The Trial Review: Kajol Shines As The Good Wife But Superficial Script Makes It A Dull Watch
It failed to do justice to The Good Wife!
2.5 / 5
Just as OTT came around, I made sure to binge on every single legal drama available. From Suits to How To Get Away With Murder To The Good Wife, I’ve binge-watched every single show. There’s nothing more thrilling than a show that deals with the main characters and the problems of their lives as they fight a new case in every single episode. Legal dramas make sure to keep you invested in the plot and the characters. The award-winning show The Good Wife just got a desi remake and it had our attention with the thrilling trailer. Directed by Suparn Verma and headlined by Kajol, the remake title The Trial stars Jisshu Sengupta, Kubbra Sait, Alyy Khan, Gaurav Pandey and Aamir Ali among others. This remake of Robert King and Michelle King’s The Good Wife releases on Disney+ Hotstar on July 14, 2023. Without further ado, let’s dive into this review of the series.
View this post on Instagram
The Story Of The Trial
The Trial follows Kajol’s Noyonika Sengupta, a housewife who returns to her career as a lawyer after her husband, additional judge Rajeev Sengupta (played by Jisshu Sengupta) gets caught up in a sex scandal and is imprisoned. Noyonika Sengupta returns to work at 10 years as a junior lawyer to work at a law firm led by her college friend and ex Vishal Chaubey (played by Alyy Khan) and Malini Khanna (played by Sheeba Chaddha). Kajol’s Noyonika takes on some high-profile cases as she competes against another junior lawyer, Gaurav Pandey’s Dhiraj Paswan for a permanent position at the firm. At the same time, she deals with her husband’s betrayal and tries to support her family.
View this post on Instagram
Also Read: Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One Review: Tom Cruise Vs AI Is A Thrill Ride, Leaves You Breathless, Entertained, And Emotional
Cast And Characters
Kajol As Noyonika Sengupta: Put aside the problems with the plot, Kajol put her acting prowess on display for everyone to watch and we absolutely love it. The actress plays Noyonika Sengupta to perfection as she struggles to come to terms with her husband’s betrayal and tries to figure out how to move on while also managing her career, her kids, an orthodox mother-in-law and her husband who want to get back with her. And she does it all while dealing with her emotions about each case she fights and her morality. Kajol manages to emote the feelings of her character like no other.
View this post on Instagram
Jisshu Sengupta As Rajeev Sengupta: Jisshu Sengupta plays his role with honesty despite the little screen time. The actor impresses with his work yet again.
View this post on Instagram
Sheeba Chaddha as Malini Khanna: Considering Sheeba Chaddha’s acting skills, one would assume her role is meaty AF but brace yourself to be disappointed. The actress gave her 100% to the character as usual but there’s no doubt that Sheeba remains underutilized. But the actress sure makes you feel her dislike for Kajol’s Noyonika which doesn’t seem justified but it’ll warm your heart to watch her warm up to Noyonika and respect her.
View this post on Instagram
Kubbra Sait as Sana: Speaking of underutilization, Kubbra Sait’s Sana remains just as underutilised despite the potential that her character had. Nonetheless, the actress did her bit to do justice to Sana and her bonding with Noyonika. If only this female friendship was explored further like it originally was in The Good Wife.
View this post on Instagram
Gaurav Pandey as Dhiraj Paswan: Gaurav Pandey will make you hate his Dhiraj Paswan with passion but feel conflicted as well with his behaviour towards Kajol and the competition between the two. If an actor makes you hate his or her character, that’s a sign of good acting. It was heartbreaking to see that Dhiraj and Noyonika’s relationship dynamics weren’t explored either.
View this post on Instagram
Alyy Khan as Vishal: Alyy Khan’s Vishal seems just as honest but the lack of depth in his character is evident. I just couldn’t feel his feelings for Kajol’s Noyonika as much as I should’ve. His character was underdeveloped and despite the actor’s skills, there was very little he could do to save his character’s story.
View this post on Instagram
Also Read: Adhura Review: There’s Nothing Spine-Chilling About Ishwak Singh, Rasika Dugal’s Sluggish Horror Thriller!
Aseem Hattangadi aced in his supporting role as a politician. On the other hand, Aamir Ali’s role as a cop will remind you of Salman Khan in Dabangg. Further, Aamir’s character has nothing to offer to the plot.
View this post on Instagram
Verdict: Kajol’s Legal Drama Is A Surface-Level Remake Of The Good Wife
If you want to see what a wasted opportunity looks like, The Trial is the example you need to look at. Poor execution, shallow plot and a weak screenplay makes it a dull watch. Kajol anchors the show but the fault lies in the shoddy writing. Every single actor delivered a commendable performance but despite the luxury of time, the makers failed to explore the nuances of human relationships within the story. Kajol’s Noyonika’s bond with Kubbra Sait’s Sana was underexplored and her relationship with Gaurav Pandey’s Dhiraj Paswan was shallow AF. To make matters worse, Noyonika’s chemistry with Vishal was duller than her chemistry with Rajeev Sengupta who happens to be her husband. The story doesn’t give us any background on Noyonika and Vishal’s relationship dynamics as it explores it half-heartedly. The relationship between Kajol and Jisshu’s character is also underdeveloped.
View this post on Instagram
Also Read: Blind Review: Sonam Kapoor, Purab Kohli’s Crime Thriller Is Missing Thrill And Script!
We’ve often seen that the luxury of time that OTT platforms have to offer is the undoing of web series but in this case, the time was wasted instead of being used. The story had so much potential but disjointed sub-plots, and underwhelming writing makes for a surface-level remake of The Good Wife. And FFS, I just couldn’t understand the overuse of the term “good wife”. Haan pata hai that it’s a remake. Repeating the term won’t make it sound any better. The makers have managed to showcase the Indian justice system with accuracy but when it comes to the portrayal of a law firm, I sense a lack of research. The series tried to do too much in just 8 episodes and failed at all of it. The story lacks passion. The pain of betrayal hasn’t been portrayed with honesty due to the lack of depth in the script.
View this post on Instagram
The only saving grace of The Trial is the performances. Kajol shines and so does Jisshu Sengupta, Kubbra Sait and Sheeba Chaddha. Despite the plotholes, the series can make for a decent watch for those who haven’t watched The Good Wife, but if you have, I’d suggest you skip this one. Keeping in mind the potential the show has, we can only hope that season 2 of The Trial will have more to offer.
First Published: July 14, 2023 2:00 PM
