Popcorn Culture - Review: Jai Bhim

On this episode, we review Jai Bhim - a Tamil film that has been garnering stellar reviews and simultaneously stirring intense controversy thanks to its sociopolitical themes. Based on a landmark court case in 1995, Jai Bhim tells the story of a woman (Lijomol Jose) from the Irula tribe who desperately searches for her husband (K. Manikandan) who is missing from police custody. Chandru (Suriya), a High Court advocate, takes on the case while exposing an inhumane web of police brutality, oppression, and casteism along the way. We discuss Jai Bhim's difficult but highly necessary social commentary, its chances at the Oscars, as well as the push and pull of classic versus modern Indian cinema tropes.