CRIMINAL JUSTICE (Season 1, 2019)

Star Cast: Pankaj Tripathi (Madhav Mishra) , Vikrant Massey (Aditya Sharma) , Jackie Shroff (Mustafa), Anupriya Goenka (Nikhat Hussain), Mita Vashisht (Mandira Mathur), Rucha Inamdar (Avni Parashar), Dibyendu Bhattacharya (Layak) etc.
Director: Vishal Furia, Tigmanshu Dhulia
Producer: Sameer Nair, Arnav Chakravarthy, Deepak Segal, Myleeta Aga
Production Companies: BBC Studios India, Applause Entertainment
Platform: Disney Hotstar
Based On: Criminal Justice By Peter Moffat
Adapted By: Shridhar Raghavan

Rating: 3.8/5

19th August 2020, Preeti Ramesh

Aditya Sharma (Vikrant Massey), is a model student at St. Lionel College. He prepares simultaneously for his MBA, is a local football star and also supports his family by driving cabs. A night of indulgence goes wrong the worst possible way.

Aditya’s one night stand culminates in murder for which he subsequently gets booked for homicide, rape and several other charges.The incident gains media coverage as yet another case where a cab driver has taken advantage of a female customer and brutally murdered her at the end of it. The first episode treats us to both Shanaya and Aditya’s courtship which ends with them in bed. However, the biggest mystery till the end is what happened after, because Aditya does not remember a thing. A fact he repeats over and over again to all his inquisitors.

Innocent and cowardly in nature for all his good qualities, he makes his biggest mistake when he runs from the scene of crime and tries to destroy evidence. Caught red handed in the act, Aditya faces a very weak defence. A truth serum test gone badly wrong due to his asthmatic condition and leakage of the clip to the public leads to further bad press for Aditya. His family bears the brunt of association and an extension of the bad luck: His brother-in-law faces harassment for non-payment of EMI, his mother becomes a victim of a sting operation, his sister gets demoted at work, his father meets with an accident. The only silver lining is that his defence is pro-bono or funded by his employer.

The only ones who 100% believe in Aditya’s innocence are Madhav Mishra, the self-appointed lawyer of Aditya and his sister Avni. Madhav Mishra, played by Pankaj Tripathi shines through with his dialogues delivered with a straight face. Some classics are “Haisiyat ka Kya hain..Bigadthi hain Toh Ban bhi Jaathi hain” and “Kanoon anda hain nahi maloom, par langdha hain sabko maloom hain”. Madhav suffers from a severe case of eczema, which we discover is psychologically linked to one of his past cases. A character who initially comes across as poorly skilled, he undoubtedly becomes the boon to Aditya’s family. Another classic psychoanalysis delivered by a jail inmate is “Kaun Chutiya Condom Pehenke Rape kartha hain.”

Criminal Justice can also be called as one of the series which catapulted Pankaj Tripathi to fame. One of his most recent works are Stree 2: Sarkathe Ka Aaathank, where he plays a purveyor of sorts of occult books.

When Aditya gets shifted to Judicial custody, what awaits him behind the tall walls and gates of the jail is a system of its own: where cigarettes are currency, Phone and drugs are official businesses; all in which the Jail Superintendent gets a nice neat cut. Aditya is called Chikna for his fair, good looks and Kawla for his innocence. He also becomes a target for the resident homosexual Layak played by Dibyendu Bhattacharya whose lecherous pursuits forces him to take refuge with Mustafabhai (Jackie Shroff). Mustafa recognises Aditya’s innocence; he develops a liking to him and takes him under his wing. Mustafa instigates, guides and trains Aditya to single handedly take on Layak. We then get to witness the much needed transformation of a blubbering college boy to a man who hold’s his own.A Lotus slowly and steadily blooms in the dirt.Outside, his sister Avni battles issues of her own. 

The mystery behind the murder that night is wrapped up in the last two episodes. The show’s high point is definitely the cast put together for each of their roles. Besides Massey and Tripathi, the individuals in the side roles have also executed their part well.For some reason, Criminal Justice does not provide much insight on the execution of the murder. The series focuses on the Social systems in the jail, faults in the judiciary, social media slandering (a double edged sword) etc.

The main running theme of the show is transformation. Aditya; from a straitlaced ideal student to a victim to potential overlord of the jail. Madhav Mishra;a man whose victory in the courtroom should have been a stepping stone but instead leads him to face life not defeated but still dejected. Sanaya: a drug addict who turns her life around, yet what was it that led her to travel down the same path of self-destruction again? Avni parashar’s journey from a wife to an independent mother.Mustafabhai; from resident head honcho of the jail reduced to moulding pots as a result of a power play. Nikhat: An inexperienced lawyer with a kind heart who wobbles through her first court battle.

Criminal Justice does deliver on most counts, whether justice is delivered or not; you will have to watch the show to find out.