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Cast: Madhuri Dixit, Siddharth Chandekar, Kavin Dave, Priyanshu Chatterjee
Director: Nagesh Kukunoor
Streaming On: JioHotstar
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 6 episodes of 50 minutes each
OTT is currently looking for legends to lead legendary stories, and one such platform chose Madhuri Dixit to lead a story by Nagesh Kukunoor. Titled Mrs Deshpande, the show is an adaptation of a French series, La Mante. Now, this is not the first time Kukunoor has handled a whodunit. He has attempted brilliant thrillers before, and as a filmmaker of his excellence, directing Madhuri Dixit could have been a sure-shot winner!
Mrs. Deshpande Review: What’s It About:
When the trailer of this show arrived, we were promised a brilliant thriller, but did we get it? The show builds up nicely as Priyanshu, playing a police officer, says, “Photographer ki tarah wo tumhe utna hi dikhaayegi, jitna wo dikhana chahti hai.” The show sets the premise quickly. Madhuri Dixit plays Mrs Deshpande, a cold-blooded serial killer, who is jailed with a changed name!
But she is taken out of jail by the department to catch another serial killer, who kills just like her. Someone is almost replicating her presence outside while she is in jail. To be honest, I cannot believe the police officers here are so inefficient that they had to take the help of a serial killer to catch one! Hilariously, the officers also look very lame in front of Madhuri’s sharp screen presence as a killer. She immediately takes over as the leader of this investigation! Very lame and very stupid!
Mrs. Deshpande Review: What Works:
Har paagal jo maarne ki baat karta hai, wo maarta nahi hai. Kuch paagal sirf bolte hain. Kaun maarne wala hai, kaun nahi maarne wala hai, iska pata lagana bada mushkil hai, says Mrs Deshpande with a very cold and stone expression to a Police Officer. It gave a little hope that the show might take off quickly from here, looking at Madhuri Dixit’s fire. But nothing substantial happens.
The show relies entirely on her stardom to hide the gaping holes in the writing. It’s a classic case of a star vehicle without fuel. If you remove Madhuri from this show, there is absolutely nothing left. It is heartbreaking to see a talent of her caliber being used to sell a story that wouldn’t even pass for a Crime Patrol episode!
Mrs. Deshpande Review: Star Performance:
Madhuri Dixit Nene, the woman who is the epitome of grace and power for generations, returns to the screen but is trapped in a narrative that is loose. In fact, it is so flimsy that it collapses under the weight of its own boredom. Kukunoor hinted at a hard-hitting thriller, but the show functions as a daily soap. Something like Kahin Kisi Roz or K Street Pali Hill!
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Mrs. Deshpande Review: What Doesn’t Work:
The basic need of a thriller is to generate thrills. You need to have two things – suspense that stays, and a story that plays! Mrs Deshpande has none of them! Right from the pacing to the suspense, nothing works for this story! Every time a conflict arises, it’s resolved through a convenient coincidence. The maximum lazy writing I have seen in recent times.
The show is repetitive and predictable, without building any tension! In fact, it just wastes a group of good actors. The dialogues never build any adrenaline rush. It’s a loose mess that tries to hide behind a superstar’s shadow. Dear Madhuri Dixit Nene, please pick a better script next time. You owe it to yourself, and you definitely owe it to us.
It is heartbreaking to see a star of her caliber being celebrated in such an average script and while we celebrate mediocrity just because it has Madhuri Dixit’s name associated with it, I hope she strikes back more powerful and stronger.
Mrs. Deshpande Review: Last Words:
The biggest problem with Mrs Deshpande is how it treats its protagonist or antagonist, Madhuri Dixit. Undeniably, her screen presence is brilliant, and her skill set obviously is sincere, but the show treats her like a prop on the set. I mean, there have been directors who worked with Shah Rukh Khan but were in so awe of the actor that they could not deliver the story! They did not know how to handle him! The same goes for Madhuri Dixit in Mrs Deshpande! Nagesh Kukunoor, after a certain point, does not know what to do with her brilliant screen presence!
In one of the opening scenes of Mrs Deshpande, Madhuri Dixit claims, “Mere Jaisi Koi Aur Ho Hi Nahi Sakti,” and we all might agree to this statement without a doubt! But hope she could have taken this dialogue seriously in her life and not choose a script that celebrates her mediocrity. I mean, her second outing on OTT deserved so much better, especially at a time when OTT is writing powerful author-backed roles for superstars!
2 stars, and 1 only for Madhuri Dixit’s presence!
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