THE REAL - LIFE HERO

JUSTICE K CHANDRU, THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THE SUCCESSFUL FILM JAI BHIM' WAS HIS REAL-LIFE INCIDENT WHILE HANDLING RAJA KANNU AND SENGANI CASE AS A LAWYER IN THE YEAR 1993. HE HAS ALSO RAISED VOICE FOR DOWNTRODDEN AND TRIBAL COMMUNITIES. THE FILM JAI BHIM IS RECEIVING RAVE REVIEWS AS IT ALSO HIGHLIGHTS THE POWER OF HABEAS CORPUS PETITION AND HAS SOME DISTURBING SCENES - INCLUDING THE ONE HOW THE PEOPLE FROM THE VILLAGE TREAT RAJA KANNU AND POLICE OPPRESSION AGAINST THE MARGINALISED TRIBAL COMMUNITIES. THE FILM LEADS SURIYA AND MANIKANDAN HAS PERFORMED THEIR BEST AND LOOK SO REALISTIC THAT IT HAS CAUGHT EVERYONE'S ATTENTION. JAI BHIM IS ONE OF THE HARDHITTING FILMS OF THE YEAR 2021. THE SPOTLIGHT WAS ON THE REAL HERO, FORMER JUSTICE K CHANDRU WHO WAS APPOINTED AS HIGH COURT JUDGE BY APJ ABDUL KALAM. LET'S MEET THE REAL MAN BEHIND THE ROLE.

- Vinitha Venkatesha

How did Jai Bhim happen and how did the director come up particularly with the Raja Kannu case?

Though the habeas corpus filed by me on behalf of the wife of Raja Kannu came to an end in 1994, and I wrote about this case later in a few publications as a memorable case, it did not draw much attention then. It is only after my retirement when director T.J. Gnanavel and I travelled together to attend a book fair at Neyveli, I had described this case in detail and showed him the places where the incidents of the case took place, that he took interest in the story. Later, he also collected the documents related to the case and studied it thoroughly. Thereafter he wrote the screenplay and was planning to consider it for a film. Subsequently, Surya got interested in knowing the full story and was willing to act as the protagonist in the film, where he played the role of a lawyer. It took hard work done by the director for nearly two years to make the film successful.

How well would you compare with Surya on screen?

The screen Surya was a better Chandru than the original lawyer that he was seeking to portray for the film. If the original Chandru was known within a small circle, now the circle has become worldwide only because of the film Jai Bhim. Many of my old friends who saw the film wrote to me saying that they were seeing the old Chandru whom they knew in the film. That was a success for Surya, as he was able to recreate a lawyer who fought the case 25 years ago.

While handling the Raja Kannu case in real life, how did you overcome your emotions and handle political pressure?