Disney Plus Hotstar’s latest original Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors is a sequel to a successful first season, featuring a new case. So even if you haven’t had a chance to watch the first season yet, you can catch this rather intriguing second one.
Here are 6 reasons why you shouldn’t miss it:
1. It acknowledges marital rape, even if the IPC doesn’t
The Indian Penal Code (IPC) considers forced sex in marriages as a crime only when the wife is below age 15. Hence, marital rape is not a criminal offence. However, this show highlights how rape is still rape, regardless of the marital status of the rapist.
2. Sensitively handles emotional abuse
It is pretty clear right from the first episode that Anuradha has been a victim of consistent emotional abuse at the hands of her husband. Never going over the top, the show quite sensitively handles the subtle nuances that abusers use to groom their victims.
3. Pankaj Tripathi is an unlikely hero
He doesn’t scream in court, he doesn’t use brash words to make a point. And for majority of the show he is quite clueless about the person he is defending. But that’s what makes him such an unlikely hero, but exactly the kind the show needed. He is a stable rock through the tornado that this show is.
4. The women in the show steal the limelight
From Anupriya Goenka, who plays the emotionally-conflicted lawyer to Shilpa Shukla, the rich cold-blooded kid in jail to Deepti Naval, the mother of the accused, Kirti Kulhari, the victim whose case forms the basis of this season to Khushboo Atre, who plays Pankaj Tripathi’s quirky and ‘woke’ wife, and Kalyanee Mulay, a cop whose husband is fighting for the wrong side. Every single female character in this show is a delight to watch on-screen and impeccably written.
5. Ashish Vidyarthi manages to make you hate him with some powerful dialogues
A stern, backward lawyer who puts his religion and nation over everything else, Ashish’s character makes you hate him with a vengeance. However, that’s how you know he did a great job. His one dialogue, “Humarey desh main anyway marital rape is not considered an offence” stays with you long after the show ends. Said with so much conviction, it stands as reflection of how society views marital rape.
6. It may be predictable but the story still holds ground
Even though you know exactly what’s happening in the first 2 episodes, the story grips you and pulls you through. It takes you through the life of a female prisoner, a woman who having a child out of wedlock, a woman abused and tormented to believe she is so mentally ill.
This season of Criminal Justice is rightfully named Behind Closed Doors, as it takes a look at the tormented life of a woman held prisoner in her own home. A tale which is relatable, showcasing horrors that are a bit too often seen in Indian households.