By Krishna Dua 
Jolly LLB 3 Review: Akshay & Arshad’s Courtroom Face-Off
In the ever-evolving tapestry of Bollywood, where sequels often chase spectacle over substance, Jolly LLB 3 emerges as a triumphant return to roots—a razor-sharp courtroom comedy that marries uproarious banter with unflinching social critique. Released on September 19, 2025, under Subhash Kapoor’s deft direction, this third installment in the beloved franchise unites the two iconic “Jollys” for the first time: Akshay Kumar as the suave, morally conflicted Advocate Jagdishwar “Jolly” Mishra from Jolly LLB 2, and Arshad Warsi reprising his original role as the street-smart, jugadu Advocate Jagdish “Jolly” Tyagi from the 2013 debut. Anchoring the chaos is Saurabh Shukla’s inimitable Justice Sunderlal Tripathi, whose exasperated gravitas elevates every scene. Clocking in at 2 hours 37 minutes, the film—produced by Star Studios and Kangra Talkies on a reported budget of ₹120 crore—delivers a rollercoaster of witty legal maneuvers, heartfelt drama, and hard-hitting commentary on land rights and corporate exploitation.
The franchise, which began as a modest underdog tale, has grossed over ₹500 crore worldwide across its first two entries, earning National Film Awards and cult status for its satirical take on India’s judicial labyrinth. Jolly LLB 3 arrives amid a post-pandemic box-office landscape craving content-driven fare, with advance bookings crossing ₹3.91 crore and over 40,000 tickets sold in the first day. Critics have hailed it as a “delightful riot of laughter and content,” with ratings averaging 3.5-4 stars from outlets like Koimoi and India Today. Early Twitter reactions dub it “the best thing to happen to Bollywood in 2025,” praising the Akshay-Arshad face-off as “phenomenal chemistry.” Yet, beneath the laughs lies a poignant exploration of farmer suicides and systemic inequities, inspired by the 2011 Uttar Pradesh land acquisition protests. As the two Jollys clash in Tripathi’s courtroom, Jolly LLB 3 doesn’t just entertain—it indicts, proving once again that in Kapoor’s world, justice is as much a farce as it is a fight. This review unpacks the film’s layers, from its explosive cast to its timely message, affirming why this courtroom face-off is a worthy trilogy capper.
The Franchise Legacy: From Meerut Streets to National Spotlight
The Jolly LLB series, birthed from Subhash Kapoor’s incisive pen, has redefined the legal dramedy genre in Indian cinema. The 2013 original, starring Arshad Warsi as the bumbling yet tenacious Jagdish Tyagi, was a sleeper hit that punched above its ₹12 crore budget, earning ₹46 crore worldwide. Warsi’s portrayal of a Meerut lawyer taking on a high-society hit-and-run case—against Boman Irani’s slick advocate and Saurabh Shukla’s corrupt judge—earned acclaim for its witty dissection of judicial biases and class divides. Amrita Rao’s Sandhya added romantic levity, while the film’s National Awards for Best Supporting Actor (Shukla) and Best Screenplay cemented its legacy.
Jolly LLB 2 (2017) shifted gears with Akshay Kumar as the flamboyant Delhi lawyer Jagdishwar Mishra, tackling fake encounters in a Lucknow-Delhi showdown. Huma Qureshi’s fiery Pushpa Pardesi and Annu Kapoor’s menacing cop amplified the stakes, grossing ₹175 crore on a ₹45 crore outlay. Shukla’s Judge Tripathi evolved from flawed to fair, symbolizing redemption. The sequels succeeded by humanizing legal absurdities—endless adjournments, tampered evidence, underdog grit—without preachiness, blending My Cousin Vinny-esque humor with A Few Good Men-style tension.
Jolly LLB 3 ingeniously merges universes, pitting Mishra against Tyagi in a narrative Kapoor has teased since 2018. Filming spanned Rajasthan’s dusty Ajmer (wrapped May 2024), Mumbai’s mock courtrooms, and Madhya Pradesh’s rural sets, concluding July 2, 2024. The teaser (August 12, 2025) teased the Jolly face-off, while the Kanpur trailer launch (September 10) hyped the social edge. With a ₹120 crore budget, it faced minor pre-release hurdles—a dismissed Allahabad High Court plea against the song “Bhai Vakeel Hai” for “maligning the judiciary”—but emerged unscathed, ready to blend franchise nostalgia with fresh fire.
Plot Summary: A Farmer’s Last Stand in the Court of Chaos
Spoiler-free, with thematic depth.
Jolly LLB 3 unfolds in the arid expanse of Bikaner, Rajasthan, where resilient farmer Ramswaroop clings to his final ancestral plot amid predatory corporate land grabs. When despair claims him—his suicide a stark indictment of mounting debts and evictions—his widow Janki Devi (Seema Biswas) files a public interest litigation (PIL) against India’s wealthiest industrialist, Haribhai Khetan (Gajraj Rao). Khetan’s grandiose “Bikaner to Boston” mega-project threatens to devour entire villages, embodying unchecked capitalism’s rural ravage.
Enter the Jollys. Akshay Kumar’s Jolly Mishra, the semi-reformed Delhi hotshot with a penchant for ethical dilemmas and designer kurtas, champions Janki’s cause pro bono, fueled by a personal grudge against elite impunity. Opposing him is Arshad Warsi’s Jolly Tyagi, the original Lucknow hustler turned high-paid fixer, bankrolled by Khetan’s bottomless coffers to drown the PIL in procedural quicksand. Their collision in Justice Tripathi’s courtroom ignites a verbal inferno: forged affidavits unravel hilariously, witnesses (including a bewildered goat) flip under cross-examination, and adjournments become comic set pieces.
