“Judgment” already possesses the qualities of a good drama, whether it will be able to top the list in the next few seasons depends on the screenwriter
Release date – Friday, July 23 at 07:00 PM
Hyderabad: It’s not easy to make courtroom drama interesting; there’s a lot of legal jargon to understand before getting down to the meat of the matter.
“The Trial” does this to some extent. The original mothership “The Good Wife” is a stellar show starring Julianna Margulies, Christine Baranski, Josh • Superb performances from Josh Charles and Archie Punjabi; that’s why it ran for seven seasons.
In The Trial, Kajol has some pretty big assignments to fill, and she adapts pretty quickly. She plays Noyonika Sengupta, who is suddenly thrown into a media frenzy because of her husband’s bedroom shenanigans with a prostitute. Her husband (Jisshu Sengupta), a judge, is accused of accepting sexual bribes. With her assets frozen, Noyonica faces professional and personal challenges as she becomes the sole breadwinner for her family.
The former top lawyer who was once paid by the hour is having a hard time finding work because no law firm wants to touch her with a ten-foot barge pole. She is helped by an ex-lover, Vishal (Ali Khan, aging like wine), who works at the AKC law firm and offers her a job.
Noyonica isn’t popular with her colleagues or the firm’s other partner, Malini Khanna (the ever-reliable Sheeba Chaddha), who thinks Noyonica Cards are a product of nepotism. But with the help of corporate mediator Sana (Kubra Set), she wins in court on day one.
The pilot episode is a good introduction to the story, and it’s rich; there’s a lot going on in each sequence. What makes The Good Wife work is its focus on office dynamics and their impact on Alicia Florrick’s personal life. In The Trial, the writers did a decent job adapting it to an Indian context. However, it was still lower than expected.
Suparn Verma should give some thought to the background soundtrack, which is too overwhelming in some courtroom scenes to distract from the ongoing tension.
Kajol is a powerful performer, and those expressive eyes are truly her calling card. She makes the role her own and makes you root for her. Interestingly, she also took the bold step of doing a kiss scene on screen for the first time in The Judgment. Her good chemistry with Alyy Khan also helped her.
“Judgment” has the conditions for a good drama, and whether it will be able to top the list in the next few seasons depends on the screenwriter.
