Criminal Justice (Indian TV series)
Criminal Justice is an Indian series based on Criminal Justice by Peter Moffat,[1] adapted for India by Shridhar Raghavan streaming on Hotstar on its new label Hotstar Specials on 5 April 2019. It is directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia and Vishal Furia starring Pankaj Tripathi, Vikrant Massey, Jackie Shroff, Anupriya Goenka and Mita Vashisht in lead roles.[2]
| Criminal Justice | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Genre | Crime Thriller |
| Written by | Shridhar Raghavan |
| Directed by |
|
| Starring | Pankaj Tripathi Vikrant Massey Jackie Shroff Anupriya Goenka Mita Vashisht Pankaj Saraswat Rucha Inamdar Madhurima Roy |
| Composer(s) | Sameer Phaterpekar |
| Country of origin | India |
| Original language(s) | Hindi |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 10 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
|
| Producer(s) | |
| Production location(s) | India |
| Running time | 41-60 minutes |
| Production company(s) | BBC Studios India Applause Entertainment |
| Distributor | Star India |
| Release | |
| Original network | Hotstar |
| Picture format | HDTV 1080i |
| Original release | 5 April 2019 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Criminal Justice The Night Of |
| External links | |
| [Watch here Website] | |
The series was renewed for a second season in February 2020.[3]
Plot
Aditya (Vikrant Massey) is a cab driver who has a one-night stand with his passenger Sanaya (Madhurima Roy ). When he wakes up, Sanaya is murdered. He finds himself in a pool of her blood, and her with multiple stab wounds. He leaves the crime scene, but, he meets with an accident and is taken to the police station. Initially, Madhav Mishra is interested in taking the case but later on Mandira Mathur (Mita Vashisht) takes her case and is successful in getting Aditya free of charge from rape, but fails to acquit him of the murder charges. The story continues as his lawyer, Nikhat Hussain (Anupriya Goenka) along with Madhav Mishra (Pankaj Tripathi), tries to save him. While Aditya gets a life imprisonment for murder of Sanaya, but Madhav Mishra still believes that Aditya is innocent. Initially, he figured out from Sanaya's Instagram account that Sanaya was working at a drug rehabilitation center, after herself being treated there. During wrapping up the case documents, he again goes through Sanaya's call records and gets a crucial lead. Upon enquiring one of the policeman said, that Sanaya had called up four wrong numbers that day, which Madhav found to be strange. On his hunch he enquired about the past records of these numbers and got to know that these numbers belonged to professional drug dealers whom Sanaya tried to contact. It turned out that Sanaya, after staying away from drugs for 3 years, suddenly wanted to go back to drugs a night before she was killed.[2][4] She was part of a charity where her father's close friend and wife were the owners. She found out that they were engaging in child prostitution and was going to go to the police, and so the wife killed her. It turns out that the asthma pump police thought were Aditya's were hers.
Cast
- Vikrant Massey as Aditya Sharma
- Pankaj Tripathi as Madhav Mishra, Advocate
- Jackie Shroff as Mustafa, Aditya's fellow cell mate
- Anupriya Goenka as Nikhat Hussain
- Mita Vashisht as Mandira Mathur, Corporate Lawyer [1]
- Rucha Inamdar as Avni Sharma Parashar, Aditya's sister
- Gaurang Dwivedi as Avni's husband.[5]
- Jagat Rawat as Diwakar Sharma, Aditya' father
- Ninad Kamat as Sunil Bhandarkar
- Rituraj Singh as Naresh Lakhani
- Madhurima Roy as Sanaya Rath, the victim [4]
- Gayatri Gauri as Ronjana, victim's mother
- Pankaj Saraswat as Raghu Salian, Cop
- Dibyendu Bhattacharya as Layak Talukder, an influential criminal
Promotion
The official trailer of the series was launched by Hotstar Specials on 28 March 2019. The description accompanying the trailer reads, "A one night stand turns into a nightmare for Aditya when he wakes up with blood on his hands."[2]
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date [2] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Once Upon a Night" | Shridhar Raghavan | 5 April 2019 | ||
| Aditya drives the family cab, ends up picking up a young woman and spends the night with her. When he wakes up, he realises that the one night stand has turned into a nightmare. The girl is stabbed to death and he has no recollection of events. | |||||
| 2 | "Under Arrest" |
| Shridhar Raghavan | 5 April 2019 | |
