Kajol’s first web series The Trial: Pyaar Kaanoon Dhokha is an adaptation of the hugely popular American series The Good Wife. Directed by Suparn Verma, the eight-episode series centres around Kajol’s character Noyonika Sengupta. It also stars Jisshu Sengupta, Kubbra Sait, Sheeba Chaddha, Alyy Khan, and Gaurav Pandey. The show’s source material is fabulous, to say the least, so The Trial has a lot to live up to. Does it surpass the original or fail to impress? Read our review of The Trial: Pyaar Kaanoon Dhokha to find out.
This series is mediocrity at its best
When you adapt a well-established series, there is bound to be a comparison. And The Trial: Pyaar Kaanoon Dhokha also falls victim to a comparison to the original show, The Good Wife. Unfortunately, The Trial falls short in pretty much every way. The show is centred around Noyonika Sengupta (Kajol), an ex-lawyer, whose husband gets caught in a sex scandal and is accused of taking sexual favours as bribery. Noyonika is left to handle the mess her husband leaves behind. Since all her husband’s accounts and assets are frozen, it’s time for Noyonika to get back to her profession.
Since she has been away from practising law for a decade, it’s not easy for her to get back to business. But an old friend, Vishal (Alyy Khan), offers her a position as a Junior Lawyer in his company Ahuja Khanna Chaubey & Associates. That marks Noyonika’s return to being a lawyer. With colleagues who are waiting to see her fail, a mother-in-law who loves to blame her for everything, and two daughters who are struggling to make peace with their new reality, Noyonika doesn’t have it easy in any sphere of her life. Each episode focuses on a new case with the overarching one being Rajeev’s scandal.
Unlike the original series, the script of The Trial is weak. There is a lack of seamlessness in the show, and it never really hits any highs. There’s no cohesion in the story. At a time when Rajeev’s family assets and accounts are blocked, Noyonika still manages to send her kids to an elite school and live in a fairly big apartment. So, her helplessness and struggle don’t make sense. She is undoubtedly going through emotional turmoil, but the effects of her husband’s actions are not reflected in their material life. Kajol, despite her experience and talent, isn’t enough to elevate this mediocre script into something extraordinary.
Can you watch The Trial: Pyaar Kaanoon Dhokha with your family?: It’s not meant to be watched with children, as it has adult themes and coarse language.
The Trial: Pyaar Kaanoon Dhoka is now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar
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