Patna Shukla

Patna Shuklla (2024) : Movie Review:

After Karrma Calling, Ranveena Tandon again stars in the lead role in Disney Plus Hotstar's original feature, "Patna Shukla." So, let me make it clear at the beginning to avoid further confusion about the title. There is a double L in the title, which stands for "lawyer," as the leading lady is in the role of a lawyer at a district court in Patna. Patna Shuklla is based on a sensitive topic like an educational scam by universities, but the execution is quite below par. The motive is strong, but the storytelling is strictly average. There is an unpredictable twist in the climax, which comes from nowhere and saves the entire film. So, you better watch out for that.

Set in Patna, Patna Shuklla is the story of a lawyer named Tanvi Shukla (Raveena Tandon). Her husband loves her and is proud of her, even though he misbehaves a bit sometimes, internationally. A B. Sc. Third-year student, Rinku (Anushka Kaushik), comes to Tanvi with a case, saying that her marksheet needs to be rechecked. Rinku is confident about getting more than 60% marks in the exam, while her given marksheet shows only 30%. Rinku alleges that the university must recheck her papers, which leads to several revelations about educational scams, marksheet exchanges, and even bribery inside the university. But is there any evidence that can prove Rinku and Tanvi's allegations? Will Tanvi be able to fight powerful scammers as her family also suffers from the heat? Can she save them as well?

Patna Shuklla is your regular courtroom drama where an underdog takes a big case and becomes a giant. We have seen it before in many Bollywood and Hollywood movies. However, the topic here is new and a little sensitive. At first, it seems like there is no case at all, but as we go ahead, there are a lot of exploding details that could help many students. What this film lacks is high-voltage courtroom drama, investigation, arguments, and logical statements. What works on the positive end is the idea of the story and the main motive behind it. The screenplay could have been shorter by 10-15 minutes, making it a solid 2-hour film. What's done is done, and it isn't too wrong, but somewhere you start building up expectations in the first half, which are left somewhat incomplete in the second half.

Raveena has carried the entire film on her shoulders, but it is not enough. The actress, however, does seem pleasant to the eyes. This is sort of a comeback zone for Raveena Tandon with Karrma Calling, Patna Shuklla, and Welcome 3 (upcoming). She is making sure that she enjoys every moment of it. Some of her scenes are really good, while others go flat. Anushka may be a new girl, but she knows how to face a camera. She is confident and gets the accent right. Manav Vij has enough experience on how to play his role, and he'll have you adore his character as a loyal and supportive husband. Watching the late Satish Kaushik is a treat for every cinema lover, and he proves why. I mean, watch out for him, man. Just see how it's done. Chandan Roy Sanyal and Jatin Goswami have also done their parts perfectly, even though there were no variations to them. The supporting caste was pretty okay.

Coming to the technical points, Patna Shuklla looks like a low-budget film for the setups and overall looks. The picturization isn't that great, and on the small screen, it would look even more dull. The cinematography is somewhat decent, while the editing doesn't seem gripping. The screenplay and songs just don't fit well when you can predict the entire drama that's coming after the song. The courtroom scenes could have been presented better, but somehow it can be forgiven because the idea was to show a low-level district court, not a high court or supreme court. Vivek Budakoti and Rajendra Tiwari's joint efforts do provide a watchable drama, but you can't help thinking about how better it could have been with smarter vision and execution. Overall, an average flick with a different content and climax for any courtroom drama you've seen in Bollywood.

RATING - 5/10*

Tanvi Shukla is a lawyer at the lower court and is leading a happy life with her husband and son. One day, Rinki Kumari approaches her to take up her case. Rinki is a 3rd year B. Sc student who believes she had done well yet was failed in the final exam. Tanvi uncovers the truth behind swapping of marks to undeserving candidates and poor underprivileged students being the easy target. Up against the rich and powerful, Tanvi fights for Rinki at the court. Will she be able to get her the justice she deserves and what other secrets get unraveled on the way, forms rest of the story.

The novel story resorts to a pedestrian screenplay filled with several melodramatic moments that make it look like an 90s film. The strength of the film apart from the story being novel is the performances and the actors definitely carry the film through. There is a reason why old school dramas have a way to be captivating even when the writing is deliberate and Patna Shuklla is another example of it. The tactics used by the opponent lawyer and the culprits are as predictable as the leading lady finding a way to continue her fight, yet the court scenes or even the moments her husband supporting her, leave their mark. Overall, Patna Shuklla makes up for a harmless watch, it is old school yet it almost delivers.

"Patna Shuklla" is a truly impactful film with a powerful, life-changing narrative that tackles an issue capable of affecting millions. The central topic-result card tampering-is one of the most devastating frauds a person can experience. Imagine working hard for an entire year, passing your exams, and then discovering that someone has swapped your roll number with theirs, causing all your personal details and performance records to be switched. It's not just unfair-it's heartbreaking.

The film portrays this issue remarkably well, capturing the pain, humiliation, and anger of the lawyer at the heart of the story-a woman who never deserved the struggles thrown at her. Her journey feels like a personal sacrifice, yet despite facing enormous challenges, she perseveres, wins her case, and experiences a thought-provoking twist that changes her life forever. That reveal is both surprising and eye-opening.

It's the story of a lawyer-also a housewife-who rarely gets high-profile cases, yet rises from being an unknown figure to earning the name Patna Shuklla. The progression is inspiring, and the film benefits greatly from avoiding unnecessary songs, making it far tighter and more focused than many other Bollywood offerings.

Overall, this is a strong, socially relevant, and well-told film that deserves attention-not just for its storytelling, but for shedding light on a form of injustice that too often goes unnoticed.

Movie is available on Hotstar.

Before making up my mind to watch it, I checked out its IMDB rating which gave a negative perspective. However, i thought of giving it a try and to find out myself why so low ratings.

If it would have been released like 25-30 years back, or even before, it could have still worked out. Now i am not saying there weren't good court room Hindi dramas available that time, but now things are different; people watch more realistic approach, or if not, adrenaline filled bursts.

I am no lawyer, but whatever i have heard or seen or found, it is a very tough and protocol oriented job. There is a code of conduct and one has to follow it one way or the other. The court decorum has to be maintained, no matter what. This was something in the movie that bothered me the most. One of the lamest, unrealistic, and no-decorum-followed court drama that I ever watched. You need to watch it yourself to understand it in real.

The second problem came with the easiness of the way the prosecutor handled the whole situation. The dealing between a best and an amateur lawyer in the city felt lazy and sluggish. The writers should have watched other court room dramas like Jolly LLB to understand how the heat between lawyers increase tensions in the peoples mind watching it.

The movie already felt like shaping to provide justice to the student. We all know that at the end the outcome should have been what was shown, but the situations to derive it felt lame, boring, melodramatic, and one-sided.

Overall, i will give it 3.

I recently heard praise about this new film but I am sorry to say that it disappointed me not that it is bad but it is just too straightforward and standard nothing really felt tense it is just a classic good vs evil, David vs Goliath story in which the Goliath itself is not interesting enough which made even the course proceedings very slow. The mellow drama was in excess and I sometimes genuinely agree with th opposition that mrs Shukla was not giving any evidence regarding the case.

These are the type of movies that you watch to forget them tried to give a message but not good enough to land it in the heart

FAVOURITE CHARACTER :: Husband FAVOURITE MOMENT :: when the husband supports her.