Juhi Chawla, a Bollywood legend, makes her return to the screen in this Prime Video India miniseries. The cast is full of recognizable faces (including Saif Ali Khan’s sister Soha Ali Khan) and a propulsive trailer that feels worthy of these big names. So, should this be your next binge?
HUSH, HUSH: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
Opening Shot: In 1978 in Kolkata, two girls are running through the night, breathing heavily as though something (or someone) is chasing them.
The Gist: Four women who have been friends for a long time are each dealing with issues ranging from marital and in-law issues to white collar crimes that are broadcast on the news all over town. At a party, the women find Ishi (Juhi Chawla) arguing with a man and they all act in self-defense against him. Reeling from the fallout, they are desperate to get back to their lives but don’t know how to live with this secret.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? This feels like India’s answer to Big Little Lies, with a group of four middle-aged women at the center of a crime.
Our Take: After one episode, I’m intrigued. The plot is immediately enticing and the main characters all have rich inner lives and their own dramas to be worried about — it’s important that I felt as interested in their day-to-day dramas as I did about the larger scandal that they become involved in.
To that end, the first episode is plotted well, drawing audiences in from the beginning and slowly unraveling the different threads at play. Chawla’s character in particular is the hardest to read while being the most central to the dramatic turns of the plot, and that air of mystery works well. It helps, too, that across the board, the performances are rich and lived in, and it doesn’t take long to understand the dynamics at play between the women.
When the episode ends, the cliffhanger will make you want to press play on episode 2, which is all you can ask from the first episode of a show like this.
Sex and Skin: None.
Parting Shot: A major spoiler, so read on with caution: Ishi is shown laying in a pool of her own blood in the bathroom as the other women try desperately to get ahold of her.
Sleeper Star: Kritika Kamra plays Dolly, a woman in a failing marriage to an uber wealthy businessman, with a mother-in-law who is constantly nagging her about grandchildren. Dolly finds herself at the center of the crime and Kamra’s facial expressions are amazing in conveying the confusion at what just happened to her.
Most Pilot-y Line: In the opening scene, the older girl tells her younger sister, “I’ll always protect you,” which is a tried and true sign of a future broken promise.
Our Call: STREAM IT. Juhi Chawla’s return to the screen is well-plotted and filled with nuanced characters and storytelling.
Radhika Menon (@menonrad) is a TV-obsessed writer based in Los Angeles. Her work has appeared on Paste Magazine, Teen Vogue, Vulture and more. At any given moment, she can ruminate at length over Friday Night Lights, the University of Michigan, and the perfect slice of pizza. You may call her Rad.
