Jai Bhim (2021) on Netflix
After a jewelry theft at a village leader's house, suspicion falls on Rajakannu, an Irula tribesman who removed a snake there. His pregnant wife Sengeni seeks out the lawyer Chandru.
- Watch on NetflixThis title is not on Netflix right now. Please check back later for updates.
- Watch on NordVPN
- Netflix4.7/5
- IMDb8.6/10236,409 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes100%
Trailer
Plot summary
In 1993, Rajakannu and Sengeni belong to the Irula tribe and earn their living as rat and snake catchers for affluent upper-caste landowners. Rajakannu is called to the house of a local village leader to remove a snake, and a large jewelry theft is reported there soon after; suspicion falls on him. Police raid the couple's home, beat Sengeni, who is heavily pregnant, and detain Rajakannu's brother, sister and brother-in-law to force them to reveal where he is. Sengeni is released, and the police then say that her husband and the two other men escaped from custody. Mythra, who runs adult literacy classes for the Irula community, brings Sengeni to Chandru, a lawyer who defends tribal people without charging a fee. Chandru takes up her case and files a habeas corpus plea in the Madras High Court.
Cast
- Baby Joshika Mayaas Alli Rajakannu
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Jai Bhim (2021)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The Vanniyar Sangam, parent organisation of the Pattali Makkal Katchi, opposed Jai Bhim over a scene involving sub-inspector Gurumoorthy, and over a pot of fire, the community's symbol, shown on a calendar in his house. PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss wrote a letter saying the film defamed the community.
- On 11 August 2022 the Madras High Court quashed criminal proceedings against Suriya and director T. J. Gnanavel for allegedly hurting the sentiment of the Vanniyar community. The complainant said the film intended to incite violence and hostility against a community, but the court said no such instance had been recorded.
- A scene in which Prakash Raj's character, Inspector General Perumalsamy, slaps a pawnbroker for speaking in Hindi and tells him to speak in Tamil sparked controversy on social media and drew opposition from the Bharatiya Janata Party.
- The title Jai Bhim, taken from a slogan used by followers of B. R. Ambedkar, had already been registered by director Pa. Ranjith, also a follower of Ambedkar's ideas, and Suriya said Ranjith gave the title to the film's crew.
- Suriya's lawyer role is modelled on K. Chandru, a retired Madras High Court justice and former senior advocate who campaigned for justice for a woman of the Irular tribe whose husband, Rajakannu, was arrested and then disappeared from a police station.
- Roshini Haripriyan was initially approached to play Sengeni, the Irula woman at the centre of the case, but the part eventually went to Lijomol Jose.
- K. Manikandan won the part of Rajakannu only after agreeing to director T. J. Gnanavel's condition that he spend extended time with Irular tribespeople to learn their lifestyle, without committing to other projects.
- The development team took a workshop from actor-director R. Madhavan on quickly making a biopic of a prominent individual, after his work on Rocketry: The Nambi Effect.
