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Witness review: A hard-hitting social drama on the horrors of manual scavenging

Witness review: shraddha srinath and rohini bring a worthy watch about the horrors of manual scavenging..

Filmmaker Deepak’s Witness is one of those stories that deserves to be celebrated purely for its intent. 45 minutes into the film, the camera zooms in on a massive billboard of the Swachh Bharat Mission and quickly zooms back on a bunch of women who are cleaning the streets around midnight and talking about how they gasp for breath while on duty. Here’s a film that talks about the lives of an entire community, discriminated by their caste, that earns its livelihood from cleaning the waste around us. This is also a film where we, as a society, are witness to all the horrors that take place in the name of sanitation and human scavenging but don’t do anything. (Also read: Vadh movie review: Sanjay Mishra and Neena Gupta in a patchy yet well-acted drama about justifying murder)

The plot revolves around a mother, a sanitation worker, whose son dies while cleaning sewers in an apartment society. Convinced that her son was forced to do the job, the mother garners the help of a union worker, a lawyer and a resident of the apartment where the incident took place in her quest for justice.

The interesting aspect of the film is that it not only talks about the particular case in discussion in the story. It throws the spotlight on the state of such cases in India and how challenging it is to go against the system. In one of the most touching scenes of the movie, the lawyer tells the mother that it’s nearly impossible to win such a case and it would cost a lot. Without any regret, she says that it’s fine if she can’t win the case but she wants to see those people responsible for her son’s death to step into a court and answer why they forced a young boy to get into a septic tank. Most of these cases are usually not taken seriously as people give in for an out of court settlement. When the mother decides to fight the case, we become the witness to the challenges that usually one has to face in such cases.

The film has a very simple screenplay and sometimes feels like a documentary. Nevertheless, its intent to talk about the marginalised community fighting for justice against all odds makes it a compelling watch. Rohini, as the devastated mother fighting for justice is terrific. She proves once again why she’s one of the most versatile actors in the country today. Shraddha Srinath shines in another interesting character who, despite belonging to the urban working class, faces caste-based discrimination.

Witness, which is currently streaming on Sony Liv, will definitely go down as one of the most important films of the year.

• Shraddha Srinath

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Witness Movie Review: A highly impactful, multi-layered social commentary

Rating: ( 4 / 5).

Debutant Deepak's Witness is a daring film for a lot of reasons. It takes manual scavenging, a rarely-discussed social issue, as its core and questions everyone in the system who are both passively and actively enabling it. In an equally daring move, the promos of the film almost gave out the entire story, including the ending. This could have been a disastrous step for any film, but Deepak manages to use it as a tool to draw the focus of the audience towards the life of its characters, without letting us worry much about the course of the rather conventional plot.

