Kanoon

Capital Punishment has a marked prominence in the annals of all recorded history. There has been no civilization where this form of punishment has not been practiced. Be it the Greeks, or the Romans, or the Chinese- all had strict stipulations on human execution as a part of their code of law. Even major religions like Islam, Christianity, and Hinduism have permitted capital punishment for certain offenses. But despite all this, there has always been a serious debate on whether human execution is justified. It has always been argued whether justice is always just; most certainly there have been many recorded instances where apparently innocent have been executed. BR Chopra's 1960 movie Kanoon essentially debates and discusses this very pertinent issue of whether a human has got the right to take the life of another human, even if it is a means of enforcing punishment. Starring Ashok Kumar, Rajendra Kumar, and Nanda in principal roles along with some splendid lesser known actors essaying crucial roles, Kanoon is a resounding statement on the fallacies of human court of justice and on the inadequacies of the written law.

Kanoon is completely a director's film. It is an explosive subject and each and every scene shows the kind of efforts that would have gone in writing it. The dialogues are emphatic, the silences even more so. Most of the movies have one or two memorable scenes, but this one boasts of a series of such spectacular scenes that create a tremendous impact- right from the first scene, to the culmination of the drama. If one has to choose the most dramatic scenes, surprisingly a lot of them also come outside the court of law- behind the scenes of all the true drama. My vote would go to the interactions between the father and son in law post the murder, when Badri Prasad finds Kailash peeping into his private diary. Also the dialogue between the accused thief and his defendant Kailash is remarkably handled. There is also a superbly done slight side track when Meena starts suspecting Kailash of the murder, having absolutely just reasons for doing so. This delicate interplay of emotions between the protagonists is a delight to watch. The highpoint, though, as expected is the jaw-dropping climax, complete with the tense buildup and replete with an efficient disrobing of facts post the suspense is revealed.

The actors do more than a fine job, and show great dexterity despite the help they receive from the remarkable written material. I haven't seen much of Rajendra Kumar, but still can safely assume that this would be one of his best performances (most of the others I believe are in the sappy romantic space where he excelled and thus got knighted as the Jubilee Kumar). Ashok Kumar is truly amazing in his highly sinuous role. His effortless ease is hard to miss. Meena is slightly more than a typical Hindi movie heroine and gets good scope to leave a mark. There are no songs in the narrative, though it does boast of a finely choreographed ballet dance performance that blends seamlessly with the story.

Parting Note: Kanoon is simply a MUST WATCH for the people who love their court-room dramas, and also for those who like watching thrillers (though this is not a thriller in the conventional sense). What elevates it from being just an excellent film is its thought, and its purpose which it conveys in the most effective manner possible- through the route of a highly entertaining story.

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While most of the '60s movies are known for their songs, "Kanoon" is a film revered for its story. Devoid of any songs, it emanates a court room drama which keeps one to the edge of their seats. The beginning itself sets the mood raising an issue on the judicial system which under false evidences and witnesses sends the innocents to the gallows. The theme is exemplified by its jaw-dropping plot with a thrill to the last minute, often achieved in the Hitchcock thrillers. Just forget Mehmood's slapstick comedy, there is much of conviction delivered through the impeccable performances from Ashok Kumar, Rajendra Kumar, and Nana Palsikar, for which he was rewarded the Filmfare Awards for the Best Supporting Actor. Overall, "Kanoon" is a taut classic, which should be remembered for its story. Later, B.R Chopra came with "Ittefaq," but "Kanoon" still is a gem.

Rating: 3 stars out of 4

B.R. Chopra's Kanoon is a damn good movie of its time. It is a murder mystery cum courtroom drama and is generally full of suspense which makes for a very effective and interesting watch. The concept is very well brought out on screen. Kanoon questions the righteousness of India's judicial system and shows the two faces of justice and law. There's a saying which says, "It is easier to commit murder than to justify it". This film only strengthens it. It is well scripted and narrated, and Chopra's direction is excellent. He pays attention to details and makes the viewer a silent and curious witness of the often-confusing proceedings. The film is often cited as the first Hindi film which has absolutely no songs. That was quite a refreshing change. It moves at a steady pace and is consistently tense and intriguing. The courtroom scenes are fascinating. That said, Kanoon is not flawless and it certainly could have been better. As I expected from Chopra, the ending is a bit sugarcoated, and the long speech in court did not make much sense to me. The cast, however, is roundly good. Ashok Kumar, who is according to me one of the finest actors to have ever appeared in Hindi cinema, is unsurprisingly excellent. He is at par with the best actors from Hollywood's golden era: classy, controlled, likable and restrained, always delivering nuanced, impressive and convincing performances. Rajendra Kumar is also very good though he is a bit over-the-top at times. Mehmood introduces another comic character which does not really go well with the proceedings, and this is another flaw. Nanda and Manmohan Krishna are both effective. But, the one who completely steals the show, and I think many would agree with me, is Nana Palsikar, in a performance that is heartfelt and moving. His character was the one I felt for the most, and due credit for this goes to the actor himself. He brilliantly captures his character's essence, which proves once again that poverty is the mother of all crimes. All said and done, Kanoon is a Hindi classic which is worth watching.