Subplots enrich the tapestry—Mishra’s wife Sandhya (Amrita Rao) navigates domestic fallout, while Tyagi’s aide Pushpa (Huma Qureshi) injects loyalty and levity. Kapoor escalates from first-act farce—Tyagi’s botched bribes, Mishra’s theatrical rants—to a gripping second-half climax exposing land mafia webs and judicial complicity. At 157 minutes, it occasionally stumbles with a forced musical detour (“Bhai Vakeel Hai”), but the emotional core—Janki’s quiet defiance—anchors the chaos. Drawing from 2011 UP protests and NCRB’s 10,000+ annual farmer suicides, the plot indicts without sermonizing, asking: In a system stacked for the powerful, can two flawed Jollys tip the scales?
Cast and Performances: A Dream Team’s Courtroom Symphony
The film’s pulse beats through its ensemble, a masterstroke reunion blending franchise stalwarts with sharp newcomers. Akshay Kumar, 57, reinvents Mishra as a conflicted everyman—mischievous yet vulnerable—his comic timing in courtroom soliloquies (“Yeh zameen nahi, hamari jaan hai!”) rivaling dramatic vulnerability in Khetan confrontations. Post-2024’s mixed bag (Bade Miyan Chote Miyan flop), this reaffirms his chameleon chops, earning Koimoi’s praise for “laughs, cries, and numbness.”
Arshad Warsi, 49, is the franchise’s beating heart, his Tyagi a whirlwind of elastic expressions and Hinglish zingers (“Adjournments are my cardio”). From the original’s hapless ambition to this sequel’s sly opportunism, Warsi’s deadpan anarchy steals scenes, his chemistry with Kumar evoking estranged siblings in a bar brawl. Their face-off banter—Warsi’s jugadu quips vs. Kumar’s smart-alec retorts—is electric, a fan-service payoff after years of crossover dreams.
Saurabh Shukla, 62, commands as Justice Tripathi, his arc from corrupt in the first to wisely weary here culminating in profound soliloquies (“Bas, ab circus band karo!”). Shukla owns the courtroom, his exasperated charm a hilarious foil to the Jollys’ mayhem—India Today’s Vineeta Kumar calls him the “show-stealer.” Gajraj Rao’s Khetan is a masterclass in menace, his affable patriarch masking ruthless ambition, while Seema Biswas’ Janki delivers haunting restraint—her silent sobs amid legalese evoking Bandit Queen‘s raw power.
Supporting gems abound: Amrita Rao’s Sandhya brings understated warmth, Huma Qureshi’s Pushpa sass and solidarity, Ram Kapoor’s sleazy prosecutor oily charm, and Shilpa Shukla’s whistleblower journalist bite. Annu Kapoor’s cameo nods to Jolly LLB 2, delighting purists. The cast’s synergy—veterans like Shukla mentoring newcomers—mirrors the theme: Collective grit against systemic odds.
Direction and Technical Craft: Kapoor’s Satirical Precision
Subhash Kapoor, returning after Jolly LLB 2, directs with surgical satire, co-writing with Sudip Sharma (Paatal Lok). His script layers humor atop hard truths—WhatsApp-forged affidavits, adjournments as punchlines—without diluting the message. Rajasthan shoots capture rural desolation: Dusty villages clash with gleaming towers, symbolizing divides. The second act’s tonal shift—from farce to fury—echoes real PIL battles like Narmada Bachao Andolan.
Cinematographer Manoj Lobo (Badhaai Do) wields wide shots for epic land wars and claustrophobic close-ups for cross-exams, immersing viewers. Editor Aastha Singh tightens the runtime, though the mid-film song jars. Art director Suresh Selvarajan recreates authentic courts—dusty files, creaky benches—while Red Chillies VFX subtly enhances protest sequences. Sachin-Jigar’s score fuses Rajasthani folk with percussive punch, underscoring beats without overwhelming gags. Technically elevated, Jolly LLB 3 is Kapoor’s sharpest yet, blending 12 Angry Men tension with Andaz Apna Apna absurdity.
Themes and Social Bite: Laughter as Indictment
Jolly LLB 3 wields wit as a weapon against agrarian anguish. Inspired by 2011 UP protests, it spotlights suicides (NCRB: 10,000+ yearly) and corporate overreach, querying: Who owns the soil? The Jollys embody moral gray—Tyagi’s “ends justify means” vs. Mishra’s idealism—forcing complicity reckonings. Kapoor skewers delays (1.5 crore pending cases), media hype, and elite impunity, optimistic in Janki’s resolve and the Jollys’ alliance. In post-2024’s charged climate, its anti-corruption thrust sparks X debates on “Bollywood’s conscience.”
Critical and Audience Reception: Acclaim with Nuances
Premiering to buzz, Jolly LLB 3 averages 3.75/5. Koimoi’s 4-star verdict: “Brilliantly done social dramedy; Akshay-Arshad evoke laughs, cries.” India Today’s 3.5 stars: “Sharp narrative with humor; Shukla owns it.” Bollywood Hungama echoes: “Hard-hitting with laughs.” Twitter raves: “Best Bollywood 2025!”—family audiences love the mix. Gripes? The song’s “forced” insertion. Overseas, 20th Century Studios eyes diaspora pull.
Box Office and Cultural Echoes
Day-one projections: ₹15-20 crore nett, weekend ₹50 crore worldwide—advance sales rival mid-tier Akshays. PVR-INOX spat resolved pre-release. Streaming on Netflix post-theatrical. Culturally, it reignites rural discourse, influencing farm policy chats.
Conclusion
Jolly LLB 3 is a trilogy triumph: Akshay and Arshad’s face-off a comedic coup, Shukla’s Tripathi timeless. Kapoor’s blend of farce and fire lingers, a 4/5 verdict—courtroom comedy with conviction