Kanoon
Tags: murder

Plot synopsis:
Kalidas (Jeevan) is presented before court for the murder of Ganpat. He pleads guilty, but claims that the court can do him no harm as he has already served a sentence for the murder of the same man. An emotionally overcharged Kalidas asks judge Badri Prasad (Ashok Kumar) what gives law the right to deprive an innocent man of something it cannot return him, before collapsing and dying.
The shocking incident makes its way to the press and becomes a matter of hot debate in the city. Two judges, Mr. Jha and Mr. Savalkar (Iftekhar in a guest appearance), discuss the case. Badri Prasad, who is well known for never having awarded a death sentence, has a friendly argument with Jha, which leads to a wager that it is possible for someone to get away scot-free with murder.
In the meanwhile, romance is blossoming between Badri Prasad's daughter Meena (Nanda) and advocate Kailash Khanna (Rajendra Kumar), one of the rising stars in the legal fraternity and Badri Prasad's protégé. The young couple's visit to a ballet is rather unremarkable, except for the surreptitious appearance of Ashok Kumar, who is seen by the viewer romancing an unknown lady (Shashikala) in a private box. Incidentally the murdered man Ganpat is her husband. She married a rich man during her first husband's (Ganpat) lifetime, and inherited his property. This was an illegal marriage, and Dhaniram was blackmailing her, as he was privy to this information.
Badri Prasad's son Vijay (Mehmood) is heavily indebted to a local money lender Dhaniram (Om Prakash) who, having obtained the former's signature on a blank piece of paper, threatens to have his entire property confiscated. Afraid to face his stern father with the truth, Vijay pleads with Kailash to intercede with the money lender. The later agrees to do so, despite initial reluctance.
Kailash drops in at the money lender's place to have a word with him. Their exchange is interrupted by the arrival of Badri Prasad's look-alike. Kailash does not want to be seen with Dhaniram, so he hides in a sideroom, instructing Dhaniram not to disclose to the judge that he had come there.
Dhaniram receives the unexpected guest through an already open door. Kailash watches in horror from the inner room, as the unscheduled visitor (Ashok Kumar) stabs his host to death. Unsure what to do, Kailash walks away. Unfortunately, a petty thief Kaalia (Nana Palsikar), who comes in with the intention of burglary, is apprehended at the scene of the crime and presented in Badri Prasad's court. He is shown being caught by Sub-Inspector Das (Jagdish Raj), and Hawildar Ram Singh. Kaalia's hands are completely drenched in blood.
Torn between his loyalty to his mentor and future father-in-law, on the one hand, and his moral duty to save an innocent man, on the other, Kailash resolves to defend the accused, while at the same time, avoiding bringing out in public the painful truth. What ensues is an absorbing psychological thriller with an unexpected end.

Review: A memorable murder mystery cum courtroom drama.
B.R. Chopra's Kanoon is a damn good movie of its time.
It is a murder mystery cum courtroom drama and is generally full of suspense which makes for a very effective and interesting watch.
Kanoon questions the righteousness of India's judicial system and shows the two faces of justice and law.
As I expected from Chopra, the ending is a bit sugarcoated, and the long speech in court did not make much sense to me.
Ashok Kumar, who is according to me one of the finest actors to have ever appeared in Hindi cinema, is unsurprisingly excellent.
He is at par with the best actors from Hollywood's golden era: classy, controlled, likable and restrained, always delivering nuanced, impressive and convincing performances.
Rajendra Kumar is also very good though he is a bit over-the-top at times.
Mehmood introduces another comic character which does not really go well with the proceedings, and this is another flaw.
But, the one who completely steals the show, and I think many would agree with me, is Nana Palsikar, in a performance that is heartfelt and moving.
All said and done, Kanoon is a Hindi classic which is worth watching..
While most of the '60s movies are known for their songs, "Kanoon" is a film revered for its story.
Devoid of any songs, it emanates a court room drama which keeps one to the edge of their seats.
The beginning itself sets the mood raising an issue on the judicial system which under false evidences and witnesses sends the innocents to the gallows.
Just forget Mehmood's slapstick comedy, there is much of conviction delivered through the impeccable performances from Ashok Kumar, Rajendra Kumar, and Nana Palsikar, for which he was rewarded the Filmfare Awards for the Best Supporting Actor.
Overall, "Kanoon" is a taut classic, which should be remembered for its story.
