Kajol's 'The Trial' Vs Julianna Margulies' 'The Good Wife': Who Wins The Case?

The Trial, streaming on Disney+Hotstar, is an adaptation of the multi-season American legal drama The Good Wife.

The Trial or The Good Wife - which show shines?

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

 The Trial: Pyaar, Kanoon, Dhokha!, streaming on Disney + Hotstar and starring Kajol in the lead role, is an adaptation of the multi-season American legal drama The Good Wife starring Jullianna Margulies. Does the Suparn Varma show live up to the original? So far, no.

 Before you decide to binge-watch The Trial, I suggest you don’t go about comparing it with The Good Wife. Here are certain things about the former that didn't work for me:  

A Faulty Plot

Kajol in a still from The Trial.

(Photo Courtesy: YouTube screengrab)

Just like the original, the show sticks to the broader premise, where Noyonika (Kajol), a former lawyer and wife of a judge Rajiv (Jisshu Sengupta), is facing a dire situation when her husband gets embroiled in a sex scandal. Left with no choice, Noyonika has to go back to working again as a lawyer to support her family.

Suparn somewhat manages to stick to the original storyline, but where the plot falters is that it packs in a lot more than it should in every episode. It almost feels like they are running against time and want us to have all the to have all the information in just eight episodes. 

Relationships Not Given Time to Develop

Kajol and Kubbra Sait in a still from The Trial.

(Photo Courtesy: YouTube screengrab)

In the original, there was an undeniable chemistry between the characters - be it Will and Alicia (Vishal and Noyonika in The Trial), Kalinda and Alicia (Sana and Noyonika) and Dianne and Alicia (Malini and Noyonika). All relationships are established from the first scene itself. 

In The Trial, you just learn about the dynamics of each relationship through words, without any time given to them to develop organically. Because of the hurried storytelling, the show doesn’t allow the viewer to feel and experience the depth of the relationships.

Through the eight episodes, you get a sense of Vishal and Noyonika’s history, but not once do you feel the intensity of love Vishal has for her.  Another relationship that the creators could have given more weight to and the space to grow is Noyonika and Sana's. Though you see the two of them hanging out after office hours and get a sense of their bond, it still doesn’t hold strong through the season. So when Sana testifies against Rajiv in court, one feels nothing.

 

Rushed Cases & Juvenile Dialogues

A still from The Trial.

(Photo Courtesy: YouTube screengrab)

The way the cases are fought in The Trial has been altered keeping in mind the Indian judicial system, and the show definitely has some interesting cases -  for example, the one with the insurance company versus a pregnant women, another case where a school kid is accused of murder and a defamation case against a journalist.

There's a reference to the Sushant Singh Rajput case too, and though I am of the opinion that people should stop using the tragic case for content, but I think what the show does right with this is that it calls out how unfair a media trial is for anyone, and people should be held accountable.

The Trial boasts of a great star cast and a premise, but it doesn’t do justice to The Good Wife.  I wish they stayed with the cases longer and not left loose ends, gave the viewers more credit and exercised ‘the show not tell’ more. Not to mention the dialogues, that feel too dated and juvenile.

Acting, The Only Saviour

Jisshu Sengupta and Kajol in a still from The Trial.

(Photo Courtesy: YouTube screengrab)

If it wasn’t for the cast I don’t think I would have gotten through this eight-episode show. Even a seasoned actor like Kajol hasn't been used to her optimal capacity. Noyonika's story is universal. A single mother and a woman with agency, she fights against all odds to provide for her daughters, stands up against her regressive mother-in-law and also struggles with the dilemma of being "the good wife." But the makers haven't done full justice with this strong character.

The dialogues don't support the acting prowess of the actors.

Jisshu Sengupta, Vishal Chaubey aka Alyy Khan, who plays Noyonika's boss Vishal Chaubey, Sheeba Chaddha (Malini, a partner in the firm) Kubbra Sait (Sana, an investigator) are good actors, but the cast doesn’t come together as a whole.