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A serial killer to catch another? Well, crime dramas where criminals are freed or called in to catch other criminals are a cinematic dime a dozen, but this time, it is different. A housewife who has killed six people and is serving for life in a jail is brought out (not released) and asked to help out when a new serial killer is aping her pattern. The victims are strangled with a thin nylon rope, their eyelids kept open with glue and their bodies propped up in front of a mirror.
Mrs. Deshpande (Madhuri Dixit Nene), serving time in a jail in Hyderabad (though her hometown was Pune) is summoned by police commissioner Arun Khatri (Priyanshu Chatterjee), the man who had arrested her, to help with the case. He assigns the dynamic ace cop, Tejas Phadke (Siddharth Chandekar) on the case and Mrs. Deshpande is holed up in house arrest in a guarded cottage in the outskirts of Mumbai.
The murders continue, but Tejas, who lives a happy life with wife Tanvi, played by Diksha Juneja, who runs a beauty salon with her friend Divya (Nimisha Nair), is not very sure that using a former serial killer’s “services” is safe. A suspect, Alex (Vishwas Kini), turns out to be innocent, but also devoted to Mrs. Deshpande from childhood after she has killed his tyrannical father. There is a twist in the tale and the Phadke family, comprising also of Tejas’ grandfather, Dinanath (Pradeep Velankar), welcome him into their home. So what happens now? Does Mrs. Deshpande have some tricks or secrets up her sleeve? Is the real culprit arrested? And why is he on a killing spree and copying the former serial killer?
All this makes for a heady and engrossing drama with twists galore to keep us intrigued, and a thankfully logical climax despite interesting red herrings is the icing on the murder cake!
Director-co-writer Nagesh Kukunoor had kind of lost his way in films after making a few gems (Hyderabad Blues, Teen Deewarein, Dor, Iqbal) but seems to have found his forte in web series, spinning the brilliant City of Dreams seasons and The Hunt: The Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case. He writes a fabulous script and exudes terrific confidence in the handling of this thriller in which no one seems to be what they are.
More than the first-rate plot (based and adapted officially from the French thriller La Mante), it is Kukunoor’s sensitive-cum-smart psychological study that grabs attention. Getting his seasoned and well-established actors to foray deep into the layers of their respective characters, he spins a yarn that is superbly nuanced in its storytelling and personae-etching. Mrs. Deshpande in particular has incredibly riveting back-stories and we see many other characters, even relatively minor ones, coming up as memorable essays of human behavior on the show.
Madhuri Dixit-Nene is magnificent in a role just tailor-made for her acting abilities. Siddharth Chandekar comes across, yet again after Kukunoor’s City of Dreams, as a fantastic actor and his characters has shades that he has to paint with underplayed strokes. Nimisha Nair makes a mark as Tanvi’s business partner and Tanvi (Diksha Juneja) is also very expressive. Priyanshu Chatterjee is very good. In smaller roles, Pradeep Velankar, Kevin Dave and Kenneth Desai are very good. and Vishwas Kini as Alex is superb.
Technically excellent, the series has lovely dialogues that seem very natural and yet hard-hitting when needed. This is one of the best series from 2025 and should not be missed.
Rating: ****
Jio Hotstar presents Applause Entertainment’s & Kukunoor Movies’ Mrs Deshpande Produced by: Elahe Hiptoola Directed by: Nagesh Kukunoor Written by: Rohit G. Banawlikar & Nagesh Kukunoor from a story by Alice Chegaray-Breugnot, Grégoire Demaison, Nicolas Jean & Laurent Vivier Music: Tapas Relia Starring: Madhuri Dixit-Nene, Priyanshu Chatterjee, Siddharth Chandekar, Diksha Juneja, Pradeep Velankar, Nimisha Nair, Vishwas Kini, Kavin Dave, Kenneth Desai, Sulakshana Joglekar, Shivraj Walvekar & others
