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There are some real incidents that shake your senses and end up as source of inspiration for literary work, documentation or filmmaking. Aziz Khan's 'Undertrial' handles one such realistic subject that will draw attention but its sub-standard display will decimate its prospects and rage among common movie lovers. The film is biopic on a man who is accused of raping his three daughters for eight years. The story starts off from his imprisoned days and ends up with final judgment in the court room. The indifferent subject will positively draw many eye balls on screen but its poor treatment and inappropriate characterization with sub-standard performance will lead it to its predictable downfall. Besides melodramatic court room sequences, no other aspect of the film draws appreciation and it never lives up to the audience expectations. The film suffers heavily from inspiring face value, melodious music or aggressive promotion and its prospects lie in its good mouth of publicity.

Aziz Khan's style of story telling and direction fails to pick bits of the real story into commercially viable package of cinema. It handles the subjects too lethargically in the first half with weak characterization; extra-stretched jail sequences with sub-standard histrionics and leaves its finale to the climax by the experienced campaigners like Kader Khan and Prem Chopra.

Rajpal Yadav takes a break from his comical image and enters into an arena of sensitive acting by playing author-backed role. He plays the accused Sagar Hussain and delivers notable performance with some gripping moments. Despite his mature performance, the film lacks the gripping of holding events together and loses its sheen with poor performances and weak music.

'Undertrial' is the story of the insatiable hunger of a greedy wife of an honest man. She traps him in heinous crime of raping his daughter. It's a story revolving around losing morality and being discontented with honest living. The film delivers bold storyline with many loose ends.

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'Undertrial' starts off with Sagar Hussain (Rajpal Yadav), an "undertrial" prisoner being produced in the court for raping his three daughters. There is immense hatred among fellow prisoners as they believe it's the goriest crime in the world. Nazir (Mukesh Tiwari) is a kind-hearted fellow prisoner who helps and advises him to fight for justice. On the other hand, there is his wife Sameena (Monica Castellino) and his three daughters who accuse him of being a "rapist" in the court. The story flashbacks when Sagar falls in love with Sameena but his world turns upside down after learning about her first marriage and her child from it.

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Sagar adopts her first child and nurses all his children with full dignity and pride. The court room drama unfolds all events and factors of the case and finally it's his wife who is cross-examined. Sameena's endless greed pushes all her daughters into flesh trade with the help of a fellow social worker. Sagar is pained to learn the misadventures of his wife and daughters and revolts. Initially, Sameena tries to bribe Sagar but finally accuses him of raping his daughters. In this hot pursuit she even strangles his eldest daughter to death and declares it a "suicide". In the court room she blames Sagar for all these miseries.

Senior lawyer Verma (Prem Chopra) makes all legal moves to convict Sagar for the alleged crime and pleads to pronounce him guilty in the front of Judge Jaya Reddy (Pratima Kazmi). Noted lawyer Vishnoi (Kader Khan) fights for Sagar Hussein and with his intellect proves him innocent.

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The film's loose ends lie in the climax where the murder of Sagar's daughter by her mother is captured in a mobile camera. The second disappointing factor is the director's extra footage to semi-baked and amateurs in the first half. The film stems with its relevance in the second half and it shows its worth in the court room scenes only. The scenes where Mukesh Tiwari holds conversation with Rajpal Yadav are engrossing. Rajpal's character was more based on expressions than with electrifying dialogues or powerful screenplay. Besides, he promises to rise above ordinary script and delivers noteworthy performance.

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Veteran actor Kader Khan shines the most and should be called the "real" star of the film after hibernating for a couple of years from the silver screen. The actor shows his flair of acting during an intense court room drama in the climax. The second half belongs to his acting prowess that makes the film worthy but that's not sufficient to make it a winner. Prem Chopra is the other promising actor as prosecuting lawyer and his confrontations with Kader Khan are engrossing. Except for Pratima Kazmi (Judge Jiya Reddy), no other female actor shows promise and their performances never build tempo for being a good entertainer.

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Monica Castellino never sounds like a conventional actress and shows naivety in handling emotional scenes. The rest of the actresses fail to show positive screen presence with their brief roles. Nazim Rizvi's screenplay has its strong aspects but fails to collage with the authenticity of the script. The screenplay fails to build characters for Sameera and Sagar Hussein in the first few reels. It picks up well in the climax where the events unfold the innocence of the prime accused. The concept of choosing "materialistic" pleasures over morality never shows its gripping in the film.

Music by Anu Malik and Shamir Tandon is avoidable and retards the pace of the film. Choreography (Saroj Khan) is restricted to bar room dancing with loads of vulgarity. Cinematography by Tapan Basu is apt for the situation but never leaves any impression.

Overall, 'Undertrial' is a weak offering from the cadre of socially realistic cinema and its presence in multiplexes will be limited. The film fails to prove any point and with its dismal show it will disappoint its producers, exhibitors and distributors.