The teaser opens with Prabhudeva stepping out of a charter plane as he takes down a group of goons. The action then shifts to Samyuktha Menon, who shares her pursuit of revenge…reports Asian Lite News
Actress Kajol, who has reunited with choreographer-director Prabhudeva after 27 years for the upcoming film ‘Maharagni – Queen of Queens’, essays a fearless protagonist in the film.
The teaser of the film which was unveiled on Tuesday gives a glimpse of Kajol’s character as she believes in not asking for power but snatching it away.
The teaser opens with Prabhudeva stepping out of a charter plane as he takes down a group of goons. The action then shifts to Samyuktha Menon, who shares her pursuit of revenge.
Talking about the project, Director Charan Tej Uppalapati said: “Directing ‘Maharagni – Queen of Queens’ has been a labour of love. Collaborating with actors like Kajol, Prabhudeva, Naseer sir, Samyukta Menon and Jishusen Gupta has elevated the project to new heights. Their unmatched charisma and acting abilities breathe life into the characters, and I can’t wait for the audience to witness this on screen.”
As the teaser progresses, Naseeruddin Shah is seen lying in a hospital bed sharing his heartfelt last wish and Kajol emerges in her ‘Maharagni’ avatar.
Producer Harman Baweja shared: “‘Maharagni’ is a special project for Baweja Studios, driven by a compelling story. Kajol’s talent and authenticity make her perfect for this role. I am thrilled to bring this project to life with such a stellar team.”
Producer Venkata Anish Dorigillu shared that as soon as he came across this story, he knew it carried a powerful message that needed to reach the masses.
“With Charan Tej Uppalapati’s keen eye for direction and the remarkable talent of our stellar cast, we are confident that we will deliver a unique vision that will make this story shine,” he said.
Produced by Harman Baweja and Venkata Anish Dorigillu under the labels of Baweja Studios and E7 Entertainments, ‘Maharagni – Queen of Queens’ is a pan-India film set to be released in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam. The makers will announce the release date soon.
The storyline isn’t too complicated, but the treatment could be. For, it is about a housewife who is forced to join back the legal profession after her husband is accused of corruption and is also involved in a sex scandal…reviewed by Arnab Banerjee
The purpose of a trial is to ensure that the defendant gets a fair assessment of all evidence against him or her, and so, it is a structured process wherein the facts of a case are presented to a jury, which decides if the defendant is guilty or not. If the ruling in the case is found to be not maintainable, then it can be challenged in a higher court.
The only difference is that unlike in the US, India does not have a trial by jury system!
The process of trial as enumerated in our Constitution is that “trial is the right of a person”, or that the trial of a court should be a “fair trial”. And that could be a huge challenge if a story around the American courts is adapted to suit the Indian milieu and its legal system.
Understandably then, the eight-episode Disney+ Hotstar series, ‘The Trial: Pyaar, Kaanoon, Dhokha’, adapted from the multi-season CBS show ‘The Good Wife’, has been tweaked — at times, a bit liberally — to cater to Indian audiences, and has amended the original creative writing with some of the technical legal terms and laws altered.
By doing so, it does fit into the mindset with which court cases are filed, viewed and judged under the Indian Penal Code.
And while you watch an altered version of Robert and Michelle King’s ‘The Good Wife;, the American legal and political drama television series that aired on CBS between 2009 and 2016, gear yourself for a trial that had a lot of potential to be an edge-of-the-seat drama series, but ends up as less absorbing.
In many ways, complicated court cases involving murders and defamation getting solved fast — or getting solved at all — are never a breeze in this part of the world, and take ages.
But the final judgment in this case is rather illusory. That’s quite unfortunate, for the innovative premise in the American series is a stupendous idea capable of unputdownable variety.
The storyline isn’t too complicated, but the treatment could be. For, it is about a housewife who is forced to join back the legal profession after her husband is accused of corruption and is also involved in a sex scandal.
The development of the plot has more of storytelling from the woman’s point of view. In the end, the show is all about her, and how she steers clear of hindrances that would obviously stall the proceedings.
It is also about all the hardships she faces in her journey seeking justice.
The female protagonist is stay-at-home Noyonika Sengupta (Kajol), a law school grad who gave up her career a decade ago for the sake of her husband and children.
She is forced to resume work as defence counsel when her husband, an additional judge Rajiv (Jisshu Sengupta), is put behind bars on charges of bribery and abuse of his prestigious position.
