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Witness review: A hard-hitting social drama on the horrors of manual scavenging

Witness review: shraddha srinath and rohini bring a worthy watch about the horrors of manual scavenging..

Filmmaker Deepak’s Witness is one of those stories that deserves to be celebrated purely for its intent. 45 minutes into the film, the camera zooms in on a massive billboard of the Swachh Bharat Mission and quickly zooms back on a bunch of women who are cleaning the streets around midnight and talking about how they gasp for breath while on duty. Here’s a film that talks about the lives of an entire community, discriminated by their caste, that earns its livelihood from cleaning the waste around us. This is also a film where we, as a society, are witness to all the horrors that take place in the name of sanitation and human scavenging but don’t do anything. (Also read: Vadh movie review: Sanjay Mishra and Neena Gupta in a patchy yet well-acted drama about justifying murder)

The plot revolves around a mother, a sanitation worker, whose son dies while cleaning sewers in an apartment society. Convinced that her son was forced to do the job, the mother garners the help of a union worker, a lawyer and a resident of the apartment where the incident took place in her quest for justice.

The interesting aspect of the film is that it not only talks about the particular case in discussion in the story. It throws the spotlight on the state of such cases in India and how challenging it is to go against the system. In one of the most touching scenes of the movie, the lawyer tells the mother that it’s nearly impossible to win such a case and it would cost a lot. Without any regret, she says that it’s fine if she can’t win the case but she wants to see those people responsible for her son’s death to step into a court and answer why they forced a young boy to get into a septic tank. Most of these cases are usually not taken seriously as people give in for an out of court settlement. When the mother decides to fight the case, we become the witness to the challenges that usually one has to face in such cases.

The film has a very simple screenplay and sometimes feels like a documentary. Nevertheless, its intent to talk about the marginalised community fighting for justice against all odds makes it a compelling watch. Rohini, as the devastated mother fighting for justice is terrific. She proves once again why she’s one of the most versatile actors in the country today. Shraddha Srinath shines in another interesting character who, despite belonging to the urban working class, faces caste-based discrimination.

Witness, which is currently streaming on Sony Liv, will definitely go down as one of the most important films of the year.

• Shraddha Srinath

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விட்னஸ்: சினிமா விமர்சனம்

தூய்மை பணியாளர் ரோகிணியின் மகன் தமிழரசன் குடும்ப சூழல் காரணமாக கழிவுநீர் குழாய் அடைப்பை எடுக்கும் பணிக்கு தள்ளப்படுகிறார். அடுக்குமாடி குடியிருப்பின் கழிவுநீர் தொட்டியில் இறங்கி அடைப்பை சரி செய்யும்போது இறந்து விடுகிறார். அதே குடியிருப்பில் கட்டிட நிபுணரான நாயகி ஷரத்தா ஸ்ரீநாத் வசிக்கிறார். இளைஞனின் மரணம் ஷரத்தாவை உலுக்க மகனை பறிகொடுத்து நிராயுதபாணியாக நிற்கும் ரோகிணிக்கு உதவ முன்வருகிறார். மகனின் சாவுக்கு காரணமானவர்களை சட்டத்தின் முன் நிறுத்த ரோகிணி போராடுகிறார். ரோகிணியால் ஆள் பலம், பண பலம் படைத்த அதிகார வர்க்கத்தை எதிர்த்து ஜெயிக்க முடிந்ததா? என்பது மீதிக்கதை.

நாயகி ஷர்த்தா ஸ்ரீநாத் மிக யதார்த்தமாக நடித்து கதாபாத்திரத்துக்கு வலு சேர்க்கிறார். தன்னை சீண்டுபவர்களுக்கு பதிலடி கொடுத்தும் கைதட்டல் பெறுகிறார். தாய் கதாபாத்திரத்தில் வரும் ரோகிணி மகனை இழந்து தவிப்பது, உழைப்புக்கேற்ற ஊதியம் கேட்டு போராடுவது என்று நடிப்பில் பல இடங்களில் பல பரிமாணங்களை வெளிப்படுத்தி கேரக்டருக்கு அழகு சேர்த்துள்ளார். வக்கீலாக வரும் சண்முகராஜன் கோர்ட்டில் பேசும் வசனங்கள் ஈர்க்கின்றன. நீச்சல் பயிற்சியாளராக வரும் தமிழரசன் சில காட்சிகளில் மட்டுமே வந்தாலும் சிறப்பான நடிப்பை வழங்கி உள்ளார். அநீதியை எதிர்த்து போராடுபவராக வரும் ஜி. செல்வா, அவருடைய மனைவியாக வரும் சுபத்ரா ராபர்ட், அரசு அதிகாரியாக வரும் அழகம் பெருமாள், மாமாவாக வரும் வினோத் சாகர், குடியிருப்பு சங்க தலைவராக வரும் ஸ்ரீநாத் என அனைவரும் திரைக்கதைக்கு சிறப்பான பங்களிப்பை கொடுத்துள்ளனர்.

