Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai review: Manoj Bajpayee is spirited, but little else is

The Hindi movie Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai is now streaming on Zee5 in the UAE. It is directed by Apoorv Singh Karki and stars Manoj Bajpayee, Adrija, Kaustuv Sinha, Surya Mohan Kulshrestha, Jaihind Kumar, Durga Sharma

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Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai is now streaming on Zee5 in the UAE. Zee5 allows you to create a free account to watch some of the content but many of the newer titles fall under a Premium Subscription plan.

Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai review

A revered religious head- many believe in him and bring him to their homes to cure their problems. But, as it happens, the self-styled godman is a lecherous creep and targets young vulnerable women (mostly daughters of the couple who worship him).

Most of them keep silent or are forced to remain quiet just because he is powerful and venerated by the rich and powerful. And then one brave young girl summons the courage to take him to court over his lascivious ways. 

This was the story of Asram Babu and his conviction after a long-drawn court battle. In 2013, Asaram Bapu was arrested for taking advantage of a 16-year-old minor in one of his ashrams. After five years, he was held guilty and imprisoned for life. PC Solanki, a small-time Jodhpur lawyer, who heroically fought the case was the hero of the case.

With Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai, this story has made it to the film screens with the focus on that one intrepid advocate who fought the system and its sycophants for five years to get justice for the victim. The advocate, despite threats to their life and family, stood up courageously and continued the good battle. 

Nu (Adrija) is a typical young girl with her dreams. But all that is shattered by the religious baba her parents (Jaihind Kumar and Durga Sharma) are devotees of.  He takes advantage of the young girl as he perhaps did countless other similarly placed young women- none of which took him to the police.

But Nu files a police complaint against the Baba, who is well-backed by the system and its people. Nu’s case luckily gets a spirited advocate P C Solanki (Manoj Bajpayee), who practices in the Jodhpur High Court. The man is morally straight and does not give up the fight. Despite the hurdles placed in his way, he perseveres against a judicial system that is unfortunately skewed in favour of the rich and mighty. Solanki never gives up and his diligence and steadfastness get the young Nu a semblance of justice. 

The problem with Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai is that you always know what is coming. It is a well-meaning underdog movie, especially on a sensitive and important subject. But good intentions alone don’t make for a good movie. It requires an engaging screenplay, a narrative that is not flat, and in which the drama is not lost.

But alas, Apoorv Singh Karki, who is making his feature film debut with Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai, has not shown enough control over how the story unfolds. There is a certain tameness to the proceedings. The director, who has managed to wrest top-notch acting from his cast, however, has not shown the same assurance in the other aspects of the film.

Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai truly belongs to a man, who almost lives up to the title. That Manoj Bajpayee is a creditable actor is well known. And here adds nuance to a role that otherwise is a typical back-to-the-walls fighter. The spunk, which is not in the writing, has to be brought out in his acting. And the man does a thorough job of it and also adds his own charm and humour to it. The dignity and sensitivity that he brings to the story save the film to a large extent.

Adrija is also very good as the vulnerable victim of a high-profile seer. Again, despite the simplistic writing, she manages to bring out the trauma of a victim with raw believability. Jaihind Kumar and Durga Sharma, as the hapless but guilty in their own way parents are also adequate. The technical aspects of such a small film are par for the course.

Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai, as a story, needs to be told. The moral turpitude of the so-called sages has to be exposed. The fight put up by folks like the protagonist advocate has to be applauded. But all of it also deserved a better script.