Cast: Rohini, Shraddha Srinath, G Selva, Shanmuga Raja Director: Deepak

Witness is the story of an underprivileged mother's (Rohini as Indrani) fight for justice following the death of her 20-year-old son Parthiban, who was forced into manual scavenging. Despite knowing that she is fighting an impossible battle, we root for her and the film, because of the unique writing and execution. For starters, Deepak makes us develop a strong liking for Parthiban. Be it his ever-smiling face or the warm conversations he has with his mother, everything about this person is endearing. He is probably the ideal kid every mother wishes to have. When such a noble soul is lost, it is natural for us to feel affected. Then we are introduced to the comrades supporting Indrani and the powers that be who forced Parthiban down the death pit. And finally, we have the common link, Parvathy (Shraddha Srinath), who is a conscientious inhabitant of the apartment where Parthiban's life was lost. Fascinatingly, the screenplay, written by Muthuvel, provides every main character a challenge, a want, and an arc, which complements the main narrative. The writing ensures that their paths cross each other giving rise to engaging sequences. For instance, comrade Prithviraj (an effective G Selva) and the good-natured lawyer (Shanmuga Rajan) see every positive court hearing as a trophy and celebrate the win, even as a traumatised Indrani walks out of the court not wanting to hear the details of her son's death. Though all three are inherently good people, each have a different reason to take up the case. If Prithviraj wants this case to set a precedent for other Dalit people forced into manual scavenging, the lawyer processes it as a professional success, but for Indrani, it is a very personal battle. All these minute details aren't served as expositions but are established through the adept filmmaking of Deepak, who also shot the film. Apart from its strong social message against manual scavenging, the film also registers many important issues that are the root causes of it. Be it the reckless slum clearance that forced people to migrate to the outskirts of the city to the underpayment and exploitation of sanitary workers, the writers ensure it isn't just a superficial look at a pertinent issue. Witness will be long remembered for the kind of conversations the women have in the film. Out of the several exchanges between Parvathy and Indrani, one scene that stands out is their discussion about each other's mental health. I believe scenes like these are a good start for the betterment of the writing of female characters and mental issues. It is also impressive how every character in Witness is extremely grounded. For instance, when Parvathy informs Indrani about the CCTV footage of Parthiban's death, Indrani fails to process it as a piece of evidence and instinctively wishes to see it as it has her son's face. In another court hearing, the lawyer mentions the cruelty Parthiban went through, a borderline guilt-stricken Parvathy keeps nodding her head in approval in the background. Nifty touches by Deepak ensure that we are completely invested in the hard-hitting story. It is interesting how this tightly-packed film manages to register the mundane life of Indrani. Despite being a courtroom drama, the film keeps the dialogues as minimal as possible. The measured silences prepare us for the impact of what comes next.  When Indrani looks longingly at the place where she used to live happily in the past, and says," Inga ellam apo sandhoshama irundhom, ipo vazhkaiyum odudhu naanum odren !" it is a punch to the gut. It is really heartening to see a consummate performer like Rohini finally get to play a full-fledged lead after ages. The way she process grief in the first act or the meltdown sequence in the pre-climax are just examples of the range of the actor. Shraddha, on the other hand, beautifully pulls off an intricate performance as Parvathy, who is forced to put up a brave face every single day even while longing for affection within. It is not easy to look overwhelmed and enervated for the majority of the film and yet keep the audience invested. But Shraddha does it effectively throughout. Though people may have divided opinions on the climax and the execution, I felt it was shot in a very innovative way. It leaves a strong reminder that all of us will be reduced to mere witnesses of injustice unless we join forces as a society.

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'Witness' movie review: An impactful, Multi-layered social commentary

Debutant Deepak’s Witness is a daring film for a lot of reasons. It takes manual scavenging, a rarely-discussed social issue, as its core and questions everyone in the system who are both passively and actively enabling it. In an equally daring move, the promos of the film almost gave out the entire story, including the ending.

This could have been a disastrous step for any film, but Deepak manages to use it as a tool to draw the focus of the audience towards the life of its characters, without letting us worry much about the course of the rather conventional plot. Witness is the story of an underprivileged mother’s (Rohini as Indrani) fight for justice following the death of her 20-year-old son Parthiban, who was forced into manual scavenging. Despite knowing that she is fighting an impossible battle, we root for her and the film, because of the unique writing and execution.

For starters, Deepak makes us develop a strong liking for Parthiban. Be it his ever-smiling face or the warm conversations he has with his mother, everything about this person is endearing. When such a noble soul is lost, it is natural for us to feel affected. Then we are introduced to the comrades supporting Indrani and the powers that be who forced Parthiban down the death pit. We also have the common link, Parvathy (Shraddha Srinath), who is a conscientious inhabitant of the apartment where Parthiban’s life was lost.

Fascinatingly, the screenplay, written by Muthuvel, provides every main character a challenge, a want, and an arc, which complements the main narrative. The writing ensures that their paths cross each other giving rise to engaging sequences. For instance, comrade Prithviraj (an effective G Selva) and the good-natured lawyer (Shanmuga Rajan) see every positive court hearing as a trophy and celebrate the win, even as a traumatised Indrani walks out of the court not wanting to hear the details of her son’s death. All these minute details aren’t served as expositions but are established through the adept filmmaking of Deepak, who also shot the film.

Witness will be long remembered for the kind of conversations the women have in the film. Out of the several exchanges between Parvathy and Indrani, one scene that stands out is their discussion about each other’s mental health. I believe scenes like this are a good start for the betterment of the writing of female characters and mental issues. It is also impressive how every character in Witness is extremely grounded. For instance, when Parvathy informs Indrani about the CCTV footage of Parthiban’s death, Indrani fails to process it as a piece of evidence and instinctively wishes to see it as it has her son’s face. In another court hearing, the lawyer mentions the cruelty Parthiban went through, a borderline guilt-stricken Parvathy keeps nodding her head in approval in the background. Nifty touches by Deepak ensure that we are completely invested in the hard-hitting story.

