420 IPC review: Even Vinay Pathak can’t save this badly executed courtroom drama marred by a shallow screenplay

1.5/5

When a middle-aged, seemingly simpleton charted accountant, Bansi M Keswani (Vinay Pathak), is taken into judicial custody on charges of alleged fraud, cheating, and forgery by his builder client, Neeraj Sinha (Arif Zakaria), lawyer Birbal Chaudhary (Rohan Vinod Mehra), takes it upon himself to prove his innocence. There are several forces that seem to be conspiring against Bansi, including the public prosecutor Savak Jamshedji (Ranvir Shorey), Bansi’s apparent involvement with another high-profile client who’s the prime accused in a money laundering case, and a lot of circumstantial evidence against him. As the court proceedings follow, it becomes evident that there’s much more to be unearthed than meets the eye. There are constant reminders to make you wonder whether Bansi and his wife Pooja (Gul Panag) are hiding something and if he’s really innocent. 

Director Manish Gupta (who is also credited for story, screenplay, and dialogues) continues to explore his fascination with courtroom dramas with 420 IPC, after last year’s Section 375 (which was written by him). The concept and story do seem to have an interesting premise, and we do get to see glimpses of what it could have been in a few moments in this 90-something minute long film, but sadly, the screenplay fails to realize that potential and serves as a major let-down in its execution. Though there are no songs (and thankfully so), the background score tries too hard to add some drama and intensity to a bunch of otherwise lacklustre scenes.

To Gupta’s credit, he picks up a case of forgery (which we seldom witness in Bollywood courtroom dramas), places an unassuming middle-class man and his wife at the crux of the case, and then lets the different aspects of the case unfold. Full marks for taking the road less travelled! However, it seems there’s not enough groundwork done to establish the characters or give them a meaty background for the viewers to be invested in them. Instead, you get to learn more about the characters, along with Birbal, through the proceedings in the courtroom, if you manage to stay wide awake in the middle of uninspiring, long-drawn exchanges between the lawyers.

Though most of the action takes place in the courtroom, the dialogues or screenplay don’t quite give you the high that you’d expect in a courtroom drama. There are barely any quick-witted or heated arguments between the two lawyers. Barring a scene or two where you see the potential (and I’m really trying to not nit-pick here) of a Jolly LLB-esque heated argument, the proceedings and revelations made in court don’t really hit the mark. The extremely slow pace of the narrative does little to help. However, the big reveal towards the end does try to elevate the film a bit, but I’m really looking for a needle in the haystack at this point.

It’s nothing less than a crime to have a stellar cast with commendable actors like Vinay Pathak, Ranvir Shorey, and Gul Panag and not give them enough room to shine. We’ve seen Pathak ace his part when it comes to portraying characters belonging to a similar milieu in movies like Bheja Fry, Aaja Nachle, Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi, and Chappad Phaad Ke, among others. In 420 IPC, he neither gets enough material nor enough room to shine, despite being in his element. Shorey does the little that he can, as the Parsi public prosecutor, to rescue an otherwise underwritten character. Also, what’s with the nasal tone in his character's accent? Rohan Vinod Mehra, who made a promising debut in the Saif Ali Khan-starrer Baazaar (2018), is crisp and sharp in his dialogue delivery but seems a bit underprepared. There are scenes where his expressions fall flat, even though his intonation seems to be on point. As for Gul Panag, well, she’s just... there. It’s high time we started giving her well-written parts rather than wasting her time and talent.

Despite an interesting premise and storyline, 420 IPC is a badly executed courtroom drama (sans the drama) that even able performers like Vinay Pathak and Ranvir Shorey can’t save from falling flat on its face.