The Trial Review: Disney+ Hotstar’s courtroom drama series stars Kajol as Noyonika Sengupta, Sheeba Chadha as Malini Khanna, Alyy Khan as Vishal, Jisshu Sengupta as Rajeev Sengupta, Kubbra Sait as Sana, Gaurav Pandey as Dhiraj Paswan, and others. Directed by Suparn Verma, the show is a remake of the English series The Good Wife (2009). Hussain Dalal, Abbas Dalal, and Siddharth Kumar are responsible for writing the Hindi adaptation.
The Trial: Pyaar Kaanoon Dhokha has eight episodes that last approximately 40–45 minutes.
-No Spoilers-
The Trial Review
In Hotstar’s The Trial (2023), Rajeev Sengupta, a reputed lawyer-judge, gets arrested for bribery and a sex scandal. After Rajeev’s arrest, his wife, Noyonika Sengupta, a former lawyer who hasn’t been practising for 13 years, has to take full responsibility for her family. From starting over again as an intern to dealing with public attention due to her husband’s actions, Noyonika has to deal with a lot. In the eight episodes, we see her taking up various cases while doing everything to get her husband out.
The first episode wastes no time and shows the events happening back-to-back that severely affect Noyonika’s life. Her long-lost friend Vishal helps her get a job at his law firm; she is on probation. After six months, either she or a fresher, Dhiraj, will get the permanent position. But Noyonika isn’t focused on the competition but on getting her life back on track and earning money to pay the bills and for her daughters’ education.
Seeing Noyonika display her lawyering skills and win helps build your interest in the series. But after the third episode, we lose interest in the plot and in knowing more about Noyonika and Rajeev’s story. It happens because other aspects like work politics, the media trial, and other cases are given more importance. The makers added flashback scenes between the Sengupta couple as the episodes primarily focused on the court cases. It serves more as a distraction than an information source.
It is established that Noyonika does everything so her family doesn’t fall apart. But the character is shown to have very little connection with her daughters. The basic premise about her husband’s affair and her struggle to get back on track loses significance when we focus on other people’s problems. The Trial also has a weird subplot for Kubbra Sait’s Sana, a consultant at the same firm. It’s weird and adds nothing to the story. Sait plays Sana with a single serious expression on her face. Sana could’ve been an amazing woman in the series if her story hadn’t been wasted on a man.
The Trial on Disney+ Hotstar makes some good points regarding sexism and justice. Noyonika Sengupta is on the receiving end of taunts and dirty stares from people for her husband’s wrongdoings. The first case where the girl is blamed for her cricketer boyfriend’s suicide is familiar and heartbreaking. Noyonika’s husband and coworkers frequently question her about her relationship with Vishal.
Rajeev, whose ungratefulness is visible from the beginning, acts entitled around Noyonika, expecting her to forgive and forget. Till the end, he seems to have no remorse about his actions, even if he says otherwise. It helps you understand why the English series was called ‘The Good Wife’. No matter what, as an ideal wife, Noyonika was doing everything for her kids, her husband, and her family. The scenes and dialogues were enough to convey the important messages. But Kajol’s voiceover stating the obvious doesn’t do any good.
Whenever there is Noyonika Sengupta’s voiceover, especially during the conclusion, it sounds apathetic. The messages are good, but they lack sentiment. Similarly, when Noyonika would say any powerful dialogue about a working wife or rejecting a man, it felt more like she was saying it to the audience instead of being a part of the scene. Kajol, as the lawyer Noyonika in court, is impressive, but she’s weak when expressing different emotions.
In one scene, Kajol’s character storms out of anger and tries to scream to vent her frustration. But the screams end up being her usual screeching sound. The story and performance fall short of helping us empathise and clearly understand Noyonika’s repressed emotions. Alyy Khan gives an earnest performance as Vishal, making him a likeable and sensible character. Sheeba Chadha’s portrayal of Malini Khanna seems promising in the beginning. But later, we forget that she exists.
Final Thoughts
Overall, The Trial on Hotstar starts well but loses its plot midway through. The new court case in every episode terribly affects Noyonika’s story. However, if you relish binge-watching courtroom dramas to see the arguments, you will enjoy it. However, don’t expect any depth or compelling arguments from the lawyers.
The show is now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.
Have you watched the series? Do let us know your The Trial Review in the comments section below.
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