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.
Story:
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.
Verdict:
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