ரமேஷ் தமிழ் மணி பின்னணி இசை காட்சிகளோடு ஒன்றி இருக்கிறது. ஆரம்பத்தில் மெதுவாக நகரும் கதை பிறகு வேகம் எடுக்கிறது. ஒரு சமூக அவலத்தை வணிகத்தனம் இல்லாமல் அழுத்தமான கதை, கதாபாத்திரங்களோடு மனதை தொடும்படி படமாக்கியுள்ள இயக்குனர் தீபக்கை பாராட்டலாம்.

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Witness Movie Review: A highly impactful, multi-layered social commentary

Rating: ( 4 / 5).

Debutant Deepak's Witness is a daring film for a lot of reasons. It takes manual scavenging, a rarely-discussed social issue, as its core and questions everyone in the system who are both passively and actively enabling it. In an equally daring move, the promos of the film almost gave out the entire story, including the ending. This could have been a disastrous step for any film, but Deepak manages to use it as a tool to draw the focus of the audience towards the life of its characters, without letting us worry much about the course of the rather conventional plot.

Cast: Rohini, Shraddha Srinath, G Selva, Shanmuga Raja Director: Deepak

Witness is the story of an underprivileged mother's (Rohini as Indrani) fight for justice following the death of her 20-year-old son Parthiban, who was forced into manual scavenging. Despite knowing that she is fighting an impossible battle, we root for her and the film, because of the unique writing and execution. For starters, Deepak makes us develop a strong liking for Parthiban. Be it his ever-smiling face or the warm conversations he has with his mother, everything about this person is endearing. He is probably the ideal kid every mother wishes to have. When such a noble soul is lost, it is natural for us to feel affected. Then we are introduced to the comrades supporting Indrani and the powers that be who forced Parthiban down the death pit. And finally, we have the common link, Parvathy (Shraddha Srinath), who is a conscientious inhabitant of the apartment where Parthiban's life was lost. Fascinatingly, the screenplay, written by Muthuvel, provides every main character a challenge, a want, and an arc, which complements the main narrative. The writing ensures that their paths cross each other giving rise to engaging sequences. For instance, comrade Prithviraj (an effective G Selva) and the good-natured lawyer (Shanmuga Rajan) see every positive court hearing as a trophy and celebrate the win, even as a traumatised Indrani walks out of the court not wanting to hear the details of her son's death. Though all three are inherently good people, each have a different reason to take up the case. If Prithviraj wants this case to set a precedent for other Dalit people forced into manual scavenging, the lawyer processes it as a professional success, but for Indrani, it is a very personal battle. All these minute details aren't served as expositions but are established through the adept filmmaking of Deepak, who also shot the film. Apart from its strong social message against manual scavenging, the film also registers many important issues that are the root causes of it. Be it the reckless slum clearance that forced people to migrate to the outskirts of the city to the underpayment and exploitation of sanitary workers, the writers ensure it isn't just a superficial look at a pertinent issue. Witness will be long remembered for the kind of conversations the women have in the film. Out of the several exchanges between Parvathy and Indrani, one scene that stands out is their discussion about each other's mental health. I believe scenes like these are a good start for the betterment of the writing of female characters and mental issues. It is also impressive how every character in Witness is extremely grounded. For instance, when Parvathy informs Indrani about the CCTV footage of Parthiban's death, Indrani fails to process it as a piece of evidence and instinctively wishes to see it as it has her son's face. In another court hearing, the lawyer mentions the cruelty Parthiban went through, a borderline guilt-stricken Parvathy keeps nodding her head in approval in the background. Nifty touches by Deepak ensure that we are completely invested in the hard-hitting story. It is interesting how this tightly-packed film manages to register the mundane life of Indrani. Despite being a courtroom drama, the film keeps the dialogues as minimal as possible. The measured silences prepare us for the impact of what comes next.  When Indrani looks longingly at the place where she used to live happily in the past, and says," Inga ellam apo sandhoshama irundhom, ipo vazhkaiyum odudhu naanum odren !" it is a punch to the gut. It is really heartening to see a consummate performer like Rohini finally get to play a full-fledged lead after ages. The way she process grief in the first act or the meltdown sequence in the pre-climax are just examples of the range of the actor. Shraddha, on the other hand, beautifully pulls off an intricate performance as Parvathy, who is forced to put up a brave face every single day even while longing for affection within. It is not easy to look overwhelmed and enervated for the majority of the film and yet keep the audience invested. But Shraddha does it effectively throughout. Though people may have divided opinions on the climax and the execution, I felt it was shot in a very innovative way. It leaves a strong reminder that all of us will be reduced to mere witnesses of injustice unless we join forces as a society.

