What Is the Story About?
Netflix’s new Indian original series ‘Maamla Legal Hai’ follows Parpatganj advocate Visheshwar Tyagi, aka VD Tyagi (Ravi Kishann), who navigates sticky situations in court with his unique brand of swag. The elections for the President of the Bar Association are around the corner, and VD Tyagi faces off against rival Mahendra Pokhre (Yashpal Sharma) for it, aided by his colleagues and juniors in the campaign.
Legal comedy ‘Maamla Legal Hai’ is produced by Posham Pa Pictures, directed by Rahul Pandey, and written by Saurabh Khanna and Kunal Aneja.
Performances?
Ravi Kishann is the heart and soul of Maamla Legal Hai. He’s delivered a refined performance as the Delhi advocate with unlimited swag. It’s a meaty role, and he skillfully sinks his teeth into it. Just goes to prove how underutilised and wasted he is in the Indian entertainment space. Nidhi Bisht is excellent as advocate Sujata Negi. Persuasive and effortless, she lights up every frame she’s in, and single-handedly enhances the watchability of the series.
Naila Grewal is aptly cast as the Harvard-returned lawyer, Ananya Shroff. She lends credence to her indignantly righteous character. Anant Vijay Joshi is cute as court secretary Vishwas Pandey. Brijendra Kala as advocate P. P. Sahab, and Yashpal Sharma as the loudmouth advocate Pokhre are efficient as ever.
Tanvi Aazmi and Vivek Mushran have cameos in the series but are a joy to watch even in their short roles. The rest of the cast is earnest and apt.
Analysis
Maamla Legal Hai starts off as a mildly engaging series, with good characterisations and a not-so-great plot. The story seems pretentious, contrived and crammed with every pop culture reference there is. The dialogues look like too much effort has gone into making them funny, relevant and interesting.
This goes on for several episodes, and you begin to wonder what’s the purpose of the series. We can safely say that the first few episodes of the series are downright boring. The focus on the plight of lawyers in Indian courts is forced and humourless. The monkey menace of Delhi; lack of chambers for lawyers, not to say work; the election campaigning are kind of boring. A few elements do stand out – like the spotlight on classism, and how flawless, high-brow English is still a criterion to judge the caliber of a person.
The series picks up in the latter half of its runtime. It touches upon more sensitive topics such as child marriage; POCSO; overcrowded Indian jails, with an appalling lack of resources; an assault case similar to the Nirbhaya case and how the police must subvert the law to uphold justice; and so on. All these are imbued with subtle humour, thereby making them even more effective in putting out the message they want to.
The writing and storytelling really shine in these episodes, thus redeeming the series in your mind somewhat. The one thing that stays consistently good through the highs and lows of the series is the cast and their performances.
To sum it up, Maamla Legal Hai is a show that deserves a one-time watch, if only for the earnest effort put in by the cast.
Music and Other Departments?
Nilotpal Bora’s background score for Maamla Legal Hai is average. Though not run of the mill, it’s no great shakes either. Milind Prakash Jog’s cinematography is passable +it doesn’t do much to create any wow factor in the storytelling. Chandrashekhar Prajapati and Divesh Sonvania’s editing is fine.
Highlights?
The cast
Humorous way to handle sensitive subjects
Drawbacks?
Slow and boring to start
Contrived and pretentious in parts
Did I Enjoy It?
I found it okay.
Will You Recommend It?
Only as a one-time watch, with one finger poised on the fast-forward button to skip the boring parts
Maamla Legal Hai Series Review Review by Binged Bureau
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