Chiraiya Review: When her new sister-in-law comes forward with a shocking confession, small-town housewife Kamlesh puts everything at stake, asking one question – when does consent become unimportant after marriage?
Chiraiya Hotstar Cast
Divya Dutta, Sanjay Mishra, Siddharth Shaw, Prasanna Bisht, Faisal Rashid, Tinnu Anand, Sarita Joshi, Anjum Saxena
Chiraiya Series Director
Shashant Shah
The series has 6 episodes, each about 30 minutes long, and is the remake of the Bengali series Sampurna.
Chiraiya Review
2022 Hoichoi series Sampurna was an oddity in the myriad of shows that the streaming platform produces about social causes. Be it the fantastic performances or maybe the storytelling, but it all came together to deliver a show that left me completely devastated at every turn. Considering it was quite the hit as well, SVF, of course, decided to remake it in Hindi, hoping to reach a wider audience.
Thus, we now have Chiraiya, a story that is somewhat familiar, but not really, focusing on marital rape and whether consent means something after people get married. The series, as with every Hindi show adapted from a regional one, is over-dramatised to an extent that feels unattainable. The core story is the same – the older sister-in-law of a seemingly progressive household finds her worldview shattered when she realises that her beloved brother-in-law has been sexually abusing his new bride.
The story itself is quite shocking and tends to get under your skin. As a social commentary, it’s very important in a world where women’s consent in general is hard to find. Thus, when marital rape comes into the picture, it’s something that most people don’t even want to acknowledge as an issue. This core discussion of both the Bengali and the Hindi series is extremely memorable and hard-hitting. However, it’s the way the story is told in the Hotstar series that leaves a bad taste in the mouth.
From the way the storyline progresses in Chiraiya, it seems like nothing can be relatable. From the way Kamlesh (yes, a masculine name for Divya Dutta’s ‘jethani’) handles the initial disclosure to the way they dole out the punishment, everything is a step above normal. The ending, especially, is so odd and unnecessary that I wondered whether people in Lucknow handle criminal cases like these.
It’s also hard to actually root for Kamlesh a lot of the time because, even after understanding the gravity of the situation, she doesn’t know which side to pick. Thus, she makes these atrocious decisions that don’t make sense. It’s frustrating and very annoying watching her behave so air-headedly. At least Sohini Sarkar’s Sampurna was level-headed and clear in her thinking. However, I think it’s easier to discount her naivety, considering she, too, is on the path of leaving her preconceived notions and taking a step that she has never taken. It’s an interesting dichotomy to watch unfold.
Holding a mirror to society, Chiraiya, though, does its best to cater to its audience and bring eyes to the story. The different characters make this series somewhat memorable, mostly because the actors do a fantastic job with their characters and make us feel a myriad of feelings. In the end, thus, I was left with conflicting feelings, as it’s an important tale that needs to be told, but does it need to be this dramatic so that people are unable to believe in its characters or situations?
Final Thoughts
Chiraiya is an important tale told through the fantastic performances of its lead cast. The characters are mostly the same as their Bengali counterpart, only the situations have become a bit too dramatic. Overall, it’s an important story that needs to be told, and I will give it that.
What are your thoughts on Chiraiya? Let us know in the comments below!
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