By S Rao
Black Widows is the remake of the successful Nordic show of the same name. The story revolves around 3 women played by Shamita Shetty, Mona Singh and Swastika Mukherjee who are in abusive relationships with their respective spouses and decide to end their trauma by plotting to kill all 3 of them on a boating trip and make it look like an accident.
The twists and turns start after their husbands are dead when a cop played by Parambrata Chattopadhyay steps in to solve the case as he believes someone is to blame for this accident. The widows now realise that they are not actually free and their lives are now more complicated than ever.
There turns out to be a blast survivor in the accident and the survivor’s business partner is looking for a bag filled with crores. A ruthless pharma company head (is there any other kind?) is trying to retrieve an incriminating recording that reveals her role in pushing out a dodgy vaccine. The sisterhood between the widows starts to fray.
The 12 episodes have a gripping storyline and enough twists and turns to keep you engaged with a great cast. Swastika Mukherjee does a fabulous job of portraying the pain of a physically abused wife and how difficult it is to recover, Shamita Shetty plays a very predictable bimbo character convincingly, Mona Singh is a little stiff as a protective mother and the rest of the cast be it Parambrata whose character you will root for, Raima Sen taking on a dark character and Sharad Kelkar whose character you will love to hate, keep you invested in the story.
Where the story does fall short is in the comedy department. The show is projected to be a dark comedy thriller but it is more just a thriller with terrible comic timing. The show is fast paced but becomes a little strange with the sudden dip into viruses and vaccines.
Director Birsa Dasgupta’s storytelling could have been a lot more believable, the coincidences are too frequent and convenient. The execution could have definitely been better.
Overall, a decent watch with a few glitches. It is not going to drag on for many seasons and can satisfy your requirement if you are looking for a quick weekend thriller.
Filmi Files Rating 3.5/5
