The Verdict – State vs Nanavati
Cast: Manav Kaul, Elli AvrRam, Sumeet Vyas
Streaming on: ALTBalaji, Zee5
Episodes: 12
Rating: 

The Verdict — State vs Nanavati opens with Sumeet Vyas, who tries to emulate the late Ram Jethmalani with little success. Minutes into the act, you know that the makers may have bitten off more than they can chew when taking on the retelling of one of the landmark cases of Indian judiciary. Here is a courtroom drama that despite the gripping nature of the case, will not keep you on the edge of your seat.

As the name suggests, the series is based on the 1959 case where Naval Commander Kawas Manekshaw Nanavati was accused of murdering Prem Ahuja, his wife Sylvia's lover. The series delves into the conflicts between Karl Khandalavala (Angad Bedi), Nanavati's lawyer, and Chandu Trivedi, the public prosecutor. As the case progresses and the public interest in the crime of passion rises, Khandalavala — who holds Nanavati's fate in his hands — finds a formidable rival in Jethmalani. Throw a headstrong journalist, Vidya Munshi (Pooja Gor), and Russi Karanjia (Saurabh Shukla), editor of Blitz, into the mix and you've got the ingredients for a riveting watch.

But the predictable writing does the show in. In what can be described as an amateur move, the episode endings lack the cliffhanger, a crucial tool in web series. For a show that intended to tell the tale from the lens of Sylvia, the first few episodes fall woefully short on the promise.