Five years ago today, Jai Bhim arrived on Prime Video, and with it a Tamil courtroom drama in which some of the most talked about performances came from Kerala. Lijomol Jose played Sengeni, the Irular woman at the heart of the case, and Rajisha Vijayan played Mythra, the teacher. Kerala police officer Sibi Thomas played a police superintendent, and Jijoy Rajagopal was also in the cast.
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The film
Written and directed by Tha Se Gnanavel and produced by Suriya and Jyotika under 2D Entertainment, Jai Bhim is based on real events from 1993. Suriya plays advocate Chandru, who takes up the case of Rajakannu, a tribal man who goes missing from police custody. K Manikandan, a Tamil actor, played Rajakannu.
The film premiered on Prime Video on November 2, 2021, in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Kannada and Malayalam.
The awards that followed
Lijomol's Sengeni is the performance most people remember. She won Best Actress (Tamil) at the 67th Filmfare Awards South in October 2022, where Jai Bhim was named Best Film (Tamil), as reported by The Indian Express.
In January 2026, the Tamil Nadu government named her Best Actress for 2021 in its State Film Awards, The Hindu reported. The same list gave Jai Bhim the first prize for Best Film, Tha Se Gnanavel Best Director and Manikandan Best Supporting Actor, according to Cinema Express.
Sibi Thomas, from Kerala Police to Tamil cinema
Jai Bhim marked the Tamil debut of Sibi Thomas, a serving Kerala police officer who made his screen debut in Dileesh Pothan's Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum, Mathrubhumi reported at the time. In Jai Bhim, too, he played a police officer.
Where they are now
Lijomol is part of Aja Sundari, editor Manu Antony's directorial debut with Joju George, produced by Aashiq Abu. The film has wrapped filming. Rajisha has two Tamil films on the go. Thagappan, with Jiiva, releases on December 24, and she pairs with Soori in the film tentatively called Soori 7.
The Suriya connection, again
Suriya's next release has its own Malayali team. Scene, out on November 6, is written and directed by Jithu Madhavan. It marks his Tamil debut, and Naslen's. Nazriya Nazim also returns to Tamil cinema with the film, and Sushin Shyam composes the music.
Jai Bhim timeline
November 2, 2021: Jai Bhim premieres on Prime Video in five languages
October 9, 2022: Lijomol wins Best Actress (Tamil) at the 67th Filmfare Awards South; Jai Bhim wins Best Film (Tamil)
January 29, 2026: Tamil Nadu State Film Awards name Lijomol Best Actress and Jai Bhim Best Film for 2021
November 2, 2026: Prime Video India marks five years of Jai Bhim
November 6, 2026: Suriya's Scene releases
December 24, 2026: Rajisha's Thagappan releases