A good wife and mother, Noyonika must save her family and her husband’s reputation, and decides to join the law firm of her former love interest Vishal (Aly Khan). Her life is riddled with troubles and there are rivals who are out to add discontent in her life. When she seeks support from another lawyer she had known, Malini (Sheeba Chaddha), the vibes she gets are negative.
There is an intern, Dheeraj (Gaurav Pandey), who resents her rise and attributes her success to her being close to their boss Vishal. Allies include Sana (Kubbra Sait), whose selfless support and running around, help her in preparing the intricacies of the case smoothly.
There is enough meat for the series to pique and sustain your curiosity with legal tangles taking centrestage.
But the writers, Hussain Dalal, Abbas Dalal and Siddharth Kumar, put aside the ins and outs and other particulars of complex cases, and focus on the three principal female characters: Noyonika, Sana and Malini, as Noyonika tries to balance work and home, struggling to piece together the broken pieces of her life and all along protecting her children and defending her spouse.
Despite its inherent drawbacks, ‘The Trial’ stands a fair chance of appealing to a large part of streaming platform addicts who will find a novel approach to a narrative that is mostly realistic in form.
Director Suparn S. Varma relies heavily on actors who deliver so what if the writing is not first rate and fails to look deeper into the psyche of respected citizens — men and women — whose lives could face a serious conflict unexpectedly, and throws them off the kilter.
In trying to have the wife’s story as the focal point, the imperfections and shortcomings of the human mind are not explored. That results in a lot of loose ends that are not even addressed.
I have always had an issue with the background score both in films and web series. Why do filmmakers want us to react to the forewarning that some musical chords play out before an important scene?
For both somber and cheery moments, there is either a thud sound or a melancholic strain gearing us up for the impending doom or euphoria, as the case may be. Taking our audiences to be naive and uninitiated, they want us to go by their auditory signs often thrown in for good measure.
Kajol, as the protagonist Noyonika, has a tough act to emulate: Alicia Florrick playing her role in the original is a powerful combination of cold fury, bafflement and persistence.
She does have her moments especially in the latter episodes where she holds her own and looks more controlled. Alas, there are far too many lines given to her — and other actors too — to spoon feed viewers whom the writers believe are incapable of comprehension. Perhaps, producers Banijay Asia and Ajay Devgn’s FFilms wanted to play it safe by not adding extra layers to a knotty tale.
As for other actors, Sheeba Chadha and Kubra Sait, as also Alyy Khan, are impressive.
We have had quite a few web series related to crime-law-justice in the recent past. And though most of the cases are dealt with in a typical filmi fashion, the good news is that a number of brushed-under-the-carpet issues are being discussed — issues that lay bare a corrupt legal system and provide us with engaging fare. Well, almost!
Web Series: The Trial: Pyaar, Kaanoon, Dhokha. Streaming on Disney+ Hotstar. Running Time: Eight episodes (39-46 minutes per episode). Director: Suparn Verma Cast: Kajol, Jisshu Sengupta, Kubbra Sait, Sheeba Chaddha, Alyy Khan and Gaurav Pandey. Producers: Ajay Devgn, Deepak Dhar, Rajesh Chadha and Parag Desai. Cinematography: Manoj Soni (Rating: ***)
Due to her husband’s imprisonment, Noyonika is forced down a tumultuous path full of hardships for her and her family as she takes up a job at a law firm and works hard to support her family. ..reports Asian Lite News
Bollywood actress Kajol’s upcoming courtroom web drama series ‘The Trial- Pyaar, Kaanoon, Dhokha’ will give audiences a strong and very relatable character on screen in Noyonika Sengupta. As Noyonika is a character she has never explored before, Kajol described her as essentially a “woman’s core”.
Kajol said: “Noyonika’s character is an ambitious woman who is doing whatever she can to save her future and her children’s future and that, I think, is pretty much most women everywhere.”
“Most powerful, strong women and housewives at the end of the day and who supposedly don’t have a job but actually do the most unpaid job in the world. So yeah, that’s who she is. That is her core and that is I think most every woman’s core,” she added.
Due to her husband’s imprisonment, Noyonika is forced down a tumultuous path full of hardships for her and her family as she takes up a job at a law firm and works hard to support her family. Caught in a web of choices, ‘The Trial – Pyaar, Kaanoon, Dhokha’ follows Noyonika as she embarks on a journey that forces her to navigate the curveballs life has thrown at her.
The series is the Indian adaptation of the American legal drama ‘The Good Wife’ and is directed by Suparn S. Varma. The courtroom drama also stars Sheeba Chaddha, Jisshu Sengupta, Alyy Khan, Kubbra Sait and Gaurav Pandey in key roles.