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Around deaths that happen due to manual scavenging. Around deaths that happen due to manual scavenging. Around deaths that happen due to manual scavenging.

• Shraddha Srinath
• 5 User reviews
• 5 Critic reviews
• 1 nomination

• Ganapathi Subramaniam
• Sivaprakasam

• Indirani's colleague
• (as Sumathi)
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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User reviews 5

• Jan 4, 2023
• How long is Witness? Powered by Alexa
• December 9, 2022 (India)
• Philadelphia Pennsylvania, USA (on location)
• People Media Factory
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

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• Runtime 2 hours 3 minutes

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'Witness' movie review: An impactful, Multi-layered social commentary

Debutant Deepak’s Witness is a daring film for a lot of reasons. It takes manual scavenging, a rarely-discussed social issue, as its core and questions everyone in the system who are both passively and actively enabling it. In an equally daring move, the promos of the film almost gave out the entire story, including the ending.

This could have been a disastrous step for any film, but Deepak manages to use it as a tool to draw the focus of the audience towards the life of its characters, without letting us worry much about the course of the rather conventional plot. Witness is the story of an underprivileged mother’s (Rohini as Indrani) fight for justice following the death of her 20-year-old son Parthiban, who was forced into manual scavenging. Despite knowing that she is fighting an impossible battle, we root for her and the film, because of the unique writing and execution.

For starters, Deepak makes us develop a strong liking for Parthiban. Be it his ever-smiling face or the warm conversations he has with his mother, everything about this person is endearing. When such a noble soul is lost, it is natural for us to feel affected. Then we are introduced to the comrades supporting Indrani and the powers that be who forced Parthiban down the death pit. We also have the common link, Parvathy (Shraddha Srinath), who is a conscientious inhabitant of the apartment where Parthiban’s life was lost.

Fascinatingly, the screenplay, written by Muthuvel, provides every main character a challenge, a want, and an arc, which complements the main narrative. The writing ensures that their paths cross each other giving rise to engaging sequences. For instance, comrade Prithviraj (an effective G Selva) and the good-natured lawyer (Shanmuga Rajan) see every positive court hearing as a trophy and celebrate the win, even as a traumatised Indrani walks out of the court not wanting to hear the details of her son’s death. All these minute details aren’t served as expositions but are established through the adept filmmaking of Deepak, who also shot the film.

Witness will be long remembered for the kind of conversations the women have in the film. Out of the several exchanges between Parvathy and Indrani, one scene that stands out is their discussion about each other’s mental health. I believe scenes like this are a good start for the betterment of the writing of female characters and mental issues. It is also impressive how every character in Witness is extremely grounded. For instance, when Parvathy informs Indrani about the CCTV footage of Parthiban’s death, Indrani fails to process it as a piece of evidence and instinctively wishes to see it as it has her son’s face. In another court hearing, the lawyer mentions the cruelty Parthiban went through, a borderline guilt-stricken Parvathy keeps nodding her head in approval in the background. Nifty touches by Deepak ensure that we are completely invested in the hard-hitting story.