| Aditya is under arrest for rape & murder. An advocate Madhav bargains to represent him, but negotiations fail. Mandira, a reputed advocate takes up his case free of charge surprising all. | |||||
| 3 | "The Price of Life" |
| Shridhar Raghavan | 5 April 2019 | |
| Mandira grapples with Aditya's amnesia related to that fateful night. Madhav finds a new lead in the investigation. In jail, Mustafa makes an unexpected demand from Aditya. | |||||
| 4 | "The Trial" |
| Shridhar Raghavan | 5 April 2019 | |
| Mustafa takes Aditya under his wing and gives an welcome gift. Madhav finds a mountain of evidence against Aditya at trial. | |||||
| 5 | "Beginning of the End" |
| Shridhar Raghavan | 5 April 2019 | |
| Rivalry between Layak and Mustafa heats up. Aditya weighs the pros and cons of pleading guilty as Jimmy D'Souza makes a shocking revelation at court. | |||||
| 6 | "The Judgement Day" |
| Shridhar Raghavan | 5 April 2019 | |
| While Aditya took a daunting task to appease Mustafa, Nikhat risks her career to free him. Judge gives the verdict. | |||||
| 7 | "A New Bond" |
| Shridhar Raghavan | 5 April 2019 | |
| Aditya's bond with Mustafa grows strong while his family crumbles. Meanwhile, Madhav finds new evidence that could turn the case around. | |||||
| 8 | "The Going gets Tough" |
| Shridhar Raghavan | 5 April 2019 | |
| With the entry of new jail superintendent, Aditya and Mustafa relation end up with a solitary confinement. Meanwhile Madhav and Nikhat finds a new clue which went unnoticed. | |||||
| 9 | "A New Kingpin" |
| Shridhar Raghavan | 5 April 2019 | |
| A brutal fight sends Aditya to hospital where he meets Mustafa. Raghu helps Madhav and Nikhat, together they open a new can of worms. | |||||
| 10 | "The Mystery" |
| Shridhar Raghavan | 5 April 2019 | |
| Aditya peddles drugs in the jail but it doesn't end well with Layak. Raghu produces a search warrant against the new suspect. Pushed into the corner, Aditya plans his final revenge against Layak. New crime & evidence has came to light and Aditya is acquitted. Aditya starts a new life. Finally, Madhav cleans up his apartment. | |||||
Reception
Sana Farzeen writing for Indian Express says, "Vikrant Massey stands out playing a young boy who suddenly finds himself in a grave situation. Pankaj Tripathi once again aces a character with dry humor, making you smirk at his witty lines." The critic recommends Criminal Justice for those who like crime-based dramas.[4] Rohan Naahar of Hindustan Times rates it with 3.5/5 stars and feels that the series being a remake relies on its actors to do the heavy lifting. He opines, "Fortunately, Vikrant Massey, Pankaj Tripathi and especially Jackie Shroff, are tremendous."[6] Udita Jhunjhunwala, reviewing for The Quint writes "Supporting cast members Saraswat, Rucha Inamdar and Gaurav Dwivedi (as Aditya’s sister and brother-in-law respectively) and Madhurima Roy as the murdered girl are the most convincing."[5] Parmita Uniyal of India Today said that "[Jackie]'s performance is one of the high points of the series, something that stays with you," while also saying that "[The show] could have a stronger impact with shorter episodes, crisper editing and right twists and turns."[7]
Accolades
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | iReel Awards[8] | Best Actor, Male (Drama) | Vikrant Massey | Nominated (Pending) |
| Best Supporting Actor (Male) | Jackie Shroff | Nominated (Pending) |
References
- Hollywood Reporter Team (4 March 2019). "Hotstar to remake The Night Of". Mumbai: The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
- Jain, Arushi (30 March 2019). "Criminal Justice trailer: Vikrant Massey and Pankaj Tripathi present a chilling crime thriller". Indian Express. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
- "Applause Entertainment and BBC Studios announce Season 2 of Hotstar Specials presents Criminal Justice". 2 February 2020.
- Farzeen, Sana. "Criminal Justice first impression: Vikrant Massey stands out in this riveting adaptation". The Indian Express. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
- "Review: 'Criminal Justice' Is Sluggish But Saved by Good Performances". Retrieved 9 April 2019.
- Naahar, Rohan. "Criminal Justice review: Vikrant Massey, Pankaj Tripathi and a stunning Jackie Shroff save Hotstar show". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- Uniyal, Parmita (6 April 2019). "Criminal Justice review: Pankaj Tripathi, Vikrant Massey series doesn't live up to expectations". India Today. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
- "nominations". News18. Retrieved 11 September 2019.