Disney+ Hotstar’s criminal justice Laid the foundation for quality legal dramas in OTT platforms in India. But the latest season fails to match its own standards. Despite the great cast and good ideas, it doesn’t add up to the way its second season did.
The new season revolves around the death of popular child actor Zara Ahuja (Trupti Sahu), with all clues pointing to her minor half-brother Mukul, played by Aditya Gupta. But Mukul’s mother Swastika Mukherjee learns that her son is innocent and seeks help from lawyer Madhav Mishra (Pankaj Tripathi). How Pankaj uncovers the mystery and overcomes the challenge of a new Public Prosecutor Account, Shweta Basu Prasad, is the crux of the show.
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teen trouble
Season one tries to look at the world of teenage mental health and stardom, but doesn’t manage to make an impact. Zara is a popular child artist who earns lakhs and has to maintain her presence continuously. She wants to be like other teens – ‘grow up’ fast. Mukul, her half-brother, feels lonely, as both her mother and stepfather Pankaj Ahuja, played by Purab Kohli, are both focused on Zara and her career.
Mukul is shown battling with mental health, drugs and alcohol. There’s also the rich-kid-hugs-wrong trope. With this has also been added the world of social media and trolling, which is an important part of this season.
Despite all the right ingredients, the season is one cold process. The characters of Zara and Mukul fail to evoke genuine sympathy the way the first victims of the series did. You are never quite related to them. This is the biggest drawback, because in both Seasons 1 and 2, a strong connection with the victims is what set the show apart.
Keeping the last season in mind, it also looks at the status of legal detention centers in India. In this case the juvenile home, where Mukul’s land is. He is bullied, beaten up and struggles to survive.
We still get some insight into Mukul’s state of mind, but Zara is never presented well enough to make the audience feel angry. This turns out to be a big mistake. Gen Z representation seems hollow and superficial.
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pankaj tripathi show
criminal justice Pankaj Tripathi is through and through the show. Tripathi, as the shrewd lawyer Madhav Mishra, masters every scene and it is a pleasure to watch him do almost everything. Empathy, street-smartness and even desperation are perfectly played by the actor.
His conviction of Mukul’s innocence prompted him to probe deeper into the flawed investigations conducted by the police, as well as his refusal to present facts to the court by his rival, Public Prosecutor Lekh. It is unfortunate that Shweta does not get a place to showcase her talent.
In Shweta’s character, ‘Vilnius’ or the shades of gray could have been written more deeply. She represents the ‘winning doesn’t matter’ attitude of lawyers determined to make it big. Except it’s not much land. He is almost too retarded to make Mishra a hero, when he could have been deployed better.
Even Swastik and Purab have nothing to do except look helpless. Despite the limited roles, they manage to portray conflicted, grief-stricken parents, especially Swastika well, trying to hold their family together through trauma.
Aditya Gupta shines in his role, and could be the Gen Z actor to watch in the OTT space. The joke between Mishra and his wife, played by Khushboo Atre, adds sparkle to the relatively dull season – the side pot of wanting to own a beauty parlor.
The show has its own standard for working and working for a better fourth season. Viewers want more of Madhav Mihra and a sharp insight into the flaws in India’s legal system.