When Indrani looks longingly at the place where she used to live happily in the past, and says, “Inga ellam apo sandhoshama irundhom, ipo vazhkaiyum odudhu naanum odren!” It is a punch to the gut. It is really heartening to see a consummate performer like Rohini finally get to play a full-fledged lead after ages. Shraddha, on the other hand, beautifully pulls off an intricate performance as Parvathy, who is forced to put up a brave face every single day even while longing for affection within. It is not easy to look overwhelmed and enervated for the majority of the film and yet keep the audience invested. But Sharadhha does it effectively throughout.

Though people may have divided opinions on the climax and the execution, I felt it was shot in a very innovative way. It leaves a strong reminder that all of us will be reduced to mere witnesses of injustice unless we join forces as a society.

Director: Deepak Cast: Rohini, Shraddha Srinath, G Selva, Shanmuga Raja Streaming Platform: SonyLiv Rating: 4/5

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Published :

Last Updated : 10 Dec, 2022 04:24 PM

Published : 10 Dec 2022 04:24 PM Last Updated : 10 Dec 2022 04:24 PM

விட்னஸ் Review: நம் சமூகத்தின் கண்ணாடியாக ஓர் அட்டகாச சவுக்கடி சினிமா

மலக்குழியில் இறங்க நிர்பந்திக்கப்பட்டு உயிரிழந்த தன் மகனின் மரணத்திற்கு நியாயம் கேட்க அதிகாரத்தை எதிர்க்கும் தாயின் போராட்டம்தான் ‘விட்னஸ்’.

தூய்மைப் பணியாளரான இந்திராணி (ரோஹினி) தனது மகன் பார்த்திபனுடன் வாழ்ந்து வருகிறார். கட்டாயப்படுத்தப்பட்டு மலக்குழியில் இறக்கி விடப்பட்ட மகன் பார்த்திபன் உயிரிழப்பது தெரிய வர, உடைந்து போகிறார் இந்திராணி. இதற்கு காரணமானவர்களை தண்டிக்க சட்டத்தின் துணை கொண்டு அதிகாரத்தை எதிர்க்கத் துணியும் அவரது போராட்டம் இறுதியில் வென்றதா? இல்லையா? - இதுதான் படத்தின் திரைக்கதை. தீபக் இயக்கியிருக்கும் இப்படத்திற்கு முத்துவேல், ஜே.பி சாணக்யா திரைக்கதை எழுதியுள்ளனர்.

நடக்கும் நிகழ்வுகளை பக்கத்தில் நின்று பார்ப்பது போன்ற உணர்வுகளை கட்டியெழுப்பி கூர்மையான உரையாடலை யதார்த்தமான காட்சிகளின் வழியே பேச முனைந்திருக்கிறார் இயக்குநர் தீபக். அவர் பேச எத்தனிக்கும் அந்த உரையாடல் பிரசாரத்தன்மையற்று, ஆவணப்படுத்திற்கான சாரத்திலிருந்து விலகி காட்சிப் படிமமாக தேங்கியிருப்பது தேர்ந்த திரைக்கதை வடிவம். வகுப்பெடுக்கும் வசனங்களற்று, ‘மீட்பர்’ இல்லாத கதாபாத்திரங்கள், திரைசமரசத்திற்காக வைக்கப்படும் பொய்யான வெற்றி என இதிலேதும் சிக்காத திரைக்கதை புதுமை.

வசனங்களின் வழி வலியை கடத்தி அயற்சியைத் தூண்டாமல், அதற்கு மாற்றாக கதாபாத்திரங்களின் நடிப்பை முதலீடாக்கி காட்சிக்கு முக்கியத்துவம் கொடுத்திருந்தது பார்வையாளர்களுக்கு இயக்குநர் கடத்த நினைக்கும் உணர்வுகளுக்கான கச்சிதமான மொழி. குறிப்பாக மலக்குழிக்குள் கட்டாயப்படுத்தப்பட்டு இறக்கப்படும் பார்த்திபன் தேர்ந்த நீச்சல் வீரன். அதன் வழி நீருக்குள் மூச்சை அடக்கும் திறன்கொண்ட ஒருவரால் கூட மலக்குழியில் தாக்குப்பிடிக்க முடியாததை, சாமானியன் ஒருவரின் நிலையுடன் மறைமுகமாக ஒப்பிட்டது நுணுக்கம்.

