Whenever we talk of laughter cop shows, the first name which always comes to mind is FIR. SAB TV now is again treading on the same path with a show titled Madam Sir.
Makers, Jay Mehta, have tried to make the plot different from the above Kavita Kaushik slapstick, which went on and on. Madam Sir is more slice of life. Here, the baton is shared by SHO Hasina Malik (Gulki Joshi) and inspector Karishma Sharma (Yukti Kapoor)
The title, Madam Sir, refers to how police personnel addresses their women seniors.
The other main cast includes head constable Puspa Singh (Sonali Naik), who is also the mother in law of Karishma, and constable Santosh Sharma essayed by Bhavika Sharma, respectively.
The setting is only women police station housed in Mughal fort, which is on the verge of closure for lack of FIRs. To add humor, they show neighborhood shopkeepers trying to barge in for nonpayment of dues.
Pushpa, Karishma, and Santosh try to avoid the locals, courtesy hidden doors, but crash into new SHO (Hasina), who gives them 24 hours to stay in business. ( Fleeing cops, not a good message)
Hasina also placates the angry shopkeeper by saying all transactions henceforth will be in cash.
Pushpa organizes a shoestring budgeted event to gather local women, who Hasina exhorts to speak up. Sadly no one sans the station help wants to speak up, but the cops refuse to pay attention to, thinking she is again asking for her dues. The first proper case they might have is of education racket, but will they get enough evidence against a local strongman to start legal proceedings? There are only two men in the thana, one is a cop who is smitten by Santosh, and the other is a perpetual prisoner who prays to god to keep the station gong, lest he will lose his only shelter.
Smart Hasina knows the importance of staying within the law and also keeping her cool. Her introduction scene clearly showed who is in charge?
Single Hasina then meets a restaurant owner for a possible matrimonial alliance, but he seems to be a typical MCP, who does not want women to work post marriage.
Out of action, Gulki fits the character like a glove and also looked really fit. The scene where she chases the pickpocket furbishes her hard-nosed cop credentials.
Karishma, on her part, is the female version of yesteryear angry cop Vijay ( The Big B), who believes that criminals only understand the language of force.
Her domestic clashes with her mother in law and ideological issues with Hasina makes for an interesting watch. Viewers would want to Karishama’s husband and some romance. Yukti seems to be overdoing the loud part (given that the format does not allow for real action). On the plus side, she has got the local dialect well.
Sonali is a past master of the acting trade. The scene where Pushpa directs what to cook at home while on duty, is reflective of how effortlessly women handle both work and domestic responsibilities. Bhavika Sharma is cute as the dumb blonde.
Since there will be episodic plots, a lot will depend on the guest casting. If the latter is good, the stories will come out well.
In an attempt to stick to the light-hearted genre, most of the cases should not be gruesome. Hasina and gang will also try to broker domestic peace as mohalla cops are required to do as part of their beat job.
All in all, a good effort, but the biggest issue would be comparisons with FIR.
With SONY SAB being #2 on the grp sweepstakes, the makers will have to deliver good numbers, upfront. However, it has nothing major to give more than 2.5 stars.