Film review: ek rukha hua faisla

Director – Basu Chatterjee

Year of release – 1986

Length of movie – 2 hours 7 minutes

Genre – Classic, Drama

Theme of the movie

Twelve members of Jury had to come to a consensus decision (after the courtroom proceedings) on a murder case in which a young boy was accused of killing his father.

The movie is about the decision made by twelve members of jury after the court proceedings. They had to take the decision in a room. They were not allowed to leave the room or contact anyone through phone. First voting was done and the decision of ‘ Guilty’ to ‘ Not Guilty’ was 11-1. The person who voted for accused as not guilty said that he was not sure and wanted to analyze the facts through discussion. There were a lot of discussions and arguments. Facts were analyzed from all angles. During the process many members of the jury changed their decision. In the end, a very good observation by the oldest member of the jury turned the case in the favour of the boy. Finally the decision of the jury was ‘ Not Guilty’.

All characters had important role to play. Some had main roles while others played supporting roles. Jury member 1 coordinated and conducted the voting process and other activities in an organized manner. However, in some cases he was not able to control the conflict among few jury members and at times lost his cool while trying to pacify them. Jury member 3 was the most dominating and arrogant jury member. He kept on interrupting the arguments of the other members and supported everything what Jury member 4 said. More than discussions he wanted to influence and change the decision making of the jury. He felt that all other jury members were having weak arguments and did not want to listen to their point of view. He had a stubborn character and wanted to send the boy to gallows at any cost. Jury member 4 was a mature and experienced person. He debated the points in a very logical and coherent manner. He discussed the points at length and was in no hurry to leave. Jury member 8 had the most important role as he defended his decision well, putting forth valid arguments and points. Remaining all other jury members had secondary role in the film.

With respect to management aspect, I feel the film highlighted below mentioned points:

• The jury members had to arrive at one common decision. It showed that in a group there may be difference of opinion, but how you convince each other and then abide by that decision is what matters.
• The members of jury had come from different professions, religions, age group, background, bias and prejudices leading to difference in opinions and conflicts.
• Most of the jury members were very vocal and volatile. Patient hearing and respecting views of each other was missing in mutual discussions. For example Jury member 3 never bothered to listen to other member’s views and never gave anyone fair chance to speak.
• If proceedings are conducted in an organized way and congenial atmosphere, then decision making becomes easy and fast. This was lacking in the jury room.
• We should have convincing reasons for our opinion/decision and should not follow others blindly. Jury member 12 did not speak with reasoning and conviction. He was just a dormant member going with the flow without contributing constructively.
• We must be serious and committed in the work assigned to us. For example Jury member 7 was giving frivolous arguments and more interested in watching movie whereas Jury member 12 was seen making pictures in his notepad.
• We must always analyze the facts before arriving at some decision as done by Jury member 8 and not jump to conclusions.

To conclude, I would give B grade to the film. This is because the pace and progress of the movie was slow. Otherwise, the acting skills in the film were good and the script was simple but engrossing. During the film I wondered how members, who have so much difference in opinion, would come to consensus. Excellent persuasive abilities and capabilities of Jury member 8 made the movie very interesting. I would recommend this film to others as it provides many valuable lessons which can be incorporated in our daily life. An economically viable, low budget movie shot in one room, but with powerful performances and a strong message. A must watch for all.