Director Ashwini Iyer Tiwari has been making films for over a decade. And yet, nothing gives away her lack of assurance more than her choice of background score. Iyer Tiwari’s style is what I like to describe as having soap-opera coherence (my mother is a huge fan of these films, which are technically proficient, but ideologically axiomatic). If the choice was ever between thought-provoking and manipulating tears, she overwhelmingly leans towards the latter.Having made films with noble (sometimes, even sweet) through lines, like a mother re (Nil Battey Sannata), or a woman making a comeback to professional sports after a prolonged sabbatical (Panga) – Iyer Tiwari’s films often find its underdogs in women. But there’s also a lack of rigour in her ideas curdling the simple into gratingly simplistic.In System – starring Sonakshi Sinha, Jyothika Surya and Ashutosh Gowariker – a seemingly rudimentary question is made to sound more profound than it might be. Does a court’s verdict always mean the same thing as justice? If someone’s wrongdoing is proved beyond reasonable doubt, does it matter if they’re claiming innocence? On the other hand, if their innocence is proved and then they gleefully accept they were indeed guilty – how reliable is the justice system? Considering those with unlimited resources can manipulate it in the way they see fit, is it fair for poor folks to be at the mercy of people doing their duty without vested interests (which is rarely ever the case). Good courtroom dramas can be a barometer for a society’s moral compass, its worst instincts and social biases. It’s also a great setting for underdogs, taking on seemingly unwinnable battles, and emerging victorious. But it’s such a tried-and-tested genre that unless one has something truly original to say, it can seem dull and repetitive.Sonakshi Sinha in ‘System’. Photo: Screengrab from Youtube video/Prime Video India.Neha Rajvansh (Sinha), stepping out of a Land Cruiser in the first scene, appears on behalf of the public prosecutor’s office against a negligent nightclub owner. Daughter of one of the most high-flying lawyers, Ravi Rajvansh (Gowariker), Neha is undergoing what she terms ‘reverse nepotism’. Asked to prove her mettle in the public prosecutor’s office by winning ten consecutive cases, Neha is promised the role of a partner in her father’s firm. Desperate to make good on it as soon as possible, Neha enlists the help of a hidden-in-plain-sight stenographer, Sarika Rawat (Jyothika). Having worked in the courthouse, Sarika is more resourceful than she looks. Seeing her teenage daughter, paraplegic husband, and financial struggle, Sarika becomes an object of pity for Neha. However, as they win cases one after the other, they also soon become friends. Appearing on behalf of shady realtors, power brokers, Ravi Rajvansh is a rockstar lawyer—who rarely loses. He’s made to utter inanities like, “It doesn’t matter if he’s guilty or not, it only matters what I can prove in court” – a line that would inspire a sardonic response from A Few Good Men’s (1991) Daniel Kaffee [played by Tom Cruise].Ashutosh Gowariker in ‘System’. Photo: Screengrab from Youtube video/Prime Video India.I like Gowariker as an actor, he shoots straight. I don’t think he can be versatile casting, but he’s a good choice to play someone who looks ethical and sounds polished, only to quietly board the Hindutva bandwagon with Panipat (2019) and honour The Kerala Story (2023) as the chairman of the National Awards jury. Much like his fictitious counterpart here, who seems squeaky clean and above-board in his conduct, and whose complexities we only hear about from colleagues/clients. The one scene where he does something deceptive, he earnestly over explains it. It’s like watching Rahul Dravid plan a murder.The film’s primary conflict takes off around the halfway mark of the film, when an influencer’s murder implicates a real estate mogul, and father/daughter find themselves on either side of the court-room. I enjoyed the scene when Ravi tries to dissuade Neha from taking up the case — smelling something rotten about it from far away. When she refuses to budge from her decision of taking on the case, Ravi warns her he’ll be harder on her than he is on other lawyers. ‘First, I’ll teach you how to argue like a lawyer, and then teach you manners as your parent,’ Ravi growls.Like Kartavya last week, even System seems to be indicating one has to fight fascism and corruption at home first, and only then is there hope to bring about change in the society. Jyothika Surya in ‘System’. Photo: Screengrab from Youtube video/Prime Video India.Sinha has grown more assured on screen, especially in the scenes with her romantic partner. There’s maturity, which probably comes only with age. But, like Taapsee Pannu, during the big dramatic scene Sinha loses that spontaneity. I’ve never been a big fan of Jyothika — I find her to be a one-note actor, where in most dramatic scenes, we see her employing a stoic face with tears rolling down. The character of Sarika Rawat, the hapless sole-breadwinner of her family, had potential. Her bond with Neha, despite their obviously different backgrounds, could have been less generic. But Iyer Tiwari introduces a trashy twist towards the end, which tries hard to contrive reasons why all incidents and characters from the beginning of the film are connected, and are part of some master plan.Also read: ‘Kartavya’ has Some Radical Ideas, but Isn’t Diligent Enough on the DetailsI was reminded of Fracture (2007), featuring a similarly implausible twist – one I was willing to forgive because of the chemistry between a young Ryan Gosling and a fiendishly opaque Anthony Hopkins. None of the actors here are nearly as electric to make me forget about the climax. Ashwini Iyer Tiwari’s System has the bones of an intriguing film, but it’s a few yards short of being the clever courtroom thriller it thinks it is. There’s a compelling courtroom drama in here, where the justice system reflects on its own limitations, and how it becomes a weapon against the very people it’s meant to protect. Where a young idealist takes on the pliable, corrupt older generation. In a country where the judiciary’s independence has question marks all over it, and its members are in the spotlight all the way from Delhi to Madhya Pradesh, it felt like a missed opportunity to introspect beyond the obvious. In the end, unsurprisingly, the director picks catharsis over ambiguity. Like the law itself, I think even Iyer Tiwari’s film works better in theory.System is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.