The first season of The Trial, the Hindi adaptation of the American web series The Good Wife, packed in a lot of drama. Noyonika’s life was disrupted when her husband Rajiv (Jisshu Sengupta) was arrested in a sex scandal. Noyonika (Kajol) had to dust off her legal robes and join a law firm run by her ex-boyfriend Vishal (Alyy Khan) and his sharp partner Malini (Sheeba Chaddha). The first season from 2023 ended with the exonerated Rajiv announcing his entry into politics.
In the second season out on JioHotstar, Noyonika is still a lawyer at the firm, which has a new partner, the arrogant and unscrupulous Param (Karanvir Sharma). At home, there is an uneasy truce between Noyonika and Rajiv for the sake of their two young daughters, but the fights are loud and vicious too.
Alongside Noyonika’s personal problems, the Hindi series – written by Amit Raj and Khushboo Raj and directed by Umesh Bist this time – depicts her professional assignments. These include the bizarre case of the masseuse Twinkle (Aiman Sheikh), who accuses a well-known philanthropist of rape. For one who is so powerless that the cops do not even file an FIR, Twinkle arm-twists Noyonika into representing her. All the firm’s partners and investigator Sana (Kubbra Sait) work on Twinkle’s case to prevent her from approaching a rival.
The show is unable to shake off the lapse in credulity that starts from here. The cases are either cliched – a greedy builder, a corrupt system – or strange, such as the one about warring influencers. At least the latter litigation has some humour, with the judge (Ramakant Dayama) baffled and irritated by Gen Z lingo.
The more interesting developments are outside the courtroom. Rajiv’s political ambitions irk law minister Narayani (Sonali Kulkarni), who matches the underhand tricks thought up by Rajiv’s aide Ilyaas (Aseem Hattangadi) with her own.
Narayani stoops so low as to attack Noyonika’s brother Shumon (Santanu Ghatak). A confrontation between Noyonika and Narayani is inevitable.
Although Kajol is the star of the show, her Noyonika is somewhat sidelined by the firm’s other partners. Malini feels sidelined by the ‘boys’ club’ run by Vishal and Param. Ketan (Kenneth Desai), the star divorce lawyer, feels disgruntled by Param’s high-handedness.
Vishal has an erratic romantic track with PR professional Chitrangada (Pamela Bhutoria), whose chief role in his life is washing his socks. Even Sana gets a big problem in the form of Param’s investigator Sunny (Kunal Thakur), who knows about her past.
Despite Kajol’s efforts – and she really sparkles when required to be fiery – the second season doesn’t quite blend the thrill of a hard-fought court battle with the intrigue of politics and the heartbreak of thwarted love. Sonali Kulkarni and Asrani, as a wily Parsi lawyer, are scene-stealers.
The Good Wife ran for seven seasons and had a spin-off, The Good Fight. Thus The Trial has a long way to go, with all indications of a third season on the way.
Also read:
‘The Trial’ review: Kajol is the chief draw of overwrought legal show
