Criminal Justice (Season 1) - Review : Vikrant Massey's outstanding performance in Slow Burn Thriller!

Criminal Justice is an Indian crime thriller web series directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia and Vishal Furia. It stars Vikrant Massey, Pankaj Tripathi, Jackie Shroff, Anupriya Goenka, Mita Vashisht, Pankaj Saraswat, Rucha Inamdar and Madhurima Roy. It has a total of 10 episodes and was released on 5th April 2019 on Disney+ Hotstar.

This is the story about Aditya Sharma (Vikrant Massey), a cab driver who after having a one night stand with one of his passengers Sanaya (Madhurima Roy) is found dead when he woke up in her apartment. He leaves the crime scene but is met with an accident and is taken to the police station where the police officers gets to know about the same murder. 

An eye witness recognizes Aditya's face and from there starts his worst nightmare. Madhav Mishra (Pankaj Tripathi) is interested in taking his case but later on Mandira (Mita Vashisht) along with her associate Nikhat Hussain (Anupriya Goenka) takes up the case for free. Will these lawyers will able to save Aditya from the crime he didn't do at all? Who's the real murderer?

This Indian version is based on the original series Criminal Justice written by Peter Moffat. For India, it has been adapted by Shridhar Raghavan and the screenplay is written by Thirumangal Ramalingam and Sandhya Daisy Sundaram. My review is solely based on this series and not of the original one or the HBO's"The Night Of". So there will be no comparisons as I've not watched either of them. The story starts with a promising note and the first episode is terrific in every aspect. From the murder of Sanaya to everything shown, it's fast-paced and engages you as you know that something is going to happen. 

The series then changes it's track to the courtroom drama where three lawyers enters the frame. Madhav Mishra is shown as the selfish and money eater kind of lawyer but gradually as the series progresses Madhav becomes to be one of the most humane characters who with Nikhat Hussain, another kind and sympathetic lawyer, are trying to bring justice to Aditya. Whereas Mandira is committed to put forward any story that can prove Aditya not guilty, even if that story is a lie. 

Apart from the murder mystery and courtroom drama, a major chunk of the series depicts the miserable life of Aditya in jail where he bonds with Mustafa (Jackie Shroff), then there's Layek (Dibyendu Bhattacharya) who always harasses and tortures Aditya. The jail scene after a point of time becomes boring and the unnecessary loud and monotonous scenes becomes a pain to bear. 

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Apart from that minute reason of boredom, this series is engaging and captivating from the start. The character are carved out quite naturally and nothing feels fake or artificial. The dialogues by Anukriti Pandey are solid and it may have been copied from the original series but it's truly excellent. 

Vikrant Massey has submitted himself to the director and has given a truly mind blowing performance. He is a perfect cast for the role of Aditya and the same goes for Pankaj Tripathi in the role of Madhav Mishra. What an amazing performance! He's unbeatable. His charm and humor is not easy to get your mind off. Jackie Shroff as Mustafa is good and has a strong presence. Mita Vashisht as Mandira Mathur is phenomenal and Anupriya Goenka as her associate Nikhat is impressive and very effective. 

The cinematography by Harendra Singh is good and the production design by Mayur Barathe is terrific and has a realistic feel to it. The music by Sameer Phaterpekar is also nice and fits the mood of the drama. The editing by Abhijeet Deshpande and Saurabh Prabhudesai is not at all sharp. The series could have been more crisp and fast paced and could have been wrapped up in 8 episodes. 

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Criminal Justice Season 1 is a fine series if you're looking for something thrilling and suspense related content. It was released more than a year ago and I don't think there will be any link between the first and second season which is scheduled for 24th December 2020. This series is engaging and also boring in parts because it feels stretched sometimes, but its Vikrant Massey, Pankaj Tripathi and Anupriya Goenka who will make sure that you stick to it till the end. 

Rating:- 3/5

Now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.

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