Never Clear of The Point It is Trying To Make, ‘She’ Is Endurable Owing To Great Leading Performances

Is She finally that show that will bring Netflix’s Indian content into real notice and break the uneven trend? Probably not. All the Imtiaz Ali fans out there, however, are in for a major surprise as they will witness their usual popcorn romance creator divulge into a world filled with grim realities and of course, profanity.

She – created by Ali, co-written by him and Divya Johry while being directed by Arif Ali and Avinash Das does bring in a novel storyline to exploit (pun not intended) but doesn’t have you blown away except some shining moments.

The show’s protagonist Bhumika Pardeshi (played by Aaditi Pohankar) is probably the most complex yet real woman you might encounter easily in your life. A woman who works is the police force constantly being marked with gender discrimination, obvious sexism and being used as a weapon for a high-profile operation. In one the first scenes in the show, three of Bhumika’s male colleagues are seen casually being sexist and when Bhumika comes into the conversation, they ask her, ‘tu hi bata Bhumi, aurato ko police mein hona thik hai kya?’ To this Bhumika replies, ‘mereko pagaar milta hai, mere liye theek hai.’ Bhumi isn’t concerned about being a feminist or schooling her sexist colleagues as for her, she only cares about making a living out of her job.

Nothing is going right for her in life where apart from a job that pays her peanuts, she has a troubled marriage which she is working to get a divorce from, an ailing, nagging and regressive mother to take care of, a rebellious sister and a small house where they struggle to meet daily expenses.

She, as a series constantly shows promise owing to the at times pronounced yet impactful hints at all the possible issues a woman faces in all walks of life to the idea of sex and it being used as a weapon. However, inspite of an appealing plot and riveting set-up, She gets dull too soon and too much. There is gentle smoldering occasionally but it never lights up the plot enough to have you willing to jump to the next episode and binge-watch it without even realizing the time being spent.

Given how stodgy, inconsistent and perplexing the narrative gets, the show is carried throughout by the leading lady of the series, Aaditi Pohankar’s performance as Bhumika. Pohankar brings in the required amount of stoic posture along with the obvious discomfort around her occurrences but her diction, survival instincts and complexities are masterfully portrayed by the actor.

It is a shame that the show shifts focus from Sasya (Vijay Verma) as a character to Nayak (Kishore Kumar G), the main villain who is built up since episode two. The reason I say that is only because of the fantastic performance that actor Vijay Verma exhibits. The man who won accolades for Gully Boy recently is the living breath of the show in the first four episodes and it is his sly behavior, seedy charm, swagger and Verma’s excellent control over the Hyderabadi language and accent that makes the episodes bearable. 

The rest of the case barely manages to make any impression whatsoever, especially Vishwas Kini as Jason Hernandez, the head of the operation for police. He is underwhelming, monotonous and brings the tempo of the show down faster than you would expect. A notable mention to the actor who plays Mhatre as he not only brings in the needed comic element but acts as the perfect friend and brotherly figure to Bhumika.

Just like the main storyline, the parallel plotpoints of She which include Bhumika’s sister and her life choices, her ailing mother and troubled past, a divorce fight with a pervert husband and other things give you flickers and ray of hope in the surprisingly bland series; but they are never enough to keep you hooked on constantly.

Trying to make a constant point about the idea of feminism, sexual liberation, and a woman being inhibited of her complexities in the end – She never entirely gets clear about the actual point it is trying to make and doesn’t entirely succeed in the process of doing so too. It is only saved by fantastic performances by Pohankar and Verma with rare moments of excitement.

Rating - ** (2/5)