Satyamev Jayate Episode 13 Review combines everything for season finale

Loved by most, criticised by many, but ignored by none Satyamev Jayate began 13 weeks ago with the aim to bring about a change in the society, to encourage mass debate about pressing issues, unmask social evils and to bring back Sunday morning family television. It will be wrong to say that the show did not contribute in some ways to a few policies and initiatives, but after the first few episodes, that spirit seemed to have fizzled out.

On July 29 it aired its last episode ‘We The People’. Justice, liberty, equality and fraternity – the principles that are the basis of the Constitution of India became the basis of SJ’s last episode, a theme that was maybe a little too vast to be dealt with in one and a half hour.

Sunday’s episode seemed like Aamir Khan tried to include everything that could not be covered in the first 12 episodes. And the result? A mess.

Each issue was large and heavy enough to have an episode entirely to itself. A myriad of evils were thrown at the audience, from discrimination on the basis of religion, denial of right to education, to corruption. Case studies after case studies were brought in and dealt with in a matter of minutes.

We were introduced to Piramal and Trupti Desai, a couple who started a home for children who were orphaned in the Gujarat earthquake and the riots. The Desais took it upon themselves to teach the children principles of equality and friendship irrespective of caste and religion.

Sunitha Krishnan, a woman who had been through a trauma of being gang raped at the age of 16 came on the sets and spoke about her work involving rehabilitation of women rescued from the paws of flesh trade. The difficulties faced by these women trying to survive independently in a society that rejects their very existence highlighted the failure of a system that promises its citizens the right to a dignified life.

The episode also covered the story of 19-year-old Babar Ali who individually upholds the law that assures right to education for all, by teaching those children in his village who do not enjoy the privilege of going to school.

All this and much more was done in a matter of one and a half hours (or less if you count the advertisements and the song at the end). Khan urged every individual to not just depend on the government, but personally ‘follow the path laid out by the Constitution of our country’ and help those who are less fortunate.

The stories, though inspirational and remarkable, are one-off cases and, in the opinion of this reviewer, do little to help a country that is in severe need of the government abiding by the principles of the preamble, quoted in the show.Instead of letting the government off the hook, one could ask why this is not being done. But instead, the show ended with Khan talking about a better future and a happier tomorrow for the next generation.

Of all Satyamev Jayate episodes, this was the least impactful. A show that started on a note of euphoria, ended ‘not with a bang but a whimper’.