Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors
Introduction
Happy Holidays to you from us at popcorn reviewss. An extended weekend that saw the best movie of the year releasing with the worst movie of the year. Such has been the year 2020, an inexplicable year. That said the OTT platforms have been booming, providing good content in terms of webseries. So i have just finished watching the Season two of Criminal Justice. While season 1 was raw and impressive, will season 2 dish up a similar fate. Or does it follow the fate of the year 2020, stay tuned.
Story & Screenplay
Criminal Justice : Behind Closed Doors is a story of a woman who has apparently stabbed her husband. What seemed like an open and shut case has much in store to it. The story is hard hitting and relevant, a subject that hasn’t been explored much or even talked about. The screenplay is a bit of a slow burn. It takes its time to develop. But it is intensely gripping and engrossing. Please don’t mistake this to be a thriller. It is an investigative drama. While the season 1 dealt with the state of the jails from a man’s point of view, season 2 explores it from a woman’s point of view. And it is as hard hitting as it was in season 1. The proceedings are layered and add a bit of the mystery. And the final big reveal is a good one even though you may see it coming!
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are subtle and so is the BGM. What that does is that they do not overpower any scene. Director Rohan Sippy has done a tremendous job in handling a sensitive subject. His direction is spot on.
Performances
The performances are excellent. Jisshu Sengupta as Bikram, Mita Vashisht as Mandira, Ashish Vidhyarthi as Prabhu and Shilpa Shukla as Ishani have smaller roles but each one of them leave a mark. They are excellent. Deepti Naval as Vijji is wonderfully restrained. Ayaz Khan as Dr.Moksh makes his presence felt. Kalyanee Mulay as Gauri is outstanding and I really wish to see more of her too. Khushboo Atre as Ratna is cute and I really loved her banter with Pankaj Tripathi. But there are three stars of the show. Anupriya Goenka as Nikhat is such an underrated actress. She is simply outstanding in this role and makes a huge impact. Like wise for Kirti Kulhari as Anu. She has minimal dialogues yet each of her scenes are standouts due to her layered portrayal of the accused. And Pankaj Tripathi as Madhav is on point from the word go. Is any character difficult for this man? He had the risk of being repetitive but he so beautifully brings in certain nuances to his character. The Pankaj Tripathi era has been an acting Masterclass!
Conclusion
Criminal Justice : Behind Closed Doors is intensely gripping and hard hitting. A relevant story that needs to be talked about and discussed more. Available on Hotstar and Highly Highly Recommended.