Control and Identity

How off-putting is it when someone else makes a decision for you on your behalf? Without caring much to solicit your opinion or ask your piece of mind? How would living under the constant shadow of such a control freak make you feel? About your choices? Or just life to begin with? And what if that person is your father?

TVF’s Latest Offering

Court Kacheri is a 5-episode journey of how privilege can be a mind fuck and confuse the hell out of somebody who is already lost. The latest addition to the house of TVF, CK won't disappoint you one bit as long as you relate to the premise. A legal comedy in its own right, this show is also a testimony of how content when written and acted well can make even mundane subjects appear watchworthy.

Param vs Harish

The show's protagonist, Param (Ashish Verma) is an advocate in the making. His destiny seems to be set in stone in him following his father's footsteps. His old man, Adv. Harish Mathur (Pavan Malhotra) is an established lawyer in Sarjanpur, a small town in where else but UP. Truth be told, Sony Liv's obsession with Indian middle-class oriented TV shows set in UP and Bihar needs to be studied.

Suraj’s Steady Grind

Assisting Harish is Suraj Beriya (Puneet Batra) - kind of the tailor-made offspring Harish would have wanted but never got. He is everything that Param isn't. Respect for a courtroom, love for cases, perseverance against setbacks - Suraj has everything except for a 'Mathur' in his name to be successful. 

Nevertheless, both Param and Suraj get along well without any sign of rivalry. Perhaps because both know that they are not playing the same game. With a childhood screwed up by an absent father and a sooner-than-dead mother, law and any little thing attached to it suffocates Param. Disgusts him. Brutalises him.

Param's Hard Reset

Param lets desperation take over his better judgement and crosses lines; only to get away each time. It's not a vanilla case of him wanting to leave behind the comfort bubble and building his own identity. He just wants to get away from his father - as simple and 'selfish' as that. 

He detests the environment in which he lives - one that Harish seemingly uses to control and influence Param every step of the way. In contrast, Suraj does not have things going for him easy. He is a grinder who likes to dream living in the present (yeah the 'boring' kind). 

But honestly, it's hard to point out flaws in Suraj's approach when compared to the lofty dreams of Param. Not all stories about making the best out of what one has need to be glorious. More so because often this is the life that the common, hard working man lives; and it is all about sustenance whether collar is blue or white. And in the end it's about maintaining the status quo.

Supporting Cast & Final Notes

Beside the key characters, Court Kacheri boasts of a decent supporting cast that could have been used a bit more. You would have liked to see a bit more of Sanskruti (Vaishnavi Chawla) - Param's younger cousin and the only one in his family with whom he's shown to share some kind of a bond. 

Same goes for Anandeshwar Dwivedi. His character Adv. Vikas Choudhary - an up and coming lawyer cum neta could have been allotted a bit more run-time (perhaps a sequel is in the cards?). 

Putting 2017 well behind, Arunabh Kumar has also added two female characters to the series - Anusha (Priyasha Bhardwaj) and Kagzaat ji (Sumali Khaniwale). Anusha's character lacked conviction at times. And the moment you see Kagzaat ji, you can sense an epiphany somewhere - the plot gets a bit predictable there.

To wind up, CK makes a decent watch if you give it a chance to do so.