Later, B.R Chopra came with "Ittefaq," but "Kanoon" still is a gem.Rating: 3 stars out of 4.
A remarkably gripping tale that debates Capital Punishment.
BR Chopra's 1960 movie Kanoon essentially debates and discusses this very pertinent issue of whether a human has got the right to take the life of another human, even if it is a means of enforcing punishment.
Starring Ashok Kumar, Rajendra Kumar, and Nanda in principal roles along with some splendid lesser known actors essaying crucial roles, Kanoon is a resounding statement on the fallacies of human court of justice and on the inadequacies of the written law.Kanoon is completely a director's film.
Most of the movies have one or two memorable scenes, but this one boasts of a series of such spectacular scenes that create a tremendous impact- right from the first scene, to the culmination of the drama.
If one has to choose the most dramatic scenes, surprisingly a lot of them also come outside the court of law- behind the scenes of all the true drama.
My vote would go to the interactions between the father and son in law post the murder, when Badri Prasad finds Kailash peeping into his private diary.
Also the dialogue between the accused thief and his defendant Kailash is remarkably handled.
There is also a superbly done slight side track when Meena starts suspecting Kailash of the murder, having absolutely just reasons for doing so.
The highpoint, though, as expected is the jaw-dropping climax, complete with the tense buildup and replete with an efficient disrobing of facts post the suspense is revealed.The actors do more than a fine job, and show great dexterity despite the help they receive from the remarkable written material.
I haven't seen much of Rajendra Kumar, but still can safely assume that this would be one of his best performances (most of the others I believe are in the sappy romantic space where he excelled and thus got knighted as the Jubilee Kumar).
Ashok Kumar is truly amazing in his highly sinuous role.
Meena is slightly more than a typical Hindi movie heroine and gets good scope to leave a mark.
There are no songs in the narrative, though it does boast of a finely choreographed ballet dance performance that blends seamlessly with the story.Parting Note: Kanoon is simply a MUST WATCH for the people who love their court-room dramas, and also for those who like watching thrillers (though this is not a thriller in the conventional sense).
What elevates it from being just an excellent film is its thought, and its purpose which it conveys in the most effective manner possible- through the route of a highly entertaining story.
Discussing the capital punishment in a mystery.
This is an excellent suspense-thriller of 1960 which is an all time classic from the black and white era.
Can you imagine a bollywood entertainer from the fifties and the sixties which is sans the regular ingredients of songs, romance and comedy ?
Please do see Kanoon which is devoid of songs, romance and comedy and yet it keeps you glued to the screen for two and a half hours.
Its suspenseful drama is so impactful that the audience does not feel any need for any other bollywood formulae in the narrative.It discusses the relevance of the DEATH PELANTY or the CAPITAL PUNISHMENT too.
My own view is that let it be in the books of law, only to be awarded in the rarest of rare cases.
It has its importance but considering the fact that once awarded, it cannot be reverted even if it is known later that the verdict of the case was a faulty one; it should be awarded only selectively when the crime is quite heinous and there is little doubt in the accused's being guilty.Judge Badri Prasad (Ashok Kumar) strongly opines that the capital punishment should be deleted from the book of Indian Penal Code because it is cruel and moreoever it does not leave any scope to correct the faulty judgment in any case which is always likely because judgments are given on the basis of evidences and witnesses which might be misleading.
The twist in the tale comes when a moneylender, Dhaniram (Om Prakash) who is after his borrower son, Vijay (Mahmood) is murdered.
The interesting thing is that the judge's would be son-in-law, Kailash (Rajender Kumar) is the eye-witness to this murder and he is shocked to see that the murderer is the judge himself.
Now when an innocent person is arrested and put under trial for this murder in the court of the same judge with Kailash being the defense lawyer, the mutual relations of the judge, Kailash and the judge's daughter, Meena (Nanda) become tense and uneasy.
After a memorable court-room drama, Kailash accuses his would-be father-in-law to be the murderer and gets him arrested and put under trial for the murder.
The truth is revealed in the end with the reiteration that death penalty should be considered redundant and deleted from the legal books.This suspense-thriller is so intriguing that it engrosses the viewer from the beginning to the end without any boredom.
The viewer just forgets that there are no songs, no romance and no comedy served to him.
He only keeps on watching, holding his breath and waiting for the suspense to be revealed.
Legendary producer-director B.R. Chopra has directed this movie with such finesse that it is considered a twinkling diamond in the highly decorated crown worn by him.The performances are great.
