On January 7, 2011, Raj Kumar Gupta’s No One Killed Jessica (NOKJ) was released. The film was based on Jessica Lall’s murder, which took place on April 29, 1999, and the widespread protests that helped in delivering justice several years later. Jessica, a model, was shot dead in a bar full of people in Delhi and the prime suspect, Manu Sharma, was the son of an influential politician. Even though there were several eyewitnesses, most turned hostile and the case dragged on till 2006. On February 26, 2006, the Delhi High Court acquitted all nine accused. It led to a huge uproar in the country, with people taking to the streets to demand justice for Jessica. The case was reopened and in December 2006, and Sharma was sentenced to life imprisonment.

The film shows the journey of Jessica’s sister Sabrina, played by Vidya Balan, in getting justice for her sister and how she is helped by a journalist, played by Rani Mukerji. Last year, while speaking to us after Manu Sharma was released from jail early due to good conduct, the filmmaker had said, “As a filmmaker, you have to hope that these kinds of films might have an impact on those who are victims and on the culprits as well. You’d want to believe that we don’t make cinema in a vacuum. Yes, we keep making such films, but these incidents still happen. However, that shouldn’t stop us from telling those stories. We should not stop reflecting or telling stories that put a mirror to ourselves and to the society, and hoping things will improve.”

As the film completes 10 years, the director looks back at the journey and says he’s proud of telling the story that needed to be told. Excerpts from a chat:

NOKJ stood up for so many things — right things. I’m glad that people still talk about it and the film is seen as a reference point to the case. At that time, it was not an easy film to make. There were so many things that were not in favour. It was such a sensitive topic. We had female protagonists, and at that time there were not many femaleled films. It was a big challenge to make the film and to get it released. It was also believed that a January release won’t work. But the film connected with people, they loved it. I am glad that I got an opportunity to tell the story. I thank Sabrina for trusting me to tell the story which needed to be told. Ten years down the line, I am proud of the film.

If you look at the word ‘media trial’, the word itself is not right. Trial — where is it supposed to happen? In the court. Media trials can never be a positive thing because obviously the media is not a court. What happened in Jessica’s case was not a media trial, I think it was a campaign for justice. I think, when the media saw that justice was not served, they raised their voice and brought out the facts. That connected with people, which further led to the campaign for justice. Ultimately, the court saw it. I think the media was instrumental in Jessica Lall’s case. It was the positive side of media.

In Jessica’s case, after the first trial, it was clear that justice hadn’t been served. The accused were let go. That’s when people raised their voice. Jessica was let down by the witnesses, the judiciary system and the bureaucracy. Justice wasn’t done because she was let down at so many levels. People (witnesses) should have stood for what was right, but they didn’t. That sparked an outrage. That was the moment when media questioned why justice was not done to her. Regular people stood up for her and questioned and all these happened — protests, candlelight vigils and campaigning for justice.