In this episode of the 39A Podcast, we interview film critic and journalist, Tanul Thakur who discusses Bollywood’s depiction of law and justice. We discuss the idea of the justice system as represented in mainstream Hindi cinema - what the ‘system’ means to people and who is seen as part of it. We discuss how ‘justice’ plays out in Bollywood. How different is it from legal justice? Finally, we discuss the larger impact of commonly used visual narratives and the contemporary social discourse that it seems to reflect.

Tanul Thakur interviewed by Ruchi Chaudhury, Project 39A.

Producer: Priya Naresh

Technical Assistance: Baldev Singh

Works that aided research for this episode:

‘Vigilantism and Mob Justice Are Glorified by Bollywood and That Is a Big Problem’ (The Wire) by Anushka Shah

‘Portrayal of Police Torture In Hindi Films and Television Serials and its impact on Children’ (CEHAT & CVICT) by Kiran Shaheen

‘The politics of India’s conventional cinema’ (1999) by Fareed Kazmi