Dandupalya 2 2017

The opening sequence presents a tense tableau: a gang is escorted to the prison, facing execution, while an anxious inspector warns the warden to tread carefully with them. Into this charged atmosphere, a determined investigative journalist named Abhivyakti “Abhi” begins to re-examine the case, insisting that there was no solid evidence to convict anyone—no fingerprints, no semen tests, and no reliable circumstantial proof tying the crimes to the accused. Her relentless pursuit of truth kicks off a meticulous audit of the records, the witnesses, and the procedures that led to the convictions.

As Abhi digs deeper, she uncovers a web of concealment and manipulation. A local jewellery maker reveals that stolen ornaments were remade and then presented as evidence in court, and a witness allegedly from Singapore turns out to be fake. These revelations cast doubt on the integrity of the case and suggest a carefully curated narrative designed to pin the crimes on the poor. Abhi’s reporting begins to pull at the threads of a machine that seemed to operate under pressure, secrecy, and fear.

Her interviews with the victims’ parents add another layer of complexity. They describe how no neighbor ever saw the victims in the locality, and yet the police pressed forward with the charges, implying that the accused were responsible. They recount how the victims were brought to the police and how the narrative around the crimes was constructed, raising troubling questions about motive, trust, and the use of power. Abhi suggests that these families were easily caught in a system that exploited their vulnerability, painting a stark picture of how poverty and desperation can be weaponized within the justice process.

The investigative tension intensifies when the gang is moved to a different prison, ostensibly for their execution, and they encounter a fellow inmate, the innocent-looking Umesh Reddy. The gang members tell their side of the story to Abhi, painting a different portrait of events and accusing the police of using torture to extract confessions. Their account underscores a brutal sequence in which coercion and fear overshadow due process, prompting Abhi to question the credibility of the confessions and the broader ordeal.

In parallel, the band’s backstory is sketched with growing detail: a harsh journey from poverty to precarious work. They describe migrating to an unfamiliar land, facing hunger, and surviving in the slums by begging for food. When opportunities finally arise, they take on construction work, enduring rejection and precarious livelihoods. This context helps explain the pressures that push individuals toward crime, while the narrative remains firmly grounded in the consequences of systemic neglect and a punitive law-and-order response.

The plot thickens as the inspector’s political and professional pressure to curb crime comes to a head. A late-night movie outing turns into a display of power when the inspector confronts two gang members for failing to show tickets and retaliates with a beating. A subsequent night brings a new cycle of violence: a murder and a theft at a work site provoke a heavy-handed intervention, culminating in the police forcibly removing the remaining gang members to a secluded location where torture is used to manufacture admissions. The ordeal includes a sexual assault on a female member, amplifying the moral stakes and the human costs of the investigation. After forty days of brutal torture, the gang members finally confess to crimes they did not commit, revealing the devastating toll of coercive tactics.

Amidst the fallout, Abhi publishes a revealing article that scrutinizes police methods and the use of dubious evidence. The publication draws a direct line between force, false narratives, and the miscarriages of justice, provoking a charged exchange with the inspector and shaping the trajectory of what comes next in the story. The narrative remains unsettled, with the clash between truth and state power at its core, and the consequences of these revelations echoing beyond the courtroom.

The film features a cast that anchors this intense investigation and its moral questions: Makrand Deshpande, Tabla Nani, Sanjjanaa Galrani, Ravi Kale, and Pooja Gandhi. Their performances give texture to the story, adding personal dimension to the harsh realities faced by the accused, the journalists chasing the truth, and the families caught in the crossfire of crime and punishment. The result is a documentary-like drama that refuses easy answers, asking how far the pursuit of justice can be pushed before it loses sight of the very people it is meant to protect.