அதேபோல, எங்கேஜிங் திரைக்கதையில் படம் நிகழ்த்த முயலும் உரையாடல் அழுத்தமானது. படத்தின் சங்கிலி இறுதியாய் ஒரு கட்சியுடன் சென்று முடியாமல், அதிகார அடுக்குகளுக்கும் அதற்கு காரணமாக இருக்கும் சாதியையும் எதிர்த்து கேள்வி கேட்கிறது. செம்மஞ்சேரியில் குற்றவாளிகள் இருப்பதாக சித்தரிக்கும் காவல் துறையின் போக்கு, தூய்மைப் பணியாளர்கள் எதிர்கொள்ளும் பிரச்சினை, மேலிடத்தில் அவர்களுக்கு கொடுப்படும் அழுத்தம், கம்யூனிஸ்ட்டுகளின் களப் போராட்டங்கள், சென்னையிலிருந்து புறநகர்களுக்கு தூக்கியடிக்கப்படும் ஒடுக்கப்பட்ட மக்கள், தொழிற்சங்கமாக ஒன்றிணைவதன் முக்கியத்துவம் என படம் பேசும் அரசியல் முக்கியமானது.

தவிர, மறைமுகமாக சென்னையை ஒரு கதாபாத்திரமாக்கியிருப்பதும், பெண்கள் சார்ந்து கதை நகர்வதும், வர்க்க நிலை ஒருபோதும் சாதியின் கோரத்திலிருந்து விடுபட வைக்காது என்பதையும் அழுத்தமாக பதிவு செய்கிறது படம்.

‘உன் கை நீளலாம்; என் வாய் நீளக்கூடாதா’, ‘கொடுக்குற காசு கூரைய பிச்சி கொட்டுது லீவு போட’ என வசனங்களில் சீறும் ரோஹினி மிகையில்லாத யதார்த்தமான நடிப்பில் ஈர்க்கிறார். மகனை இழந்து வாடும் காட்சிகளை வசனங்களின்றி கடத்த இயக்குநருக்கு நம்பிக்கையளித்திருக்கிறது அவரது நடிப்பு. அத்தனை சோகம் அந்த முகத்தில்!

ஸ்ரத்தா ஸ்ரீநாத் குறைந்த நேரம் வந்தாலும் அதற்கு நியாயம் சேர்க்கும் நடிப்பை பதிவு செய்கிறார். நிஜ களப்போராளியான ஜி.செல்வா திரையிலும் நடிப்பால் களமாடி கவனம் பெறுகிறார். தவிர சண்முக ராஜா, அழகம் பெருமாள், சுபத்ரா ராபர்ட், ராஜீவ் ஆனந்த் உள்ளிட்டோர் தேர்ந்த நடிப்பை வெளிப்படுத்துகின்றனர்.

சமூகத்தின் முன்னே ஒரு கண்ணாடியை நிறுத்தி, அதில் நடக்கும் சம்பவங்களை பிரதிபலிக்கும் வகையிலான படத்தின் ஒளிப்பதிவும், அதற்கேற்ற ரமேஷ் தமிழ் மணியின் பின்னணி இசையும், கதையோட்டதுடன் கலக்கும் பாடல்களும் முழுமையான காட்சி அனுபவத்திற்கு உதவுகின்றன.

மலக்குழி மரணங்கள், அதன் மீதான அதிகார வர்க்கத்தின் அலட்சியப்போக்கு, அதற்கு காரணமாகவும் சாதிய வேர், சுவாரஸ்யமான நீதிமன்ற உரையாடல்கள், எதிர்பாராத க்ளைமாக்ஸ் என அழுத்தமான திரைக்கதையால் சாதிய மலக்குழி மரணங்களை நிகழ்த்தும் அதிகார வர்க்கத்திற்கு சவுக்கடி கொடுத்திருக்கிறது ‘விட்னஸ்’. சோனி லிவ் ஓடிடி தளத்தில் காணக்கிடைக்கிறது.

அன்பு வாசகர்களே....

