Reeta Sanyal review: Adah Sharma-starrer anti-crime thriller is outlandish, whacky, pulpy and unserious

Reeta Sanyal Review: Adah Sharma-Starrer Anti-Crime Thriller Is Outlandish, Whacky, Pulpy And Unserious

Disney+ Hotstar’s Reeta Sanyal, based on the Amit Khan’s crime thriller novels “Reeta Sanyal Ke Mukkadamein”, opens with Reeta arguing the case in favour of Rocky, a dog who is accused of trespassing on an owner’s property. In another scene, investigating officer Jai Vardan (played by Ankur Rathee) argues why crime shows are so difficult to make—”Kaamchor writers script nahi dete,producer paise nahi deta…”, he is then cut short by Reeta Sanyal (Adah Sharma) who adds “Aur actors achchi acting nahi karte”.

Reeta Sanyal is a self-aware takedown of all the crime thriller shows that have saturated the OTT space. It is whacky, outlandish, over-the-top and I mean all these adjectives as compliments. Given how repetitive the police procedurals and crime dramas have become (there are hardly any actors who haven’t donned a police uniform as a character role), the show takes a satirical approach towards the genre. In one scene, Ishaan Dwivedi (Manik Papneja) says “Third episode mein pata chal gaya killer kaun hai”.

Reeta Sanyal: Plot

Reeta Sanyal flips every trope we have seen in crime dramas on its head and then makes a mockery out of it. So instead of a client who wants to avoid jail, we have Keshav, a man whose sister Alice is murdered by politician Parav Rane, demanding execution. His mother, Sujata, casually walks into one of Parav Rane’s meetings and…waits for it…throws a chappal at him.

So when he is found dead, a chappal-throwing Sujata ji is thrown into the jail. Her daughter Alice is murdered by Rane. Why? Because she refused to serve him drinks at a club. An over-the-top Biance Fernandez (influencer-cum-Rane’s fiance) gives him an alibi. A suited-and-booted Rahul Dev, who plays Reeta’s nemesis—Raj Thakral aka “Choron ka lawyer”, who has no morals and would fight anyone’s case for money.

Reeta Sanyal: Performances

As all the drama unfolds, we are introduced to a quirky assassin Zi, a lollipop-chewing, ball-breaker school girl who beats up a bunch of bad men. What this critic loved about the show is how effortlessly it satirizes police procedurals—the bad guys are demarcated from the good guys. We are practically told not to root for evil Mr Thakral but our protagonist Reeta.

As a critic who has been complaining about black-and-white portrayals of evil v/s good characters, it was refreshing to see this trope being parodied. Ankur Rathee as a love-struck policeman who investigates Rane’s murder does justice to his role. Rahul Dev as a shrewd lawyer and the actor playing Zi, shine the most out of the entire cast which is mostly above average. Comic timing is essential when it comes to pulling off such a show like this. Unfortunately, it is missing in a few scenes.

Reeta Sanyal: Writing And Direction

Director Abirup Ghosh presents the case to us like a PowerPoint presentation, which many crime-thrillers do—instead of allowing the viewers to make their own guesses and reach a conclusion, we see them explain every plot twist, not just underestimating but undermining the viewer’s intellect. There is also a very obvious flashback to Reeta’s life (after all, our protagonist must have some trauma she needs to resolve) about her father’s death which ties her to the Parav Rane’s case—another common trope that is done-to-death in crime thrillers.

In an interview, actress Adah Sharma said that the world of ‘Reeta Sanyal’ is like a comic book. This critic tends to agree. The show doesn’t take itself seriously for a minute and that, of course, is a good thing. The showrunners want us to have a fun ride as they blow punches (most of them clever, some of them stale) at the oversaturation of predictable, same old crime dramas.

Reeta Sanyal: What Works, What Doesn’t 

What doesn’t work for the show as much is that in the process of parodying every crime thriller ever, the show ends up coming across as silly. How silly is too silly? Well, I am talking about a-lawyer-arguing-a-case-for-a-dog-silly. How unserious is too unserious? Unserious enough that in the process of making a joke, the show itself becomes a joke?

Directed by Abhirup Ghosh, Reeta Sanyal is a fresh, experimental approach towards adaptations that we have rarely seen in space. Due for an episodic release over two weeks, the show is pulling no-punches in its takedown of police procedurals. However, it suffers from the same tragic flaw which made Bad Cop, another pulpy, OTT offering from Disney+ Hotstar a lackluster outing—an overdose of pulp and satire that dilutes its central theme. Having said that, Reeta Sanyal is a must-watch for harmless, weekend binge.
Star rating: 3 / 5 stars

Reeta Sanyal is now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.