B.R. Chopra's Insaaf Ka Tarazu is a gripping, thrilling and brutally honest story of rape and injustice. Chopra's direction is great, and the script is very well written and disturbingly real in its depiction of the subject matter, an issue which has always been a taboo in a conservative society like that of India but which is also inevitably relevant. Zeenat Aman plays Bharti, a young hot model who lives with her young sister, a schoolgirl named Neeta, in Bombay. Bharti gets raped by one of her die-hard fans, namely Mahesh. Bharti seeks justice in court but fails to prove his guilt given the lack of evidences, and he is exonerated. A frustrated and deeply hurt Bharti loses her job, separates from her fiancée Ashok and finds a new job as a typist in Pune. Two years pass by, Bharti's sister is now a more grown girl who goes for a job interview as a secretary, where the manager is none other than Mahesh. And history repeats itself.
Insaaf Ka Tarazu is poignantly unsettling and the courtroom scenes are effective. Chopra portrays the rape scenes in an incredibly realistic way, all the more so for those times. If the first scene shocks you with its authentic brutality, the second one will leave you wordlessly disturbed. It is sad to know how helpless a woman can be and even more sad that no one can come to her rescue. The proceeding dialogues do appear a bit melodramatic at times, but for a change this melodrama is so justified in this case that nothing really seems overdone in this film, and they eventually manage to make sense and impact. The film is not bitter, and though the law seems to be portrayed as somewhat stereotypically dumb and at places, unfortunately we all know that in many ways it is, especially with such crimes as rape. Aside from the direction and the writing, the film is aided by good editing and cinematography, and some very nice songs.
If there is one aspect that makes the film as convincing as it actually is, it is the acting. Needless to say, it is Zeenat Aman's film all the way, and her performance in this film is definitely one of her career's best. She is very graceful, compelling and moving, acting naturally and looking absolutely gorgeous and awfully attractive (appropriately so). A very young Padmini Kolhapure is terrific as her naive sister who is forced to instantly grow up after going through the same traumatic experience. Her impulsive acting in the rape scene is powerful and her subsequent scenes are well acted. The relationship between the sisters is well brought out on-screen, and the two ladies must be given credit for this. Raj Babbar as the villain is quite good. Deepak Parashar is great as Ashok, Shreeram Lagoo and Simi Garewal play the conflicting lawyers brilliantly, and Iftekhar is excellent as the restrained judge.
Insaaf Ka Tarazu has a much stronger first half as it is much more freshly chilling and interesting. The courtroom sequences are particularly good, even though not always do they ring true and at times they look a bit typical and theatrical. The second half does look a bit repetitive, but it is still involving. The film's ending is sadly sugarcoated to the max, yet it is satisfying and would certainly be accepted by lovers of Hindi films, as would Zeenat Aman's philosophical monologue in court. Despite being, as mentioned above, honest, Insaaf Ka Tarazu is not the most convincing film dealing with rape, but having said that, as a film it is still different, bold and enjoyable, and it shows the two faces of justice maybe not accurately but efficiently. With good performances and an engaging storyline which conveys a very critical and relevant message, the film manages to work and ultimately leave a mark.