இந்த ஊரடங்கு காலத்தில் வீட்டை விட்டு வெளியே வராமல் நமக்கு நாமே சமூக விலகல் ( Social Distancing) செய்து கொள்வோம். செய்தி ஊடகங்களின் வழியே உலகுடன் தொடர்பில் இருப்போம். பொதுவெளியில் இருந்து தனிமைப்படுத்திக் கொண்டு கரோனா பரவலைத் தடுப்பதில் நம் பங்கை முழுமையாக இந்த சமூகத்துக்கு அளிப்போம்.

CoVid-19 கரோனா தடுப்பு / விழிப்புணர்வு கையேடு - இலவசமாக டவுன்லோடு செய்து பயன்பெறுங்கள்!

- வாசகர்கள் நலனில் அக்கறையுடன் இந்து தமிழ் திசை

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Witness Movie Review (2022)

Deepak's well-researched 'witness', on sonyliv, is a story about manual scavenging that's more earnest than emotional.

Witness Movie Cast & Crew

The crux of Deepak's Witness is this: a teenager can be a terrific swimmer, a lifeguard at a pool. And yet, because of his caste/community, this talent of his is seen as something that will make him a good manual scavenger. Parthiban (Thamizharasan) is that teenager. He lives with his mother Indrani, who's played by Rohini with her characteristic conviction. The screenplay places them in Semmanjeri and contrasts this locality with Adyar, where the residents of an apartment complex need their septic tank unblocked and cleaned. The other contrast is that these residents are the type who say "snanam" for a bath, and propose doing a "homam" for cleansing themselves of bad vibes and sin. The sin is the death of Parthiban. And we wonder: How did this college-going boy – this lifeguard – from Semmanjeri land up all the way in Adyar for this particular job?

The unravelling of this mystery becomes the film's tool in unravelling the complex chain of command in our cities: a judge rightly calls it "passing the buck". Deepak has done his research, and it is all up there on screen, packed in the form of a long-running court case. What was once the corporation's job – like cleaning drains, or the road-sanitation work that Indrani performs – has been farmed out to private firms. And these private firms end up exploiting people from a particular community, which is not named. But the cake for Ambedkar's birthday and the Christian rituals inform us at least about Parthiban's family – that they are Dalit Christians. Another important character is Shraddha Srinath, who plays a resident in that Adyar apartment complex. She is an architect, and she helps Indrani with the case. Unlike the others in the building, here is an upper-class woman with a conscience.

We have had some excellent films, recently, that dealt with social issues: Thamizh's Seththumaan , Gautham Ramachandran's Gargi , Franklin Jacob's Writer . These are films where the filmmaking transcended the issue, where the screenplay and craftsmanship and performances helped build a complex dramatic world around the issue. But the main weapon – and the main weakness – of Witness is its earnestness. That is certainly a good quality for a film to have, but it cannot be the only one – and for all the pluses we get in the form of information, there is the nagging feeling that so much more could have been done with the narrative and the characterisation. The Shraddha Srinath character, the way she meets Parthiban, her issues with her family – none of this is convincing. And the callousness of government agencies and the powerlessness of the layman were laid out with much more emotional impact in, say, Virumandi's Ka Pae Ranasingam . What Witness does well is to remind us that a city whose population is exploding needs to invest in civic infrastructure. That is its achievement.

About Author

Baradwaj Rangan

National Award-winning film critic Baradwaj Rangan, former deputy editor of The Hindu and senior editor of Film Companion, has carved a niche for himself over the years as a powerful voice in cinema, especially the Tamil film industry, with his reviews of films. While he was pursuing his chemical engineering degree, he was fascinated with the writing and analysis of world cinema by American critics. Baradwaj completed his Master’s degree in Advertising and Public Relations through scholarship. His first review was for the Hindi film Dum, published on January 30, 2003, in the Madras Plus supplement of The Economic Times. He then started critiquing Tamil films in 2014 and did a review on the film Subramaniapuram, while also debuting as a writer in the unreleased rom-com Kadhal 2 Kalyanam. Furthermore, Baradwaj has authored two books - Conversations with Mani Ratnam, 2012, and A Journey Through Indian Cinema, 2014. In 2017, he joined Film Companion South and continued to show his prowess in critiquing for the next five years garnering a wide viewership and a fan following of his own before announcing to be a part of Galatta Media in March 2022.

