What Is the Story About?
Criminal Justice Season 3 on Disney Plus Hotstar sees Pankaj Tripathi reprise his role of maverick and wily lawyer, Madhav Mishra, with a new case in his kitty.
Child star Zara Ahuja (Deshna Dugad) has been murdered in the most brutal manner, and her stepbrother Mukul (Aaditya Gupta) is taken into custody as prime accused. His mother Avantika (Swastika Mukherjee) hires Madhav Mishra (Pankaj Tripathi) to prove her son’s innocence in court, even as prosecution lawyer Lekha Kashyap (Shweta Basu Prasad) is hell bent on proving Mukul guilty.
Performances?
Pankaj Tripathi is the brightest spot in Criminal Justice: Adhura Sach — he’s the heart and soul of the show. His mild-mannered demeanour, unassuming style of dialogue delivery and understated performance win the day for him consistently and constantly. Pankaj Tripathi’s casting as Madhav Mishra is a gift that keeps giving for the franchise.
Swastika Mukherji and Purab Kohli are very good in their roles as Zara’s devastated parents. Shweta Basu Prasad is equally good as the rich and privileged Lekha, determined to prove a point. Aaditya Gupta is totally over the top as disturbed teenager, Mukul, and gets on one’s nerves after a while.
Aatm Prakash Mishra, as Madhav Mishra’s assistant Deep, and Khushboo Atre, as Mrs Madhav Mishra, lend good support to the narrative. Kalyanee Mulay as SI Gauri, and Adinath Kothare as Inspector Waghmare put in efficient performances.
Analysis
Criminal Justice, in its third outing, has managed to iron out quite a few wrinkles that marred its first two seasons — most significantly, the excruciatingly slow pace that made the earlier two seasons such a drag. Criminal Justice Season 3 moves at an acceptable clip, thereby making the show much more gripping than Seasons 1 & 2.
The case of the murdered child star is mildly interesting, not overly so. The final reveal is not earth-shattering or shocking enough to make one ponder over it. As is the wont in murder mysteries and legal dramas, every character is given suspicious overtones; several sequences depict random characters in varying states of panic; incriminating evidence turns up at odd places, and so on. They are blatantly obvious attempts to create red herrings, but the writers’ team forgets that contemporary viewers are smart enough to not fall for the badly engineered suspense.
The courtroom proceedings are interesting enough to keep our attention riveted – more so, because we unconsciously root for the underdog Madhav Mishra to score points against the snooty Ms Kashyap. That notwithstanding, the narrative flows smoothly and fluidly, with just the right amount of twists and turns to keep audience interest high.
Just like Criminal Justice Seasons 1 & 2, an undue period of runtime is wasted on the goings-on in the juvenile remand home that Mukul is sent to. Atrocious acting, silly sequences — including a brainless prison break plan — and meaningless drama distract from whatever interest the main plot drums up. Similarly, the beauty parlour shenanigans of Madhav Mishra’s wife, added for the sake of comic relief, are more irritating than humorous.
To sum it up, Criminal Justice Season 3: Adhura Sach is eminently watchable, quite gripping even, if you just ignore or fast forward the redundant bits.
Music and Other Departments?
Sameer Phaterpekar’s background music is suitably suspenseful in grave sequences, and refreshingly light-hearted elsewhere. Abhijit Deshpande’s editing is efficient, save for a few slips in between. Sirsha Ray’s camerawork is elegant and perfectly suited to the script.
Highlights?
Pankaj Tripathi as Madhav Mishra
Drawbacks?
Redundant subplots
Several instances of atrocious acting from support cast
Not that interesting climax
Did I Enjoy It?
I found it reasonably average
Will You Recommend It?
Yes, kind of
Criminal Justice: Adhura Sach Series Review by Binged Bureau
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