film released in 2015, ‘Rahasya'. And we will see a second film on the same theme later this year. The trailer of ‘Talvar' has just been released and it promises to be a riveting account of a murder that shocked an entire nation.
It is quite clear where the sympathies of writer Vishal Bharadwaj and director Meghna Gulzar lie. The parents of Aarushi were sentenced to life imprisonment in what many people believe was a horrific miscarriage of justice. The makers of the film appear to share that view as they subtly depict the police weaving a case against the parents based purely on circumstantial evidence.
Neeraj Kabi is impressive as the father whose soul has been crushed by forces beyond his control while Konkona Sen Sharma plays the grieving mother. Irrfan Khan stands out as the dogged investigator who opposes the official police line and faces the wrath of his superiors. Irrfan's character says at one point that it's better for 10 guilty people to go scotfree than for one innocent person to be punished, which neatly sums up the film's philosophy as well.
The name of the film is a clever pun on Aarushi's surname and the sword held by the goddess of Justice. It suggests that Justice is not just a passive, blindfolded onlooker but is ready to take up arms on behalf of the innocent. The subtext is that the real life Talwars may now be in jail but the last word has not been said on the case. They could yet walk free if their appeal against the verdict is upheld by the High Court.
'Talvar' will have its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September before releasing in India on October 2.
Watch the trailer here:
