Criminal Justice Season 3 is here, and fans are excited to witness the new case our iconic lawyer Madhav Mishra has in his grasp. Produced by Applause Entertainment in association with BBC Studios, the latest season of this Hostar Originals is directed by Rohan Sippy.
The series will feature Pankaj Tripathi reprising his role as Madhav Mishra and Shweta Basu Prasad as Lekha. The new cast members include Purab Kohli as Neeraj Swastika Mukherjee as Avantika, Aditya Gupta as Mukul, Deshna Dugad as Zara along with Gaurav Gera. Returning to the show are Addinath Kothare, Kalyanee Mulay and Khushboo Atre in their previous roles. Criminal Justice Adhura Sach consists of 8 episodes, each 40-50 minutes long. This review is based on the first six episodes of the series.
– Disney+ Hostar’s Criminal Justice Season 3 Review Does Not Contain Any Spoilers –
Criminal Justice Adhura Sach: Can Pankaj Tripathi Do It Again?
The trailer for Criminal Justice Season 3 needs a well-round of applause because it did really convince me that this case might just be the most difficult one for Madhav Mishra yet. However, while watching the show, as the convoluted subplots reveal themselves, slowly but, steadily the narrative feels like a horse without any direction. Saved by impeccable acting performances, Criminal Justice Adhura Sach seems to have lost its charisma as the series has expanded over the years.
Criminal Justice Season 3 introduces us to child star Zara Ahuja, a 14-year-old girl at the peak of her acting career who has become a nationwide star due to her popular television show. She lives with her stepmother Avantika (who is also her manager) and her father, Neeraj. Avantika’s son and Zara’s step-brother, Mukul, is 17 and also a part of the household. However, Mukul often feels abandoned and overshadowed by Zara which has led him to have anger issues and get involved with drugs.
During a promotional event on the outskirts of the city, the family takes a trip together. At the event, Zara decides to escape her superstar life for one night and party with strangers while Mukul seeks to earn money by selling drugs. Both children end up at the same party, unknown to their parents and confront each other. However, the next morning it is only Mukul who is at home and Zara is missing.
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Soon enough, the police find Zara’s dead body, making Mukul the prime suspect in the case as he becomes the last known person who has seen Zara alive. Detained at the Juvenile Justice Home, Mukul’s mother, Avantika, seeks out Madhav Mishra’s help to defend his son in court and expose the real murderer. But, with every step our Mishra Ji takes, it is clear that he is walking on the thin ice of water full of lies. Will he be able to defend Mukul? Or, the lies and conspiracies will catch up to him and pull him down?
Criminal Justice Season 3 starts off in a rather haphazard way where we do not get enough time to know what is happening before we are pulled into the case at hand. But, what makes it worse is the inability to know the characters closely even after we are six episodes through. The reason why the first two seasons of the show really stood out was because of the complexities of each and every character and the suspenseful nature of how the story unfolded.
In the third season, these two critical elements seem to be missing. The cliche of a stepbrother being jealous of his stepsister is not challenged. The anger issues faced by Mukul don’t have enough foundation. Avantika’s relationship with her son and her husband, both feel incomplete and unexpressed.
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Yet what makes Criminal Justice Season 3 shine during its moments of doom are the acting performances delivered by Pankaj Tripathi and Swastika Mukherjee. Both veteran actors just have it all in their grasp to hold the audiences and keep them invested. The way Madhav Mishra navigates through this complicated case is as interesting as how Avantika copes with the death of a daughter and the trial of a son. Shweta Basu Prasad and Purab Kohli feel a little underutilized in this series given we know how talented they are but, they still do their job well. As for Aditya Gupta, his role as Mukul needed more zeal and convincing.
Criminal Justice Season 3: Final Verdict
Overall, Criminal Justice Season 3 underperforms given how it impressed with its first two seasons. It could be the expansion of the show that is making the cases more mellow and tiring or, just how this particular story was decided to be told. Nevertheless, the actors are a winner in this show and one can never have enough of Madhav Mishra’s life lessons and antics.
Criminal Justice Season 3 is releasing on Disney+ Hotstar on August 26, 2022.
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