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Witness: Release Date, Trailer, Songs, Cast

• Release Date 9 December 2022
• Language Tamil
• Dubbed In Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada
• Genre Drama
• Duration 2h 3min
• Cast Shraddha Srinath, Rohini, Subatra Robert, Shanmuga Raja, Azhagam Perumal, G Selva, Rajeev Anand, Tamilarasan, Srinath
• Director Deepak
• Writer Muthuvel, JP Sanakya
• Cinematography Deepak
• Music Ramesh Thamilmani
• Producer TG Vishwa Prasad
• Production People Media Factory
• Certificate 16+

About Witness Movie (2022)

The brutal reality of manual scavenging engulfs another family when street sweeper Rohini's son dies while scavenging. Rohini decides to seek justice for her deceased son and is helped by Shraddha, a young woman with conscience, in her battle.

Witness Movie Cast, Release Date, Trailer, Songs and Ratings

Witness Movie Trailer

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• Home » Movies » Witness 2022 Tamil Movie Review

Witness review: The film has strong content but fails to connect emotionally

The dreadfully-written script and poor narrative washed out the total intensity of the content in this Deepak’s directorial.

Published:Dec 09, 2022

Shraddha Srinath and Rohini's 'Witness' deals with the issues faced by manual scavengers. (SonyLIV/Twitter)

Impressive Shraddha Srinath & Rohini.

Witness (Tamil)

• Cast: Shraddha Srinath, Rohini, Subrata Robert, Shanmugarajan, G Selva, Rajeev Anand, Azhagam Perumal, Tamilarasan, and Srinath
• Director: Deepak
• Producer: TG Vishwa Prasad
• Music: Ramesh Thamilmani
• Duration: 2 hours 3 minutes
• OTT platform: Sony LIV
• Cast: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Emraan Hashmi, and Revathy
• Director: Maneesh Sharma
• Producer: Aditya Chopra
• Music: Pritam Chakraborty
• Runtime: 2 hours 35 minutes

Even as the country continues to witness deaths in sewers, despite a ban on manual scavenging in 2013, Deepak’s latest directorial venture Witness discusses in depth the issues faced by manual scavengers.

The film’s story, written by Muthuvel and JP Sanakya, revolves around a mother — a sanitation worker — and her manual scavenger son.

The mother, played by Rohini, seeks justice for her son who died while cleaning sewers. The system plays the antagonist in the movie.

Witness is not an easy film to watch, for it talks about the struggles manual scavengers face while living/growing up in the marginalised neighbourhoods. For them, it’s survival every day.

The best part of the film is its content. It is not exactly about a specific case, rather it’s a commentary on how such cases are treated in India.

Narrative stumbles

The content deserves a much stronger narration. The film presents themes but doesn’t deal with them.

There was nothing gripping and remotely interesting, other than the basic plot.

There are scenes just for the sake of a punch dialogue. The uneven and dreadfully-written script washed out the intensity of the content.

You can guess what the following line will be at times, which is reinforced by the camera and music.

The narrative stumbles slightly under the weight of its own socio-economic and political messaging.

Shraddha & Rohini are impressive

The performances by the actors, especially Shraddha Srinath as Parvathi and Rohini as Indrani Amma, are really impressive.

The actors who played Thozhar and his wife Kalpana’s roles did a good job. Kalpana comes only in a couple of scenes but leaves an impact.

It’s good to see Shanmugarajan back in a noticeable role after a long time.

தீபக்-ன் இயக்கத்தில் ஷ்ரத்தா ஸ்ரீநாத் மற்றும் ரோகிணியின் நடிப்பில் உண்மைக்கு நெருக்கமான #Witness 🔥 காணுங்கள் உங்கள் Sony LIV ல் மட்டும் #SonyLIV #WitnessOnSonyLIV @shraddhasrinath @rohinimolleti @vishwaprasadtg @vivekkuchibotla @peoplemediafcy @negativespace04 #Muthuvel pic.twitter.com/OsedFkcCPK — Sony LIV (@SonyLIV) December 8, 2022

Even with uneven scenes and dialogues, these actors try hard to embody the respective characters with the restored telecast’s emotion and realism.

The rest of the cast is stereotypical, insistent, and uninteresting. That showed a complete lack of attention to casting.

