Criminal Justice A Family Matter review: Surveen Chawla stands out as Pankaj Tripathi's show goes flat

Indian Express

30-05-2025

There is comfort in watching characters we know go through a new story arc, a mix that allows for both familiarity and freshness. The fourth season of Criminal Justice re-unites us with the core team of Madhav Mishra, played by the affable Pankaj Tripathi, his perky wife Ratna (Khushboo Atre), her eager-beaver brother Deep (Aatm Prakash Mishra), and the immaculately-turned out Shivani Mathur (Barkha Singh), which is plunged into a roiling family affair featuring murder and mayhem.
Only three episodes of the eight are streaming currently, in which we are introduced to the prime suspects of a murder most foul in a fancy Mumbai high-rise. A domestic help arrives in a flat in the morning and sees a woman, all bloodied, being cradled by a man, who appears to be distraught. Another woman is present, who has already called the cops.
The man is a well-regarded doctor called Raj Nagpal (Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub). The dead woman is his paramour Roshni Saluja (Asha Negi), a trained nurse who also happened to be a care-giver for his daughter with special needs. And the woman who has called it in is the doctor's estranged wife Anju (Surveen Chawla) who lives in a flat across the landing. Also present at the time is the teenaged daughter Ira (Khushi Bhardwaj), who has Aspergers syndrome, and Raj's mother Gurmeet (Sohaila Kapur).
Who could the killer be? The doctor who seems to genuinely love the victim, and appears shell-shocked? The wife who is the only one in control, despite the enormity of the crime? Or could it be someone else who entered the flat on the quiet, and lay in wait, sharp object in hand?
As in the earlier seasons, this fourth iteration of Criminal Justice, based on the British TV series of the same name, is a police procedural plus courtroom clashes plus human drama. And as ever, it is Pankaj Tripathi who is the fulcrum around which events revolve. This time around, a corporate law firm has him in its sights, using his home-grown, desi charm, to disarm tough adversaries: a big car is dangled, and so are plush chambers.
Watch Criminal Justice 4 trailer:
Will Madhav succumb? Will he abandon his feet-on-groundness, and become a jouster in the aid of corporate sharks? I've seen the entire season, and I'm not telling you a thing more. But I will say this: even in the first three episodes, you can see the strain of filling up 40-odd minutes. Scenes are stretched, and our attention starts wandering. How does Ratnaji, who was such a sharp addition to the previous series, get stuck in her husband's office, waiting for something to do? Atre is good, and her pairing with Tripathi still has spark, but all the waiting around is tiring.
Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub comes off strangely subdued and colourless. The one who keeps us watching is Surveen Chawla, who brings an emotional fidelity to her character, grappling with the guilt of having given over her daughter to the care of someone else.
The series also commits the grave sin of telling its viewers that 'teenagers with Aspergers have violent tendencies', without a single caveat. Yes, this is a series that has taken the trouble to front a character with special needs, but to make such a statement without qualifying it is just plain damaging to those who live with the condition,and are dependent on how they are perceived by the world.
Will Madhav Mishra make amends? Pankaj Tripathi's everyman-ness is his most endearing trait, but it can also become a much of muchness. And render things flat.
Criminal Justice A Family Matter cast: Pankaj Tripathi, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Surveen Chawla, Asha Negi, Shweta Basu Prasad, Mita Vashishth, Khushboo Atre, Navin Talreja, Sohaila Kapur, Khushi Bhardwaj, Kalyanee Mulay, Barkha Singh, Aatm Prakash Mishra
Criminal Justice A Family Matter director: Rohan Sippy
Criminal Justice A Family Matter rating: 2 stars