JioHotstar’s Criminal Justice series, which is adapted from BBC Studio’s British series of the same name, revolves around lawyer Madhav Mishra (Pankaj Tripathi) and the cases he takes upon, which are considered impossible to crack. Criminal Justice: A Family Matter, the fourth season in the series, revolves around another case taken by him.

But by now, Madhav has established himself as a force to reckon with. The law circles are now pretty much taking him seriously. He is joined by his brother-in-law Deep (Aatm Prakash Mishra), Shivani Mathur (Barkha Singh) and his wife Ratna (Khushboo Atre).

This time, it’s the story of well-known surgeon Dr Raj Nagpal (Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub), who has separated from his wife and lawyer Anju (Surveen Chawla) but they haven’t divorced. She lives just next door because she wants to be there for their daughter Ira (Khushi Bhardwaj), who is suffering from Asperger’s Syndrome. Raj has hired a full time nurse Roshni (Asha Negi) to take special care of Ira. After some time, Raj and Roshni become close and fall in love. Anju is fine with it while Ira considers Roshni as her best friend.

During Ira’s birthday party, Raj and Roshni get involved in a fight. This results in Roshni leaving the house in anger. The following morning, Kamala (Amruta Sant), the house help, enters Nagpals’ residence and is shocked too to see a dead blood-soaked Roshni lying in Raj’s arms. The police consider Raj to be the culprit and arrest him.

Anju approaches Madhav and requests him to fight Raj’s case as she believes he is innocent. Madhav agrees and enters a difficult maze yet again.

The biggest plus point in this season is that the screenplay, on most of the occasions, is fast paced, which makes for an absorbing watch. The events are women in a smooth manner and keep you interested in knowing what would happen next. However, issues crop in the last three of the eight episodes that prove to be lengthy.

The show has an interesting premise. The idea of Raj and his wife Anju not being divorced, yet the former having another relationship with the nurse (Roshni) takes you by surprise. But the newness is seen only in the initial episodes and later on, the show becomes yet another murder mystery, which, although engrossing, follows the same theme as the first three seasons. Thankfully, the final twist turns out to be a savior as it not only takes you by surprise but also touches you.

The camerawork and background score go with the simple nature of the show. The editing is sharp.

The performances are also one of the biggest plus points. Pankaj Tripathi once again shines as Madhav Mishra. He finely balances seriousness and witty humour. Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub succeeds in displaying his talent. He is remarkable in scenes where his expressions do all the talking. Surveen Chawla also puts her best foot forward and provides a mature act. Asha Negi is perfectly cast in the role of Roshni and she also delivers.

Khushi Bhardwaj takes away the cake with a brilliant act as a teenager suffering from Asperger’s syndrome. Shweta Basu Prasad yet again scores as a sharp opposition lawyer. Mita Vashisht lives the character of a veteran and intelligent lawyer. From the rest of the permanent cast, Khushboo Atre, Barkha Singh, Aatm Prakash Mishra, Kalyanee Mulay and Ajeet Singh Palawat continue their good work. Atre gets more exposure this time and she makes good use of it.

Overall: Criminal Justice: A Family Matter is an interesting murder mystery plus courtroom drama but the show is now becoming repetitive with four seasons following a similar pattern.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Director: Rohan Sippy

Producers: Applause Entertainment in association with BBC Studios India

Writers: Harman Wadala, Rahul Ved Prakash, Varsha Ramachandran, Riya Poojary, Sandeep Hain, Sameer Mishra and Anurag Pandey

Cast: Pankaj Tripathi, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Surveen Chawla, Asha Negi, Khushi Bhardwaj, Shweta Basu Prasad

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