Produced by Banijay Asia, ‘The Trial – Pyaar, Kaanoon, Dhokha’ will begin streaming on Disney+ Hotstar on July 14, 2023.
The actor called the film a learning experience solely because he got to imbibe a lot from his fellow actors Prakash Raj, Rahul Bose, Kajol, Rajeev Khandelwal and Aamir Khan, who makes a cameo appearance in the movie…reports Asian Lite News
Actress Kajol feels that Hindi film industry is one of the most “forward thinking” and progressive industries, and Bollywood films not performing well at the box-office is just a matter of time.
The actress, who is gearing up for her upcoming movie ‘Salaam Venky’, said that the struggle that Hindi films are facing is not just limited to Bollywood but films across the world.
The actress told: “I truly believe that our Hindi film industry is one of the most forward-thinking industries and we don’t have a choice simply for the fact that a lot of money is riding on it and a lot of stakeholders are involved in Hindi films. It’s not just Hindi films that are facing the heat in theatres, films across the world are facing the issue of a low footfall in theatres because the pandemic has triggered a change in behavioural pattern of the audience.”
She further mentioned that people are very cautious of visiting crowded places and cinema halls.
“I feel it’s just a phase and our films will soon bounce back strongly. We, as an industry, are working on it, changing gears and figuring out the way forward at individual levels. I’m sure the individual energies and efforts will combine and put our industry back on track”, she said.
‘Salaam Venky’, directed by Revathy, also stars Vishal Jethwa, Rahul Bose, Rajeev Khandelwal, Prakash Raj and Ahana Kumra in pivotal roles, is set to debut in theatres on December 9, 2022.
Vishal recalls ‘Salaam Venky’ learning experience
Actor Vishal Jethwa, who is known for playing the villain in the 2019 movie ‘Mardaani 2, will soon be seen in ‘Salaam Venky, in which he plays the titular role of Kajols son.
The actor called the film a learning experience solely because he got to imbibe a lot from his fellow actors Prakash Raj, Rahul Bose, Kajol, Rajeev Khandelwal and Aamir Khan, who makes a cameo appearance in the movie.
Vishal told , “This film has some powerful actors, each with their unique style of acting. All of them have the power to pull off anything in front of the camera. Like if I talk about Kajol mam, just before the take, she is so charged up, joking around with her co-actors, smiling, laughing and single-handedly uplifting the entire energy of the set.”
But, as Vishal said, the actress in her surfaces once the cameras start rolling.
“She miraculously transforms into Venky’s mother with a lot of gravitas oozing out of her the moment the camera starts rolling. Now that’s the power of a good actor — to switch on and switch off within an instant,” he said.
Vishal also heaped praises on the other cast members of the film, saying, “There are other actors like Prakash sir, Rajeev and Rahul Bose sir in the film who also bring a lot to the table.
“So for me, this film definitely gave me a lot of opportunities to learn from my co-actors and also from Revathy mam who is at the helm of affairs.”
Directed by actress-director Revathy, ‘Salaam Venky’ tells the story of a terminally ill boy and his mother and how the latter does everything in her capacity to help her son live life to the fullest.
Both the series premiered on OTT platform Disney+ Hotstar. Taking a cue, the actress will be soon making her series debut on Disney+ Hotstar…reports Asian Lite News
After making her digital debut in 2021 with the trilingual streaming film ‘Tirbhanga’, Bollywood actress Kajol is set to make her foray into long-format content with her upcoming web series.
Sharing her excitement, Kajol said in a statement: “Exploring new formats is always a challenge; but it’s a great thing as I love to take challenges head-on. Being an avid fan of digital series, the concept has always been intriguing; and after following cool shows such as Aarya and Rudra, I knew there was no other platform than Disney+ Hotstar to start my series journey.”
The yet-to-be-titled series, a drama, will see the actress in an all-new avatar. Kajol’s husband Ajay Devgn has earlier explored the digital medium in the capacity of both the producer (‘The Great Indian Murder’) and an actor (‘Rudra’). Both the series premiered on OTT platform Disney+ Hotstar. Taking a cue, the actress will be soon making her series debut on Disney+ Hotstar.
Gaurav Banerjee, Head – Content, Disney+ Hotstar & HSM Entertainment Network, Disney Star shared that “We are elated to have a celebrated actor like Kajol join us and charm viewers with her ethereal screen magic. With the beloved star, we are setting out on an all-new journey to bring a unique story of love, emotions and family.”