Ashok Kumar and Rajender Kumar have delivered great performances in a neck-to-neck contest of excellence.
Nanda, Jeevan, Mahmood, Manmohan Krishna, Shashikala, Nana Palsikar (won the award for the best supporting actor for this movie) and Om Prakash, all have done admirably.As already said, there are no songs.
Technically this black and white movie is perfect without any deficiencies.On the flip side, the narrative loses its charm in the end after revelation of the suspense and the five minutes long lecture of Ashok Kumar on the relevance of the capital punishment bores.
Anyway, this is not a big minus point because the movie is just about to end.Some three decades back, a session judge, Justice Sanwar Mal Agarwal had awarded capital punishment in a dowry-murder case and became quite famous due to this verdict.
I had read his interview given to the popular Hindi magazine - Sarita in which he had referred to this movie (seen in his youth when he was studying law) and asserted that the difference between reel courts and real courts is even bigger than the reel life and real life.
The high-voltage drama shown in the court in this movie is impossible to be witnessed in real courts.
We can ignore this unreal portrayal of courts for the sake of the liberty taken by the narrator for the sake of entertaining the audience, i.e., us.Summing up, Kanoon is an edge-of-the-seat classic suspense-thriller with a gripping court-room drama.
No movie buff should miss it..
Definitely One of the Best Courtroom Dramas in the Indian Film Industry.
While the movie is 57 years old (released in 1960), it is still relevant in terms of the debate on capital punishment, especially in the convictions that are not proved through exact science (forensic evidence).
I watched "Kanoon" only a couple of years back and again, a few days ago.
In spite of knowing the suspense, the movie is still a great watch for great story-line, brilliant direction and amazing performances from Rajendra Kumar, Ashok Kumar and Nana Palsikar.
Story (10/10): Advocate Kailash (Rajendra Kumar) is a budding public prosecutor with a very promising career ahead of him under the able mentor-ship of his guru Judge Badri Prasad (Ashok Kumar).
However, in a dramatic turn of events, Kailash ends up witnessing the murder of a local money lender Dhaniram, committed by none other than his own mentor, Badri Prasad.
However, as fate would have wanted it, a local small time thief, Kaalia (Nana Palsikar), is arrested on charges of Dhaniram's (Om Prakash) murder as he is found fleeing the crime scene with hands soaked in Dhaniram's blood which he bumped upon while trying to make his way through the home in darkness.
As Kailash comes to know about this development, he decides to defend Kaalia, while still torn apart between his duty as a lawyer (to bring culprit to justice) and his affection towards his mentor, who is also going to be his father in law.
However, it is still not convincing enough defense for the accused without uncovering the culprit and bringing in front, the prime eye witness of the crime - himself.
The main plot of the movie is very brilliantly written.
The story starts with a prologue Judge Badri Prasad's court comes across a strange case where a man is convicted of a murder of the same person twice (he was falsely convicted the first time, because of which he kills the supposed victim, who is actually alive, after being released from the jail).
This sparks a debate in the legal circle about death sentence and its necessity, especially in cases where the conviction is based on circumstantial evidence and eye witnesses.
The prologue sets the tone of the movie and keeps playing in the minds of the audience throughout the movie.
Acting (9/10): Today's audience will find the movie a bit high on melodrama, which was perhaps the normal in that era.
However, the brilliance of Rajendra Kumar and Ashok Kumar's performance can inspire any generation of actors and entertain audience across eras.
Nana Palsikar, playing the accused, showed great commitment into projecting a character of poor petty thief who cannot fathom how fate can play such a cruel game with him when he is already struggling to ensure a daily meal for him and his kid.
Mehmood plays, a quite rare, negative role in the movie which is pretty much okay even as it has some humor into it.
Nanda gets her due part in the second half of the movie when she is in a dilemma due to her love for her father as well as fiancé and needs to take some tough decisions.
Direction (9/10): B.R. Chopra's direction is almost impeccable, except for a few scenes such as Mehmood's hysterical laughter that stretches beyond the tolerance limit.
Except for a few scenes, the entire movie has been shot in a studio set up with greater control on lighting.
In terms of length, the movie is a little long for a crime mystery but it doesn't come at the cost of pace because of which it still holds audience's interest.
Overall (9/10): Overall, it's a great watch for the topic it takes up and builds a very compelling and seemingly thriller movie out of it..