When Indrani looks longingly at the place where she used to live happily in the past, and says, “Inga ellam apo sandhoshama irundhom, ipo vazhkaiyum odudhu naanum odren!” It is a punch to the gut. It is really heartening to see a consummate performer like Rohini finally get to play a full-fledged lead after ages. Shraddha, on the other hand, beautifully pulls off an intricate performance as Parvathy, who is forced to put up a brave face every single day even while longing for affection within. It is not easy to look overwhelmed and enervated for the majority of the film and yet keep the audience invested. But Sharadhha does it effectively throughout.

Though people may have divided opinions on the climax and the execution, I felt it was shot in a very innovative way. It leaves a strong reminder that all of us will be reduced to mere witnesses of injustice unless we join forces as a society.

Director: Deepak Cast: Rohini, Shraddha Srinath, G Selva, Shanmuga Raja Streaming Platform: SonyLiv Rating: 4/5

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Witness Movie Review (2022)

Deepak's well-researched 'witness', on sonyliv, is a story about manual scavenging that's more earnest than emotional.

Witness Movie Cast & Crew

The crux of Deepak's Witness is this: a teenager can be a terrific swimmer, a lifeguard at a pool. And yet, because of his caste/community, this talent of his is seen as something that will make him a good manual scavenger. Parthiban (Thamizharasan) is that teenager. He lives with his mother Indrani, who's played by Rohini with her characteristic conviction. The screenplay places them in Semmanjeri and contrasts this locality with Adyar, where the residents of an apartment complex need their septic tank unblocked and cleaned. The other contrast is that these residents are the type who say "snanam" for a bath, and propose doing a "homam" for cleansing themselves of bad vibes and sin. The sin is the death of Parthiban. And we wonder: How did this college-going boy – this lifeguard – from Semmanjeri land up all the way in Adyar for this particular job?

The unravelling of this mystery becomes the film's tool in unravelling the complex chain of command in our cities: a judge rightly calls it "passing the buck". Deepak has done his research, and it is all up there on screen, packed in the form of a long-running court case. What was once the corporation's job – like cleaning drains, or the road-sanitation work that Indrani performs – has been farmed out to private firms. And these private firms end up exploiting people from a particular community, which is not named. But the cake for Ambedkar's birthday and the Christian rituals inform us at least about Parthiban's family – that they are Dalit Christians. Another important character is Shraddha Srinath, who plays a resident in that Adyar apartment complex. She is an architect, and she helps Indrani with the case. Unlike the others in the building, here is an upper-class woman with a conscience.

We have had some excellent films, recently, that dealt with social issues: Thamizh's Seththumaan , Gautham Ramachandran's Gargi , Franklin Jacob's Writer . These are films where the filmmaking transcended the issue, where the screenplay and craftsmanship and performances helped build a complex dramatic world around the issue. But the main weapon – and the main weakness – of Witness is its earnestness. That is certainly a good quality for a film to have, but it cannot be the only one – and for all the pluses we get in the form of information, there is the nagging feeling that so much more could have been done with the narrative and the characterisation. The Shraddha Srinath character, the way she meets Parthiban, her issues with her family – none of this is convincing. And the callousness of government agencies and the powerlessness of the layman were laid out with much more emotional impact in, say, Virumandi's Ka Pae Ranasingam . What Witness does well is to remind us that a city whose population is exploding needs to invest in civic infrastructure. That is its achievement.

About Author

Baradwaj Rangan

National Award-winning film critic Baradwaj Rangan, former deputy editor of The Hindu and senior editor of Film Companion, has carved a niche for himself over the years as a powerful voice in cinema, especially the Tamil film industry, with his reviews of films. While he was pursuing his chemical engineering degree, he was fascinated with the writing and analysis of world cinema by American critics. Baradwaj completed his Master’s degree in Advertising and Public Relations through scholarship. His first review was for the Hindi film Dum, published on January 30, 2003, in the Madras Plus supplement of The Economic Times. He then started critiquing Tamil films in 2014 and did a review on the film Subramaniapuram, while also debuting as a writer in the unreleased rom-com Kadhal 2 Kalyanam. Furthermore, Baradwaj has authored two books - Conversations with Mani Ratnam, 2012, and A Journey Through Indian Cinema, 2014. In 2017, he joined Film Companion South and continued to show his prowess in critiquing for the next five years garnering a wide viewership and a fan following of his own before announcing to be a part of Galatta Media in March 2022.

