The Trial: Pyaar Kanoon Dhoka Review: Milords, too many cases spoil the drama

The Hindi TV series The Trial: Pyaar Kanoon Dhoka is directed by Suparn Verma and stars Kajol, Jisshu Sengupta, Sheeba Chaddha, Kubbra Sait, Ally Khan, Aamir Ali, Gaurav Pandey

Where can you watch The Trial: Pyaar Kanoon Dhoka in the UAE?

The Trial: Pyaar Kaanoon Dhokha is currently streaming on Disney+

The Trial: Pyaar Kanoon Dhoka review

The makers of The Trial: Pyaar Kaanoon Dhokha, the Indian adaptation of the American series The Good Wife, have faithfully stuck to the larger structure of the original, which is a good thing. For the original had a main story arc involving a lawyer, and most episodes also had an individual case to be solved and dealt with. This kept the interest alive.

The Trial sticks to the same format. Yet, it is nowhere close to matching the original’s emotional connection. And that is because the characters (the writers are Abbas Dalal, Hussain Dalal, and Siddharth Kumar) have been written shoddily, and the direction by Suparn Varma (who is also the creator) is mostly shallow. For a series involving a high-profile actress, there could have been more rigour in the filmmaking. Instead, we get tacky picturisation, silly and unconvincing backdrops and relentlessly manipulative strident music that makes you scream, ‘milords, show some mercy!’

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The Trial, to be fair, hits the ground running. You are thrown into the deep end straightaway. Rajeev (Jisshu Sengupta) is a judge who is scooped up by the police on bribery and sex charges. There is a media circus around his arrest and case.  

Anyway, his wife Noyonika Sengupta (Kajol) and the two daughters see their world crashing down. Their luxury lifestyle, funded by the man’s sleaze money, can no longer be sustained. So they must give up their big house, Merc and other trappings. And they have to move to a smaller dwelling. But the way this house looks itself seems a bit fancy- it shows the lazy direction.

Noyonika has to return to work to keep the house running. Luckily, she is a lawyer but has been away from work for the last 13 years. She tries to get going but cannot find a break until she meets her former flame Vishal (Alyy Khan). He has placed her as a junior intern at his law firm. 

And here, she gets to handle some interesting and high-profile cases. But again, you have to question the writers and directors as to whether there are no big lawyers in the firm who can handle big cases and a junior and temporary intern has to fight them in court.

The different cases that Noyonika handles are part of each episode. At the same time, the major plot involves her fight and run-ins with Malini (Sheeba Chaddha), one of the partners of the firm, her rivalry with another intern Dheeraj (Gaurav Pandey), her equations with office hand Sana (Kubbra Sait) and the investigation into her husband’s case all run in the background.

This shift between the main events and the individual sub-stories doesn’t allow us to sink our teeth satisfyingly into the narrative. Consistency and clarity, in any case, is not this 8-episode series’ strength. The jump between stories makes the journey even more jerky. The amped background score is a major irritant that makes you lose focus.

Kajol is steady. But it is tough for her to get the better of what is a weakly written character. The series’ major strength is her face-offs with Sheeba, whose character harbours the feeling that she has gotten into the firm on the back of nepotism. Sheeb is terrific in these portions. But then, these portions are short-lived. 

The two lawyers save what is otherwise a weak case.

What are the other critics saying about The Trial: Pyaar Kaanoon Dhokha?

Series Talks praised the show, calling it an interesting court drama that can be watched with the family. They also praised the show’s script and direction and gave it a full recommendation to watch the show.

Review Box by Smit also praised the series, failing to find any faults, giving it four out of five stars. They mention that the show is a bit long, but that doesn’t detract from enjoying it.