Character development is important in a slow-moving drama like this. But it wasn’t. A sensitive subject alone does not make a film good.

Clever music, good cinematography

On the technical front, the music is cleverly mixed and is haunting and fluid.

Shraddha Srinath in a still from ‘Witness’. (Supplied)

Deepak’s cinematography allows us to ponder the surroundings. The artwork and the costume designs are perfect.

The meaning of a film needn’t always be significant, but if it’s advertised as having an emotional impact, the audience will expect more than what Witness provides.

Unfortunately, the film sounds better than it is. The screenplay is underdeveloped. In short, Witness is a poorly narrated strong subject that sounds profound.

In a nutshell, its content is strong like Ammu and  Jai Bhim . But movies like these work on an emotional level and that’s where Witness falls flat!

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• ENGLISH HINDI MALAYALAM TAMIL TELUGU KANNADA BENGALI  

Witness Tamil Movie

Witness is a 2022 Indian movie directed by Deepak starring Shraddha Srinath, Rohini, Subatra Robert and Shanmuga Raja. The feature film is produced by TG Vishwa Prasad and the music composed by Ramesh Thamilman.

Director: Deepak Producer: TG Vishwa Prasad Music Director: Ramesh Thamilman Song Lyrics Writer: Kabilan Sound Designer: Vivek Anandan Editor: Philomin Raj Art Designer: Sathish Screenplay Writers: Muthuvel, JP Sanakya

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Release Date : December 09, 2022

123telugu.com Rating : 2.75/5

Starring: Shraddha Srinath, Rohini, Subatra Robert, Shanmuga Raja, Azhagam Perumal, G Selva, Rajeev Anand, Tamilarasan, Srinath

Director: Deepak

Producer: TG Vishwa Prasad

Music Director: Ramesh Thamilmani

Cinematography: Deepak

Editor: Philomin Raj

Related Links : Trailer

Witness is a Tamil film that has been dubbed in Telugu. People Media Factory has produced the film which is now streaming on SonyLIV. Let’s see how it is.

Witness revolves around manual scavengers and how they risk their lives in cleaning sewers on a daily basis. Indrani(Rohini) and her son work in the sanitary department. One fine day, Indrani gets a message that her son has passed away while cleaning manual sewers in an apartment society. Shocked by this incident, Indrani decides to take on the system. Will she win this lone war? That forms the rest of the story.

Plus Points:

Rohini is a seasoned actress and such roles are a cake walk for her. Be it in the emotional department or in the court scenes, she holds our attention. Shraddha Srinath gets a good role and does well in her part where she gets looked down by caste issues. The rest of the caste is mostly Tamil actors and they do their parts sincerely.

Firstly, Witness is not an easy film to watch. It deals with the harsh realities of manual sewers and how they are looked down upon to clean the waste around us. The film does not deal with just Rohini’s case but it deals with the atrocities that the manual sewers face on a daily basis.

The film’s story, written by Muthuvel and JP Sanakya dwells deep into the system and how officials discriminate against these workers caste wise. How government officials are involved, what happens behind closed doors in government offices and how manual sewers are treated has been showcased in a gripping manner.

Minus Points:

The initial parts of the film are slow. Even though Rohini gets news that her son has passed away in the first ten minutes itself, the director wastes a lot of time by introducing several characters and makes things slow.

In a way, one gets a feeling of watching a documentary at times. The emotional outburst of a mother losing her son has not been established properly. The film shifts gears and becomes gripping only when the courtroom drama starts.

Technical Aspects:

The camerawork is impressive as it looks disturbing but shows how the manual sewers risk their lives to clean sewers. The tone of the film is realistic and so are the dialogues. Those written for Rohini are moving.

Coming to the director Deepak, he takes a very hard hitting subject and narrates in a decent manner. He dwells deep into this issue with a serious drama that has some riveting courtroom scenes in the second half. But the emotional thread in the film is weak. More melodrama would have made the film intense.

On the whole, Witness is the realistic drama of a mother’s fight against the system. The backdrop and performances are top notch but the emotions could have been better. The film defies regular commercial format and has a serious tone. If you are the ones who love watching issue based films, Witness will not disappoint you.

123telugu.com Rating: 2.75/5

Reviewed by 123telugu Team

Click Here For Telugu Review

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