Murder In Mahim TV Series Star Cast/ Actors: Vijay Raaz as Inspector Shivajirao Jende, Ashutosh Rana as retired journalist Peter Fernandes, Shivani Raghuvanshi as female cop Firdaus Rabbani, Shivaji Satam as Shivajirao’s father Dhular, Divya Jagdale as Peter wife Millie.
Murder In Mahim TV Series Director: Raj Acharya
Murder In Mahim TV Series Release Date: May 10, 2024
Murder In Mahim TV Series Available On: Jio Cinema OTT Platform
Murder In Mahim TV Series Released/ Available In Languages: Hindi, Marathi, Kannada & Tamil
Murder In Mahim Number Of Episodes: 8
Murder In Mahim Episode Duration: 44 minutes (approx each episode)
Murder In Mahim Critic Review:
Turning a readable novel into a thriller works. But not if the premise for the murders is so outdated that you can’t relate to it.
Jerry Pinto’s murder novel was published in 2017 at a time when there was a clamour to strike down the criminality clause attached to Section 377. That was a period when homosexuals feared being arrested for criminality and policemen had a field day blackmailing the vulnerable community that met covertly.
So, a thriller that centres around the deserted washroom inside Mahim railway station, made sense when the novel was written. The washroom was where gay men met in the dead of the night and policemen made a killing blackmailing them. Revenge killings that arose out of frustration at being treated like criminals, was understandable in 2017.
But to make a web series out of it six years after Section 377 was struck down, kills its relevance.
Director Raj Acharya with writers Mustafa Neemuchwala and Udai Singh Pawar takes the lazy way out. Stating that this story was set before Section 377 was struck down in 2018, does not make up for the lack of relatability to the very foundation of the murders. Additionally, there are outraged dialogues by female cop Firdaus Rabbani (Shivani Raghuvanshi) who stomps, “How long should we bear the burden of an outdated British law?” You can’t empathize with the lesbian rant when you know that the law she’s referring to is now history.
The thriller element that keeps the murderer under wraps till the last episode and the chemistry of the lead characters, bring interesting relief. Inspector Shivajirao Jende (Vijay Raaz) has a troubled equation with his father (Shivaji Satam), a retired, corrupt cop. Jende and former journalist Peter Fernandes (Ashutosh Rana), once his best buddy, also have icicles between them that takes a while to melt.
Peter and wife Millie (Divya Jagdale) are anxious about the sexuality of their son.
Jende’s assistant, the hardworking Firdaus Rabbani is in a secret relationship with Rehana (Benafsha Soonawala).
Millie’s cousin Leslie (Rajesh Khattar) has been openly gay, but is hasn’t been easy. It isn’t, to this day. Even after the Supreme Court ruling that took away the criminality, the gay community still has a daily societal fight for a seat at the official table.
With all these problems still relevant, Raj Acharya could have updated the premise and filmed Jerry Pinto’s gay murder novel. But he and his writers don’t make the effort and therefore, the disconnect with the basic premise. Also, even if the issues raised are still a challenge, every one of them has been addressed ad nauseam in several other shows.
Otherwise, the equations work well with Jende the cop and Peter the journalist making a neat investigating team. After saying, “Hum badlav se darte hain (we’re scared of change)”, Peter and Millie’s handling of their son’s sexuality and Jende making up with his father when the latter makes a bid for independence, are sequences with human warmth in them.
Above all, Vijay Raaz, Ashutosh Rana, Rajesh Khattar and Shivaji Satam give credibility to their characters.
Murder In Mahim – Watch Or Not?: I’d skip it because of the outdatedness of the premise and the fact that the issues dealt with have been discussed so frequently in recent times.
Murder In Mahim Review Score Rating: 2 out of 5 (i.e. 2/5)
Murder In Mahim Official Trailer:
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