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Where to watch

2022 ‘விட்னஸ்’ Directed by Deepak Muthuvel

With the world of conservancy workers at its center, Witness presents a never-seen-before view of metropolitan cities and the invisible corridors of power lying underneath them.

Shraddha Srinath Rohini Shanmugarajan Selva Rajeev Anand N. Azhagamperumal Srinath Ajith Koshy Subathra Robert Kadugu Ramamoorthy Vinod Sagar Rindhu Ravi Balaji Radhakrishnan

Director Director

Deepak Muthuvel

Producers Producers

T G Vishwa Prasad Vivek Kuchibhotla

Writers Writers

J P Chanakya J. Muthuvel Deepak Muthuvel

Editor Editor

Philomin Raj

Cinematography Cinematography

Production design production design, composer composer.

Ramesh Thamilmani

Songs Songs

Sound sound.

Lawrence Vishnu Vivek Anandan Vysakh P.V.

Makeup Makeup

Y E Hari Prasad

People Media Factory

Alternative Titles

विट्नस, ವಿಟ್ನೆಸ್, విట్నెస్

Releases by Date

09 dec 2022, releases by country.

• Theatrical U SonyLIV

123 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by Akshay Kannan ★★★

This movie works totally as a social message and I really admire they are trying to create awareness on an concerning issue but the packaging needed to be more engaging to reach more people

Review by Vasanthan ★★★

Well intentioned film again. The topic that it intends to raise awareness about is absolutely pertinent and kudos to the team for doin this 👏. But again that awareness part seems to be the issue as a film. As a court procedural, it's engaging n tries to keep a low key tone, infact a tad too low key that it feels like a documentary at times. And suddenly when it tries to be a film, it goes for in your face elements like forced drama, manipulative sentiment, soga music etc. Doesn't use the form of cinema well to be a memorable n impactful one.

Good performances esp Rohini.

Review by Ilyas Muhammed ★★★★ 2

Despite few flaws in technical aspect and slow pace, Witness is an important political film about metropolitan cities and its frontline workers. Deepak in his debut film has made a strong political statement, especially the climax. Almost all characters made an impression, especially those played by Rohini and comrade Selva.

Review by AkashAditya ★★★★½

#Witness works brilliantly as a procedural drama, unabashedly realistic in its storytelling and heartbreaking. It also openly criticises the caste hierarchy and state power structure within its story realm. I haven't seen a Tamil film that has got its politics as right and as important to the story as this one.

Review by Anju Devadas ★★★

It is not often that we come across films that discuss the brutal realities of manual scavenging. Vidhu Vincent’s Manhole (2016), Divya Bharathi’s Kakoos (2018), and Jithin Issac Thomas’ segment "Pra. Thoo. Mu" from the anthology Freedom Fight (2022) has addressed the horrors of this rarely-discussed social issue. Debutant director Deepak’s hard-hitting social drama Witness is the latest addition to these narratives that critique the innumerable deaths and disturbing caste politics associated with manual scavenging.

The film follows Indrani (Rohini), a mother and corporation worker, who fights for justice following the death of her 20-year-old son Parthiban (Thamizharasan), who was forced to clean the sewers in an apartment society. With the help of a union worker, a lawyer, and a…

Review by 8357895738 ★★

Witness is testament to just how stale and dogmatic tamil left cinema has become; and in addition to, how this cinema, in the worst way possible, relates to its own architects, who seem to lose all revolutionary timbre right out the cinema hall, the picture that is painted here is of a grim, fusty character. the pitfalls of this cinematic oeuvre, right from Bala to Mari Selvaraj, are amplified greatly, nearly to the point of caricature, or at least, a barthesian organization, in Witness. the film centers on oppression, and appeals to the viewer's better nature, throwing everything at them in the process; amma sentiment, mediocre sad music, bad faith monologuing, corny metaphors, it is all there.

someone had tweeted…

Review by Bustardss

Completing this year with this striking movie

Review by Mano yokesh ★★★★½

A hard hitting and a super relevant film for ages. A must must must watch.

