Show Name: Black Widows
Cast: Swastika Mukherjee (Jayati), Shamita Shetty (Kavita), Mona Singh (Veera), Sharad Kelkar (Veera’s Husband), Parambrata Chatterjee (Investigating Male Cop), Shruti Vyas (Investigating Female Cop), Raima Sen (Special Appearance as Inaaya)
Direction: Birsa Dasgupta
Ratings: 3.5 stars
‘Marriage’. For some, it’s just a way of living and a sort of ‘official license’ between couples to live together whereas for some, it’s a societal norm that they take very seriously and the celebrations that follow validate the same. Irrespective of whatever way an individual treats the ‘institution’ of marriage, it is never really a ‘bed of roses’. Abusive marriages are for real and the moment any man or woman feels that his or her life is equivalent to ‘hellfire’, the usual common and accepted decision is to opt for divorce. But what happens when someone chooses to ignore the ‘normal’ and opt for the ‘my way or highway’ approach? Well, certainly it would cause a massive upheaval in the lives of the concerned people. Birsa Dasgupta’s ‘Black Widows’ is pretty harps on this narrative.
Three ladies, Jayati (Swastika), Kavita (Shamita Shetty) & Veera (Mona Singh) are strong and level-headed individuals whose lives have turned into a mess, all thanks to the abuse they face daily from their respective husbands. While Jayati’s husband beats her like an animal thereby shunning her loud screams behind closed doors, Kavita’s husband is a rare unrepentant opportunist who doesn’t even hesitate to push his wife to sleep with his subordinates and seniors to climb the ladder of professional hierarchy at a brisk pace. All is not well even at Veera’s ‘abode of heaven’ as her husband Jatin (Sharad Kelkar) threatens to take away their daughter from her thereby leaving a permanent scar in her mind.
Usually, after such torturous behaviour, women opt for divorce. But these ladies have endured so much pain and menace that the best solution they find to stop all this is to murder their respective husbands. The result of this ‘masterplan’ is a group trip planned at a lakeside property where they plan a ‘sweet revenge’ by bombing a speedboat (husbands dead in accident plot). But is it actually going to be so simple or is there a lot more in store than what meets the eye? Are there any survivors? Is there any revenge drama set to unfold? Well, no spoilers thereafter.
Black Widows is a story of three women who plan to murder their husbands and take justice on their own hands to start life afresh. However as one would expect, things don’t go as per plan and the result is a 12 episodic entertaining series that will keep you glued to the screen. The direction and narrative flow genially and the impact of the three leading ladies’ on-screen performance evoke multiple emotions, from anger, to pain to remorse to vice.
Swastika Mukherjee is effortless when it comes to playing the quintessential ‘feminist’ with her ‘no-nonsense attitude’. Mona Singh plays a convincing mother who can go to ‘any extent’ for the sake of her daughter and Shamita Shetty, who marks her acting comeback, fits perfectly into the shoes of an impetuous and madcap Kavita. Parambrata Chatterjee and Shruti Vyas impress in their limited screen presence as the leading investigating officers of the case. There’s an interesting sub-plot where Inaaya (Raima Sen), whose money-laundering activities include manufacturing a virus to multiply her earnings with the vaccine (Covid 19 anyone?), play a crucial role to connect the unfinished dots.
Overall, this grim drama constantly exudes an air of tension that runs through deep which keeps viewers hooked. The cinematography adds to the chill and apt performances add cadence to credibility.
Overall, a fun watch for those who love revenge dramas and mystery thrillers.
We give it a 3.5/5