The only negative thing about Kanoon is its climax and it doesn't mean it is short of a suspense twist.
It is just too feeble for a strong plot.Ashok Kumar is calm & fine with his portrayal, and I am impressed by Rajendra Kumar.
His seriousness throughout the movie keeps you hooked & pulls you inside.
Supporting cast is little overactive, but that's fine.Story of how the judicial system can convict any person if advocates throw witnesses & evidences to it.
Wonderful plot describes relationships inside a family, murder & honesty between advocates.Although released in 1960, its technical attributes are way thinner than its counterparts, especially the score & setup.
It gives its audience what they deserve & comes straight to the point, telling a gripping tale.
It entertains incredibly & hence a 6.7/10 for the topic & performances.BOTTOM LINE: One of the few films on courtroom drama that is gripping & psychological.
Recommended!Can be watched with a typical Indian family?
YESProfanity/Nudity/Vulgarity: No | Violence/Gore: Mediocre | Smoking: Strong | Alcohol/Drugs: No | Sex: No. The Murder that becomes a mystery at the end of the movie.
This is an excellent movie.
No songs, so movie is fast faced.A murder is committed.
A lawyer has seen the murderer.
Another person is held responsible for the murder.
The lawyer must fight for justice to protect this other person but he cannot implicate the real murderer because relationships are at stake.Eventually he has to reveal the real murderer.
But is the person the lawyer saw the real murderer?Watch till the end to know the truth..
Kanoon (1960) is an ingenious movie.
Those who lament that Hindi cinema can't compete with their Hollywood counterparts, this movie is the answer.
it is a no non-sense movie and while i'll not waste this space in writing the plot or creating the suspense about the movie, I'll write a few things which i noticed.
when the movie starts to unfold, you tend to get the feeling that it is going to be a very good watch(which actually it turns out to be).All the actors have played their parts very well.
Though everyone has acted brilliantly, but actor Jeevan and Nana Palsikar steals the show.
Jeevan in his 10 minute role only proves that he is a better actor than what he appears to be in his other films.
Nana Palsikar on the other hand turned an ordinary role of a petty thief into such an unforgettable one that it eventually won him best supporting role award.
Rajendra Kumar is OK and as usual Ashok Kumar is regular(i mean masterly).I would like to end on a trivial note, that at some places in the movie the background score, lighting and cinematography gives you a hint that you are watching a Alfred Hitchcock movie.
And it intrigues me that whether B.R Chopra actually made this movie after getting inspired from some of the Hitchcock's movies of that era..
The word's on the street that director B.R. Chopra, commercially successful after his early sensations like Naya Daur and Dhool ka Phool, was once in Germany attending a film festival.
He took it as a challenge when told that 'Indian films have nothing but songs', hence, giving birth to Kanoon (1960), India's first songless Hindi film.I always believe that when taking a critical decision, people either choose between right and wrong OR between friends and strangers.
Rajendra Kumar falls under a similar dilemma in this 150 min courtroom drama.The film revolves around a judge, played by the superstar of that era, Ashok Kumar.
Kumar had faith in this unconventional story about a judge who starts to find flaws in the Indian Judicial System after a failed decision from the past comes haunting his court.
Played by Jeevan, a man who went to prison for ten years for a crime he did not commit is released.
Ironically, he commits the exact crime he went to prison for, just to prove a point.
Although, he suffers from a stroke during the proceedings, successfully brings out some serious flaws in the system.The story takes its natural course with another murder.
The film is about the proceedings of this case in Kumar's court, defended by Rajendra Kumar who is also the soon to become son-in-law of the judge.The film starts with promise, drags at times and picks up again.
The lack of expertise in the genre is visible as the grip at the mystery looses right in the beginning.As a viewer, you are a part of all the secrets.
From the Indian point of view, this rebellious film was an instant classic.
Nothing like the usual Indian films, Kanoon casts a strong impression on the Indian minds.
Although, at a couple of instances some brief music pieces are inserted as a part of the story, these do not let the story digress from its main course; just slows the pace a bit.The acting, to my disappointment, was equally over-the-top as the other Indian movies, especially the ones of those times.
Ashok Kumar, being the senior most actor, is content.
On the other hand, Nanda, playing his daughter, is heavily artificial and Rajendra Kumar walks in and out of his zone of comfort.
Though Mehmood grew out to become the greatest comedian alive in India, this was one of his early films and probably one of his worst performances.