BOTTOM LINE
Priyamani Saves a Passable Show
PLATFORM
JIO HOTSTAR
RUNTIME
1h 56m (6 Episodes)
What Is the Film About?
Tarunika’s life spirals after her husband Gunaseelan’s sex tape leaks. She returns to work after a sabbatical, joining an old flame Hari’s law firm. While clearing her friend’s son in a drugs case, she also deals with a banned fertility clinic linked to her husband’s imprisonment, during which vile claims surface in court. Unexpected developments in the case leave her in a state of jeopardy.
Performances
While Priyamani has always been a quality performer, the variety in her portrayals in the second innings has only made her more versatile, enhancing the impact of most movies/shows she’s been a part of, considerably. Playing her age and slipping into the skin of a family woman caught in a messy situation, she brings authenticity to her performance in Good Wife with ease.
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Sampath Raj, in the shoes of the flawed, powerful and occasionally endearing husband, remains in control of the proceedings, lending his performance an element of restraint too (besides the assertive screen presence). Aari Arujunan, within the limited scope of his role, makes a mark. Mekha Rajan, in the shoes of the toughie boss, gets her authoritarian act right, while Amrutha Srinivasan and Adithya Shivpink do the needful with well-crafted supporting roles.
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Analysis
Good Wife, the Tamil show directed by veteran actor-filmmaker Revathy, headlined by Priyamani, is the second official Indian adaptation of the popular American legal series The Good Wife, after Kajol’s The Trial (in Hindi, released in 2023, also for Jio Hotstar). The time taken to develop the Tamil version makes it evident that the creators have taken stock of the mixed feedback for the Hindi show, ensuring necessary refinements.
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The writing in Good Wife is sharper, and the execution does a better job of preserving the soul of the original. On paper, Tarunika’s character arc is a dream for any actor to portray, with all its complexities – a middle-aged woman whose marriage takes a turn for the worse after her husband’s leaked sex tape, having to prove her worth at work after a 16-year-break, joining an old flame’s law firm, pitted against a male colleague to retain her position.
That’s not all; Tarunika, besides confronting casual sexism at courts, has to deal with two teenagers back home, who are also grappling with the strange developments in their parents’ marriage and friends nearly ostracising them at school. When she stops her car in the first episode, overwhelmed by the anxiety of the situation, the show does enough to make you understand her mind space. It’s the kind of empathetic treatment the material deserves.
Though the show is packed with a plethora of events, twists, and turns, it’s all about a woman straddling her personal and professional worlds, and how they more often collide. Unlike the Hindi version, which seemed like a stray collection of episodes, lacking any effort to portray the inner resilience of the pivotal character or a strong emotional core to bind the narrative together, the Tamil show makes us care for the developments in Tarunika’s life, even if she’s flawed.
While the show gets its emotional and dramatic beats more or less right – the dicey situation at home, the tension with Lavanya at work – the legal drama is not as absorbing as it could have been. One somehow ends up feeling these are obligatory pieces, placed to establish Tarunika’s professional mettle; the cases often feel vague, lack punch, and appear functional. Whether it’s Aadhya or Vel Pandian leading to the fertility clinic case and her later pursuit to prove Gunaseelan’s innocence, the enthusiasm in the storytelling wanes with time.
Towards the end, the easy resolution for Tarunika on the work front, about her tussle with Umar over the only vacancy, is also underwhelming. However, the creators make up for it with the mounting tensions in her marital life. On the whole, the crisp episodes (barely over 30 minutes) largely keep the show’s inconsistencies in check, leaving little time for the viewer to ponder, quickly transitioning from event to event in the story. Besides the focused execution, what truly works for Good Wife are the apt casting and neat performances.
Thanks to two powerhouses of talent – Priyamani and Revathy – they make Good Wife click.
Music and Other Departments?
K’s music/score leaves no scope for complaint, it does what it’s expected to, steering the narrative forward without major bumps. The cinematography, by Siddharth Ramaswamy, is slick and visually complements the mood of the show, helped by the neat production design and apt costumes. More context and depth in the legal drama could’ve amplified the show’s impact further. The runtime, around three and a half hours, is ideal and the brisk pacing works to its advantage.
Highlights?
Priyamani’s screen presence and performance
Neat execution
Slick pacing, no major bumps in the storytelling
Drawbacks?
Absence of a strong punch with the legal drama
Convenient resolutions with the subplots
Did I Enjoy It?
Kind of.
Will You Recommend It?
If you enjoy legal dramas led by a strong female character and don’t mind average courtroom proceedings..
Good Wife OTT Series Review by M9