Review by Radhika54 ★★★★½ 2

Cried my heart out. The questions the movie rises and the answer therefore that people choose to oppress has never been told before.

Review by Cineastmemes ★★★★★

The final shot💔

Review by PrinceKSP ★★★★

Witness (2022) is a manifestation of years/decades of suppressed anger. The writing is pretty much on our face but for all the right reasons, its a film that intends to make the viewers uncomfortable in order to sensitize them.

Review by கார்த்திக் சிவகுமார் ★★★½

Left me numb. I think everyone should watch this & take the blame on ourselves for allowing someone to clean our wastes. Thanks to Rohini for the Terrific performances. Kudos to the debutant Director Deepak. Will look forward for his future works.

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• ENGLISH HINDI MALAYALAM TAMIL TELUGU KANNADA BENGALI  

Witness Tamil Movie

Movies that voice their strong opinions on caste and social justice are slowly carving a genre of their own. They have come a long way from being merely labeled as 'message movies' or artsy fairs to being accepted as mainstream fairs. Thanks to directors like Bharathiraja, Pa. Ranjith, and Mari Selvaraj among others, the marginalized have found a voice in the mainstream media. Their issues have become a subject of debate among the classes and masses alike. Especially in the past decade or so with the rampant spread of social media platforms, these issues have found a more nuanced discourse among the youth!

'Witness' is a movie that has been cut from the same fabric as 'Jai Bhim'. It is about the employment of human scavenging and the consequences that it brings forth among the people who do it for a living. Parthiban (Tamilarasan), a youngster lives with his mother, Indrani (Rohini), in Semmancheri, a suburb away from Chennai that is designated for slum dwellers. Indrani wants Parthiban to study well and lead a progressive life. In a shocking incident, Parthiban dies while cleaning a septic tank in a nearby apartment. When the authorities try to sweep the issue under the carpet, with the help of communists and other social activists, Indrani takes the matter to the court. Was justice delivered to Indrani?

As a film, director Deepak has put in a lot of effort to usher in the rawness. The usage of music was very minimal. Often we can hear only the dialogues, and music was just added so subtly that our trained subconscious yearns for a few more strings to play in the background. On the contrary, there were a couple of songs that felt forced into the narrative.

Sharadha Srinath as the rebellious female with a golden heart had a decent role. I felt her connection with Parthiban was purely coincidental and had to beg for further justification. Also, her backstory was another weak effort to add more texture to the already solid fabric of caste-based discrimination. At one point, her role becomes a mundane affair as she had nothing much to do other than hanging around with the victim.

The court arguments were artificial and were on expected lines. The weakness in the writing was felt during the climax. It's a climax that can be guessed by anyone, and it is based on hard facts that still none have been convicted for employing manual scavenging. So, as a political statement, the film triumphs, but as a movie, it just manages to pass the engagement factor. A watchable fair!

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Around deaths that happen due to manual scavenging. Around deaths that happen due to manual scavenging. Around deaths that happen due to manual scavenging.

• Shraddha Srinath
• 5 User reviews
• 5 Critic reviews
• 1 nomination

• Ganapathi Subramaniam
• Sivaprakasam

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• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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User reviews 5

• JasonBrodyJr
• Dec 15, 2022
• How long is Witness? Powered by Alexa
• December 9, 2022 (India)
• Philadelphia Pennsylvania, USA (on location)
• People Media Factory
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours 3 minutes

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• Home » Movies » Witness 2022 Tamil Movie Review

Witness review: The film has strong content but fails to connect emotionally

The dreadfully-written script and poor narrative washed out the total intensity of the content in this Deepak’s directorial.

Published:Dec 09, 2022

Shraddha Srinath and Rohini's 'Witness' deals with the issues faced by manual scavengers. (SonyLIV/Twitter)

Impressive Shraddha Srinath & Rohini.

