Ek Ruka Hua Faisla

This is probably the best Hindi remake (The original is a fantastic Sidney Lumet movie, "Twelve angry men" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050083/)) I've watched. K. K. Raina is no Henry Fonda; but he's done a great job -- as has the rest of the very talented cast; and none more than the brilliant Pankaj Kapoor as the broken-hearted father/juror no 3 (played by Lee J. Cobb in the original) Ironically, what makes it work is the fact that it is such a complete plagiarism; it is guided entirely by Lumet's masterpiece in style and substance. The cast and the crew have done an excellent job with the execution; but they could have probably done it without the director. An interesting artifact of the plagiarism is that we have this movie about a hung jury -- when India doesn't have a jury system at all! Oh well! Given that Bollywood is all about plagiarism anyway; I guess we should be thankful when they occasionally do a good job of it!

To overcome our prejudices, to think beyond what we know and to observe the real truth without any presumptions of the observer is not something easily achieved. Many scholars like J Krishnamurthy have even called this practice as the greatest form of meditation one can do. This sounds true, since most of us all are so prepossessed with our knowledge, that the reality in front of us is always shadowed by the images projected by our mind, our thoughts and our accumulated concepts.

"Ek ruka hua faisala" is a story of such 11 men, who are all biased in their decision over a legal verdict, a murder case. The twelfth person in the group was an indifferent guy who tries to convince the group by his rationale thinking. It's decided that until any consensus is reached within the sequestered jurors, they all have to sit together and listen to what others are saying.

The movie left me thinking behind, the way I view things myself, the way I take my decisions, where does this promptness to do something comes from, am I ever reached at the reality before judging the activities of mind as right and wrong. I think most of the times it never happens.

The life would be much different if we are able to observe the things without the burden of our past knowledge. I hope in that case, we may as spontaneous as a little child and might have reached more closer to the reality then.

All the performers have done their part exceptionally well, particularly Pankaj Kapur, who played a stubborn middle age man. I have watched some of his movies like "The Blue Umbrella", which left an impact of his performance on me. And this knowledge was with me all the while I was watching him again, listening to the dialogues he delivered. It seems once again I have seen what I wished to watch, I have appreciated what I was prepared to appreciate and the distinctness between the observer and the observed is lost again.

The movie is a master piece, the story and the concept behind needs to be observed.

My one take away from this movie is - A calm attitude can work wonders in the most difficult situation!! This movie has demonstrated this fact beautifully!! Other sideline issues that have been touched are - First, how prejudice blurs the judgement and secondly, danger of giving a very sensitive duty to insufficiently sincere people.

Acting - Superb! Why would it not be when the cast is filled with legendary actors.. Story - Very interesting!

A must watch for people who have a like 'Off the beaten track' movies..

This movie is great! I watched this on TV recently and it was easily one of the most interesting two hours I have spent in front of the tube in along time. One of course expects high standards from Basu Chatterjee and he doesn't disappoint. The plot revolves around a set of jurors debating on the the innocence of a boy who is accused of murdering his father. One juror stands up for the lad and ends up proving his innocence. Pankaj Kapoor delivers the best performance of the lot. It also deals with the prejudices we carry with us from our personal lives and how they can cloud our judgment. We also learn a lesson or two about the value of a human life. Engrossing fare. 12 people in a room makes for a minimalist yet unforgettable setting. Don't miss it.

I saw this movie back in '98 on SONY TV. It was very engrossing. I thought it was a great one until I came across Sidney Lumet's 12 Angry Men. I'm giving it 8/10 for being true to the original and not including unnecessary song sequences or deviations as seen in other remakes. The movie has some good performances from each of the actors. The movie may be one of the few movies devoid of female actors. I don't know whether this is true or not but one of my friend told me this movie is shown at IIMs for briefing on negotiations and dealings. Also I wonder whether there is any such jury system in India as shown in the movie. Well anyway a good remake and worth watching again and again.