Title: Mrs Deshpande
Director: Nagesh Kukunoor
Cast: Madhuri Dixit, Siddharth Chandekar, Priyanshu Chatterjee
Where: JioHotstar
Rating: 2 Stars
Mrs Deshpande is about an investigation in which police seek help from an imprisoned serial killer to catch a copycat murderer mimicking her methods. Featuring Madhuri Dixit in a role she has never played before, most of those of have seen her through her rise in the 90s were quite excited to watch her in this never seen before avatar.
Madhuri is a respected senior among the inmates of the jail, and heads the kitchen department, with all the others relying on her to make sure the taste of the dal is just right. However, it seems surprising that there is so much reverence for a serial killer accused of taking multiple lives. This aspect becomes clear once we realise that she is an inmate in the prison under a completely new identity.
Even in a place like prison where the waking up time is quite early, on most counts she is the first one who is up, starting her day with yoga- beginning with the Surya Namaskar, Warrior Pose, Tree Pose and others.
Actors’ Performance
Once a series of murders take place with a clear connection to her case, the police take her help in nabbing the killer. Right from the time she starts helping them, even though most of those around her don’t trust her, Madhuri’s expressions paint a picture of someone who knows that she is smarter than the rest, but just playing by the rules till her time comes.
Although the series starts off on an extremely promising note, with the first 20 minutes making me think that this is something which I would have really loved, by the end of the first episode, the spark seems to be dying out it. I realised that the only new thing in the entire series which I actually learned was how to attack and disable a person from behind, something which is Madhuri’s signature style and is mimicked by the new killer too.
It isn’t like Mrs Deshpande doesn’t have twists and turns- in fact there three major twists, with the last one taking the cake, however, there isn’t any sense of excitement or novelty which you get from the series. Something which may have looked great on paper, clearly does not translate into the telly.
Apart from the investigation, the romance aspect has this one scene whose dialogue stuck with me- the lead cop on the case meets his girlfriend after a long day, however, she isn’t giving him attention because she is feeling let down as he did not disclose certain details about the case to her. So when he asks her if ‘thora pyaar milega’ she replies in the negative. But once he explains the entire situation to her according to her satisfaction, she replies, ‘Ab pyaar milega.’ But moments like these which can be mentioned are painfully missing, and the thrill which one would expect from such a series isn’t there at all. While Siddharth Chandekar does a decent job playing the lead investigator, Priyanshu Chatterjee is the one I thought who fit his role the best.
GPlus Verdict
Having gone through the entire series, i wouldn’t recommend anyone to watch it, save the first 30 minutes. Rather, if you do want to see Madhuri, watch her debut OTT series, The Fame Game, where she has been excellently utilised, along with a totally watchable story and the characters which come with it.
