The Trial Review There are many courtroom dramas present in the OTT space. Disney Plus Hotstar itself has series like Criminal Justice in which Pankaj Tripathi plays the lead role. Now Ajay Devgan produced The Trial has come on Disney Plus Hotstar in which Kajol is in the role of a lawyer. For the first time he has worked in this format. Read full review here.
who has done Devi, Tribhang and The Lust Stories 2 in the OTT space, has forayed into the world of web series with Disney Plus Hotster’s show The Trial . It is the Indian adaptation of the American TV show The Good Wife . Although the Hindi adaptation was announced with the title The Wife, the title of the show was changed to ‘The Trial’ as the release neared.
The title was changed, but here and there in the series Kajol’s character is referred to as The Good Wife because of her character traits. Kajol plays a lawyer in this courtroom drama series, which also shows her as a mother and wife.
After playing a domestic violence wife in the Netflix anthology film Lust Stories 2, she played a fiery lawyer in The Trial. A different range of Kajol’s acting is visible and this is also the biggest reason to watch this series. Courtroom dramas are usually thrilling, but The Trial falls short in that regard.
What is the story of ‘The Trial’?
Rajeev Sengupta ( Jisshu Sengupta ) is an administrative judge in Mumbai. When the MMS becomes public, he is arrested for demanding sexual favors in the form of bribe and sent to jail and all movable and immovable property is confiscated.
To raise two daughters, wife Noyonika Sengupta (Kajol) has to wear the robe of a lawyer again. Noyonika herself was a lawyer before marriage, but due to family responsibilities, she leaves the practice and now she is forced to appear in the court again.
Noyonika starts off as an intern at a law firm with her law college mate Vishal ( Ali Khan ), but rises to a position in the firm with her ability. However, Vishal’s partner Malini ( Sheeba Chadha ) does not like him. Along with court cases and work challenges, Noyonika also has a huge task of taking care of two teenage daughters who have become the butt of ridicule at school because of their father. As the series progresses, there are new revelations about Rajeev and the allegations against him.
How is the screenplay and acting of ‘The Trial’?
Robert King and Michelle King’s The Good Wife is written in Hindi by Abbas Dalal, Hussain Dalal and Siddharth Kumar and directed by Suparn Verma . The entire story is spread over eight episodes. Each episode is over 40 minutes in duration.
If you look at the level of an idea, the story of ‘The Trial’ is quite interesting, but the writing team failed to create that effect through the screenplay, as it should be in view of the sensitivity and seriousness of the story. That’s why it impresses in bits and pieces and lacks a thrilling send-off.
It begins with the arrest of Rajeev Sengupta after the telecast of MMS showing physical relationship on TV channels . This is such a scene, which had immense possibilities to show the tide of emotions, but this opening sequence could not make emotional. Yes, Noyonika swearing and slapping Rajeev and then going to the police van holding his hand to show it to the society says a lot.
The series also seems to be beaten somewhere in terms of decoration. After all the assets of Rajeev are seized, Noyonika is almost on the road. There is no other source of income as she is just a housewife for years. After Rajeev goes to jail, he has to live in a rented flat in the suburbs of Mumbai. There is a crisis of school fees, but seeing the lifestyle of Nayonika, this poverty is not felt.
This is compensated by the location, background and decorations of the court scenes. These scenes look closer to reality, but here the series loses in the cross-examination scenes. These scenes are based on an argument of facts between two lawyers and are usually exciting. There is a lack of intensity in these scenes.
The media trial of a star cricketer’s girlfriend ( Manasvi Mamgai ) implicated in a suicide case reminds one of a similar case in Bollywood. Despite her acquittal, the media’s insistence on blaming her and Noyonika’s fight against it is the most interesting part of the series. At some places it seems that the dialogues are just acting for payoffs.
In the role of a mother balancing work and family responsibilities, Kajol has tried her best to give her energy to the character. Despite all the sorrows, she has impressed in the role of a mother who takes care of herself and reassures her daughters that everything will be fine. However, her scenes with her jailed husband seem emotionally bland. The nervousness of this character does not come out openly.
Jishu Sengupta’s character in the character of Judge Rajeev is layered. It is difficult to judge right or wrong about him. Rajeev may be under the guilt of the heinous allegations leveled against him, but still it seems that there is some other truth to him. Jisshu has simply played this character. There is a lack of both love and hatred between husband and wife.
Ali Khan in the role of Noyonika’s ex-boyfriend and current boss Vishal is seen very serious in the rest of the supporting characters. His performance as the lover who holds back his feelings for Nayonika impresses. Kubbra Sait in the role of Noyonika’s colleague Sana and Sheeba Chadha in the role of the boss Malini. Especially, in the character of senior lawyer and partner of the company, Sheeba has looked very natural as always. The acting of the cast holds back in this loosely paced screenplay series.
Cast: Kajol, Jishu Sengupta, Ali Khan, Sheeba Chadha, Kiran Kumar, Kubra Sait and others.
Director: Suparn S Verma
Producer: Ajay Devgan Films and Banijay Asia
Platform: Disney Plus Hotstar
Duration: 8 episodes (approximately 40 minutes per episode)
Rating: Three Star
