‘Jolly LLB 3’ (2025) Movie Review - The Troublesome Twosome

In Jolly LLB 3, Subhash Kapoor, the writer, triumphs over Subhash Kapoor, the director, suggesting his writing outshines his direction. One of the pleasures of watching the new Jolly LLB lies in seeing the dots connect themselves. For instance, in one of the film's early scenes, we catch a female judge checking her Tinder notification. Later, inside Judge Sunder Lal Tripathi's (Saurabh Shukla) house, a conversation takes place about Tinder, where the female judge is mentioned, and Sunder is also bestowed with the title "Tinder Tiger." The brand of alcohol that Advocate Jagdishwar 'Jolly' Mishra (Akshay Kumar) and his wife, Pushpa Pandey Mishra (Huma Qureshi), happily gulp down every night is the same one Advocate Jagdish 'Jolly' Tyagi (Arshad Warsi) prefers — and the one he brings to their house in an attempt to patch things up. At first, a hotshot lawyer named Vikram Ray Chaudhary (Ram Kapoor) raises his finger to assert his superiority in front of Sunder. A few minutes later, Sunder repeats the same gesture to assert his own dominance. Sunder, in Jolly LLB 3, not only places a rose on his bench but also sets his sights on wooing a police officer named Chanchal Chautala (Shilpa Shukla). After numerous visits to the station under flimsy pretexts, he finally scores a Valentine's Day date with her. So later, when the two Jollys and their wives show up at a restaurant on Valentine's Day and can't get a table, we think back to Sunder and Chanchal's meeting — and brace ourselves for laughter.

It's no surprise that the real star of the Jolly LLB franchise is Shukla's Sunder Lal. His frustrated expressions are comic goldmines, and his wise-guy perceptions (look how he explains his position when he's accused of being partial) are sweet and gentle. In Jolly LLB 3, his personal life comes to the foreground like a well-timed rib-tickler. "Pehle main bahut healthy hua karta tha," Sunder fondly reminisces. "Phir tum [Jolly Tyagi] meri life mein aa gaye," he continues. But Sunder doesn't stop here. He talks about having his first heart attack just after the events of the first film, and then mentions his wife's death, which occurred after the events of the second film. Sunder's life, in other words, has not been too...beautiful. Yet, he has not given up on love. No wonder this cute teddy bear of a judge has remained the franchise's main attraction. He's the accidental jester.

Shukla is the big boss, but that doesn't mean everybody else fumbles. Kumar and Warsi are, as expected, dandy, and Qureshi and Amrita Rao (welcome back) are fine as well. The case, this time, involves farmers fighting against an influential businessman who seeks to acquire their land by force or coercion. This hammy bad guy is Haribhai Khaitan (Gajraj Rao), and his home looks like a grand hotel. Jolly Mishra fights for Haribhai, gets seduced by his wealth, and accepts the offer to become his lawyer. But what about truth, justice, the moral compass? Well, what do you think of Rs. 50,000 per day, all in an envelope? Jolly Tyagi, at one point, tells his wife that he refused to listen to an old lady because if he had listened, he wouldn't have been able to ignore her pleas, pain, and crises. And the bills aren't paid with goodwill, but cash. Lawyers like Jollys aren't evil or heartless — they're just poor souls chasing money in hopes of escaping a life of struggle. Even Haribhai follows a personal code of conduct: he opposes anything that might damage a woman's reputation (although this rule doesn't last forever, as he's the villain).

It's certainly nice to see such gray shades, such (minor) complexities in Jolly LLB 3, even if Kapoor doesn't do anything worthwhile with them. I liked how Janki Rajaram Solanki's (Seema Biswas) backstory was revealed to Jolly Mishra — he learns it after accepting Haribhai's offer. Kapoor should have allowed Mishra to struggle with himself. There should have been an inner conflict between the Jolly who wants money and the Jolly who begins to develop a moral conscience. Kapoor, though, surrenders to the demands of the mainstream format; hence, Jolly Mishra is seen arguing with Haribhai in the next scene itself. Kapoor also comes up with a bad, obvious "symbolism" when he pits camels against sports cars. If his intention goes over your head, don't fret — he has a character explain the meaning behind the moment. This pre-interval scene is clumsily executed; you roll your eyes and laugh when a woman stands up in shock and points her finger towards the camels. It looks like something straight out of a low-budget TV serial. Moreover, the courtroom scenes are plain and conventional. What energizes them, to a certain extent, is the performances. I wouldn't call Jolly LLB 3 rousing, but Jolly Tyagi's final speech has a warm, moving effect. It initially seems to meander, but then everything snaps so sharply into focus that you gasp and applaud the simplicity, the sting, the fervor. When Janki finally cries, you can't help but feel a wave of bittersweet emotion. This is why the behind-the-scenes footage during the end credits feels like a miscalculation. But you can leave the theater before it arrives — you can walk out feeling touched and tender.

Final Score- [6/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
Follow @vikasonorous on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times