Glitter is a 2021 crime-thriller TV series directed by Abhishek Jawkar starring Sakshi, Prarthana Behere, Srinivasan Iyer, Kannan Arunachalam, Anushka, and Veebha Anand, alongside other cast members. The series is 9 episodes long and each episode has a runtime of half an hour.
Zee5 describes the episode as:
Three independent flatmates find themselves embroiled in a complicated murder case when Samarth, a lawyer, is killed by one of them. Things get darker when the CBI takes charge of the investigation.
– Glitter review does not contain spoilers –
Glitter does not forget to tell us what has happened within the first few minutes. Actually, it repeats to us that rape and murder are the topics of discussion here. What follows after that is the culture of victim-blaming of rape victims and the utter failure of the justice syptem. The first episode is absolutely crass. I don’t know if I should give it points for being real, because I suspect that this is exactly how it is in police stations, or be horrified that they tried to showcase it like that.
Also, huge trigger warning for survivors of sexual assault – it’s gruesome. Something this in-your-face would never have been shown in theatres, and it’s good that the reality is being portrayed. But holy shit, this is difficult to watch.
Glitter is pretty straightforward. A crime takes place that is shocking and disturbing and then there’s the legal battle that follows. It’s mostly about the harassment and how even members of the law can be such horrible people… but then we already knew this. Then there is also the media who’d do anything for TRP. Their handling of such sensitive situations has always been a place of concern for people and that is again shown in the series.
Glitter also showcases how victims blame themselves in situations like these. It’s a bit crass, again, but I get where they are coming from.
All that being said, Glitter really misses on some much-needed subtlety and nuance that is extremely necessary for shows which deal with such topics. I totally get being realistic and saying it like it is, but good god man, show some subtlety. It gets difficult to sit through this without feeling nauseous multiple times throughout an episode. Kannan Arunachalam’s character comes in looking like a Disney villain who only asks and does the worst things imaginable. Again, people are horrible, especially law enforcement, but good god.
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Everything happens at the pace of lightning. That’s usually a good thing until you are not given the chance to absorb the information on the screen before more is thrown your way. Glitter series also tries to put that age-old notion of how women are women’s biggest enemies – a notion I absolutely despise and don’t approve of. With one of the characters becoming another Disney villain in this horrid tale, it just makes me feel all kinds of nope.
The conclusion that Glitter draws in its last episode is good though. It’s a twist for sure, and the more information that comes out it makes it more confusing and shocking. But… really? Yes, the twist is also a reality. But in order to provide a twist ending, the series makes your skin crawl further with how it tackles the subject matter. It feels very victim-blamy, in spite of there being no victims, except the obvious one.
The actors are fine, especially the protagonists. They are real and relatable and portray the anguish and despair that they feel. As I said before, Kannan Arunachalam feels like a Disney villain with no sense of morality and his overtly South Indian accent can be really difficult to digest and feeds into a stereotype. Some of the supporting characters are horrible, but we don’t see them a lot, so that’s a blessing
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Summing up: Glitter
Glitter Zee5 lacks any subtlety or compassion in their storytelling, it’s an important message that the series tries to give us, but without any sympathy which makes watching it difficult and frankly, a bit nauseating. The twist, however, is good and can make sitting through this one worth it.
Glitter is streaming on Zee5.
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