'Aarushi': A case of trial and error

Avirook Sen's Aarushi takes a detailed (and very well-researched) look at events that led to the seeming mistrial of a double murder case that rocked India in 2008.

In 1991, (one of my favourite filmmakers) Oliver Stone made JFK. The over three-hour-long film was based on President John F Kennedy's assassination investigation; not by the Warren Commission (set up by Lyndon Johnson to conduct the 'official' inquiry and trial) but the 'unofficial' one conducted by Jim Garrison. Garrison was the New Orleans' District Attorney at the time of the assassination, and claimed he had inside information (and sources who aided) on a 'high-level' game plan to murder JFK. He put together this conspiracy theory in the book On The Trail Of The Assassins. I've not read the book, but if it was anywhere close to being as convincing as JFK (adapted mostly from Garrison's book) was, I'd be a sucker for the view that the assassination was part of a political coup d'état (a phrase used frequently in the movie). Significantly, an overwhelming percentage of Americans polled the year JFK released said they believed in Garrison's theory. Because the facts were presented the right way.
It was almost déjà vu when I read (not watched) Aarushi by New Delhi-based journalist Avirook Sen - whose earlier book Looking For America was a compelling discovery of the lie of the land in 2008, the year Obama became President.
The Aarushi double murder - bodies of 14-year-old Aarushi and the domestic help Hemraj were recovered from the Noida residence of a doctor couple, Rajesh and Nupur Talwar - rocked India in May 2008, thanks mainly to 24x7 news television channels that immediately cottoned on that this was a TRP mega-dream: there was the slur of sex and scandal, and the "ultra shocking" component of maybe parents murdering their only daughter. The case got under way; after a musical chair of twists and turns and a much-followed trial, the Talwars were convicted and sentenced for the murders in 2013.
Right at the outset of Aarushi, Sen is unapologetic about his stand: that there has been a miscarriage of justice, and the Talwars are victims of a system that blundered in the name of solving a crime case. Sen attended the hearings of the Talwars' trial, scoped out trails that led to the allegedly faulty trial, and spoke to everyone associated with the case (including, of course, the Talwars). The book is divided into three parts: The Investigation, The Trial and The Dasna [where the Talwars are imprisoned] Diaries; there's a Timeline of Events, and even a Cast of Characters - all very helpfully constructed into the sequence of the murder and trial.
Aarushi is impeccably crafted: every detail seems to be in place, the right emotions captured cognitively, the most plausible parallels drawn. You have a scenic sense of the vicarious reliving of the entire crime scene investigation, the topsy-turvy trial and the behind-the-scenes bunglings and wheeling dealings: it's almost as if you were standing at all given 'scenes', not only witnessing first-hand what's unfolding, but also being imbued with the benefit of hindsight. It doesn't flag for a second, except the portions where you get the impression that sympathy (for the Talwars) is being curried.
Recently, a Bollywood film, Talvar, directed by Meghna Gulzar, did the cinematic rounds at the theatres, reinforcing the botched-up workings of the Aarushi case (the film is not based on the book, and follows its own narrative; the similarities, though, are quite evident). Overall, Talvar (like Aarushi, that has become a talking point in India), has been well-received, and the double whammy of the book and the film (being released in quick succession) has stirred up quite the hornet's nest. 'Justice of the Talwars' is now a movement. Sceptics, for their part, point out that with the Talwars' re-appeal in the works, this amounts to propaganda.
The jury's out on that but, speaking for myself, I am very, very tempted to believe Sen's theory: the police ineptitude, the lackadaisical justice system and the games people play all seem to fit in; the revelations of the legwork done by Sen could well be the missing pieces that make up a contorted puzzle.
The only problem is: what if someone from 'the other side' were to present a case as cogently and believably?
In Michael Winterbottom's movie The Face of an Angel (that I watched the other day), one of the character says, "The story is that there is no such thing as real truth or justice. It's just a popularity contest." I don't know why I immediately thought of Aarushi when I heard that.
Excerpts:
"Within hours of the discovery of Aarushi's body, the flat was swarming with people... There was no effort on the part of the police to cordon off any area. Visitors conducted their own investigations."
"The police were alarmed by the language in social media exchanges. For teens, profanities such as s**t or b***h are of no consequence... Film censors permit more and more sexual words in films without certifying them as 'Adults only'."
"As winter came that year, the trial slipped into a more regular pace... as if both sides were taking a breather after the furious early rounds. But it isn't as if this phase didn't throw up something bizarre or inexplicable on a daily basis."
sushmita@khaleejtimes.com

• India