One Day: Justice Delivered
- Director
- Ashok Nanda
- Studio
- D Neev Films, Netrix Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., Cinema Friday Int.
- Release Date
- 4 July 2019
- Running Time
- 124 min
- Language
- Hindi
- Country
- India
- Box Office
- ₹4.68 Cr
Review
Anupam Kher anchors this vigilante thriller with his characteristic gravitas, playing a retired judge who takes the law into his own hands after witnessing systemic corruption undermine justice. The film's central premise—a man of the law becoming an instrument of extrajudicial punishment—offers intriguing thematic territory, and there are moments where the narrative examines the moral ambiguity of such actions with genuine conviction. Kher's performance carries weight, and the supporting cast competently navigates the intricate web of corruption involving politicians, doctors, and criminals that forms the story's backbone.
However, the execution falters where it matters most. The convoluted plot mechanics strain credibility, requiring audiences to accept increasingly implausible coincidences and investigative leaps that undermine the thriller's tension. The direction struggles to maintain momentum across the runtime, and the film's attempts at social commentary on institutional failure feel underdeveloped, overshadowed by the mechanical plotting of who goes missing next. The climactic revelation, while attempting to reframe our protagonist as a moral crusader, doesn't sufficiently interrogate the troubling implications of its own premise, leaving the film caught between wanting to celebrate and condemn Kher's character.
What works in individual scenes—strong performances and occasional sharp dialogues—cannot compensate for a screenplay that prioritizes plot mechanics over
Storyline
Justice Omprakash Tyagi is living a post-retirement life with his family in Ranchi, Jharkhand. One day, after the marriage of his daughter, two high-profile doctors, Ajay Chopra and his wife Reena Chopra, go missing. The investigating officer of this case, ACP Satya Narayan Sharma, is unable to find any clue. With this ongoing investigation, another rich hotelier, Pankaj Singh, also goes missing while he was returning from Kolkata. As Sharma is unable to solve the case and due to excessive pressure from the politicians and media, these cases are handed over to crime branch officer DCP Laxmi Rathi. Two more people go missing, Dilawar Khan who works for MP Pravin Rawat and a car mechanic named Afzal Ahmed. On further investigation, the police discovers that all the missing persons are linked together. Afzal had planted a bomb in a vegetable market on the instructions of Dilawar. The money had been given by Pankaj on the charity front. Abdul, who had been an eyewitness, was alive, and the minority party leader made an issue. As it was difficult to stop him from revealing the truth, Dr. Ajay and Dr. Reena, who were treating Abdul, were bribed so that Abdul can be silenced (killed) in such a way that it looked natural. In Pankaj's hotel, a honeymoon couple's MMS was leaked to humiliate his family as he was the son of that Muslim leader. This ultimately leads to the death of his daughter-in-law committing suicide. MP Rawat was behind all of these. Rathi is ordered to keep an eye on both Rawat, and Mr. Tyagi as all of them were given bail by him, and he might be under threat from the actual culprit as he might be the next on the list. Next, Rawat goes missing, and it is revealed that Sharma was helping in the kidnapping of all these people. The actual mastermind was revealed to be Mr. Tyagi. He says that he has to give them bail as no shreds of evidence were found against them, but he knew all of them were wrong-doers. He also says that he didn't kill anyone, he just wante