Witness (Tamil)

• Cast: Shraddha Srinath, Rohini, Subrata Robert, Shanmugarajan, G Selva, Rajeev Anand, Azhagam Perumal, Tamilarasan, and Srinath
• Director: Deepak
• Producer: TG Vishwa Prasad
• Music: Ramesh Thamilmani
• Duration: 2 hours 3 minutes
• OTT platform: Sony LIV
• Cast: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Emraan Hashmi, and Revathy
• Director: Maneesh Sharma
• Producer: Aditya Chopra
• Music: Pritam Chakraborty
• Runtime: 2 hours 35 minutes

Even as the country continues to witness deaths in sewers, despite a ban on manual scavenging in 2013, Deepak’s latest directorial venture Witness discusses in depth the issues faced by manual scavengers.

The film’s story, written by Muthuvel and JP Sanakya, revolves around a mother — a sanitation worker — and her manual scavenger son.

The mother, played by Rohini, seeks justice for her son who died while cleaning sewers. The system plays the antagonist in the movie.

Witness is not an easy film to watch, for it talks about the struggles manual scavengers face while living/growing up in the marginalised neighbourhoods. For them, it’s survival every day.

The best part of the film is its content. It is not exactly about a specific case, rather it’s a commentary on how such cases are treated in India.

Narrative stumbles

The content deserves a much stronger narration. The film presents themes but doesn’t deal with them.

There was nothing gripping and remotely interesting, other than the basic plot.

There are scenes just for the sake of a punch dialogue. The uneven and dreadfully-written script washed out the intensity of the content.

You can guess what the following line will be at times, which is reinforced by the camera and music.

The narrative stumbles slightly under the weight of its own socio-economic and political messaging.

Shraddha & Rohini are impressive

The performances by the actors, especially Shraddha Srinath as Parvathi and Rohini as Indrani Amma, are really impressive.

The actors who played Thozhar and his wife Kalpana’s roles did a good job. Kalpana comes only in a couple of scenes but leaves an impact.

It’s good to see Shanmugarajan back in a noticeable role after a long time.

தீபக்-ன் இயக்கத்தில் ஷ்ரத்தா ஸ்ரீநாத் மற்றும் ரோகிணியின் நடிப்பில் உண்மைக்கு நெருக்கமான #Witness 🔥 காணுங்கள் உங்கள் Sony LIV ல் மட்டும் #SonyLIV #WitnessOnSonyLIV @shraddhasrinath @rohinimolleti @vishwaprasadtg @vivekkuchibotla @peoplemediafcy @negativespace04 #Muthuvel pic.twitter.com/OsedFkcCPK — Sony LIV (@SonyLIV) December 8, 2022

Even with uneven scenes and dialogues, these actors try hard to embody the respective characters with the restored telecast’s emotion and realism.

The rest of the cast is stereotypical, insistent, and uninteresting. That showed a complete lack of attention to casting.

Character development is important in a slow-moving drama like this. But it wasn’t. A sensitive subject alone does not make a film good.

Clever music, good cinematography

On the technical front, the music is cleverly mixed and is haunting and fluid.

Shraddha Srinath in a still from ‘Witness’. (Supplied)

Deepak’s cinematography allows us to ponder the surroundings. The artwork and the costume designs are perfect.

The meaning of a film needn’t always be significant, but if it’s advertised as having an emotional impact, the audience will expect more than what Witness provides.

Unfortunately, the film sounds better than it is. The screenplay is underdeveloped. In short, Witness is a poorly narrated strong subject that sounds profound.

In a nutshell, its content is strong like Ammu and  Jai Bhim . But movies like these work on an emotional level and that’s where Witness falls flat!

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The film's weak execution, lack of empathy towards the characters, and clumsy writing prevent it from leaving a lasting impact.

Web Movie Review: A poorly-written thriller that struggles to impress

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• This film marks the first collaboration of uncle-nephew duo Anil Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor. Arjun is the son of Anil’s brother Boney Kapoor. Share
• This film marks the first collaboration of uncle-nephew duo Anil Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor. Arjun is the son of Anil’s brother Boney Kapoor.
• This is the second time Arjun Kapoor is playing a double role, the first being Aurangzeb (2013).
• The song ‘Yamma yamma’ from ‘Shaan’ is sampled in the song ‘Partywali Night' for the film.

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