This is an excellent suspense-thriller of 1960 which is an all time classic from the black and white era. Can you imagine a bollywood entertainer from the fifties and the sixties which is sans the regular ingredients of songs, romance and comedy ? No ? Please do see Kanoon which is devoid of songs, romance and comedy and yet it keeps you glued to the screen for two and a half hours. Its suspenseful drama is so impactful that the audience does not feel any need for any other bollywood formulae in the narrative.

It discusses the relevance of the DEATH PELANTY or the CAPITAL PUNISHMENT too. The verdict of the moviemaker is that the death penalty should be done away with in toto. My own view is that let it be in the books of law, only to be awarded in the rarest of rare cases. It has its importance but considering the fact that once awarded, it cannot be reverted even if it is known later that the verdict of the case was a faulty one; it should be awarded only selectively when the crime is quite heinous and there is little doubt in the accused's being guilty.

Judge Badri Prasad (Ashok Kumar) strongly opines that the capital punishment should be deleted from the book of Indian Penal Code because it is cruel and moreoever it does not leave any scope to correct the faulty judgment in any case which is always likely because judgments are given on the basis of evidences and witnesses which might be misleading. The twist in the tale comes when a moneylender, Dhaniram (Om Prakash) who is after his borrower son, Vijay (Mahmood) is murdered. The interesting thing is that the judge's would be son-in-law, Kailash (Rajender Kumar) is the eye-witness to this murder and he is shocked to see that the murderer is the judge himself. Now when an innocent person is arrested and put under trial for this murder in the court of the same judge with Kailash being the defense lawyer, the mutual relations of the judge, Kailash and the judge's daughter, Meena (Nanda) become tense and uneasy. After a memorable court-room drama, Kailash accuses his would-be father-in-law to be the murderer and gets him arrested and put under trial for the murder. The truth is revealed in the end with the reiteration that death penalty should be considered redundant and deleted from the legal books.

This suspense-thriller is so intriguing that it engrosses the viewer from the beginning to the end without any boredom. The viewer just forgets that there are no songs, no romance and no comedy served to him. He only keeps on watching, holding his breath and waiting for the suspense to be revealed. Legendary producer-director B.R. Chopra has directed this movie with such finesse that it is considered a twinkling diamond in the highly decorated crown worn by him.

The performances are great. Ashok Kumar and Rajender Kumar have delivered great performances in a neck-to-neck contest of excellence. Nanda, Jeevan, Mahmood, Manmohan Krishna, Shashikala, Nana Palsikar (won the award for the best supporting actor for this movie) and Om Prakash, all have done admirably.

As already said, there are no songs. However the background score is impressive. Technically this black and white movie is perfect without any deficiencies.

On the flip side, the narrative loses its charm in the end after revelation of the suspense and the five minutes long lecture of Ashok Kumar on the relevance of the capital punishment bores. Anyway, this is not a big minus point because the movie is just about to end.

Some three decades back, a session judge, Justice Sanwar Mal Agarwal had awarded capital punishment in a dowry-murder case and became quite famous due to this verdict. I had read his interview given to the popular Hindi magazine - Sarita in which he had referred to this movie (seen in his youth when he was studying law) and asserted that the difference between reel courts and real courts is even bigger than the reel life and real life. He's right. The high-voltage drama shown in the court in this movie is impossible to be witnessed in real courts. We can ignore this unreal portrayal of courts for the sake of the liberty taken by the narrator for the sake of entertaining the audience, i.e., us.

Summing up, Kanoon is an edge-of-the-seat classic suspense-thriller with a gripping court-room drama. No movie buff should miss it.

I watched this movie in 2021, and it was a surprise for me. The movie is exceptionally well made. Top class acting of great actors especially Ashok Kumar. Please watch this movie.