Bold and Edgy

A ‘bold family drama’ promised the promos of Maryada Lekin Kab Tak,Star Plus’ late night show. And though it doesn’t show anything we haven’t seen before (suhagraat jokes,wife beating and I’m sure more to come),it’s still fairly,engaging fare.

And what makes it more interesting is that it is set in Haryana,where all is not well in the Jhakkar family of a senior,respected,reputed SP (Vishwajeet Pradhan). So you have rough and tough Jats throwing around their weight while their wives put on a brave,smiling front. What looks good on the surface is murky deep within.

It’s a story of four women — Devyani,the wife of the man of the house,her sister,Uttara,who is probably being punished for her sexually overt looks,she tries hard to convince her good-for-nothing husband she loves him for real but is subjected to sexual and physical abuse,then there is Vidya,the family’s newly-wed,wide-eyed elder bahu whose husband was forced to marry her by his mother and last but not the least is Priya,a middle-class girl,running away from the demons of her past including a failed relationship. She also happens to be the woman,Jhakkar’s youngest son,Aditya is in love with.

What works for the story is each episode is reasonably fast paced and has tension writ all over it. The performances especially by the four women are good (we love Indrani Haldar as the calm and composed Devyani). Each of the four women is strong in her own way and we know would eventually fight back when push comes to shove. Priya switches between being vulnerable and strong (with a little help from Aditya). Devyani’s relationships with her father-in-law (the two share a warm relationship; with him knowing she is fighting a losing battle yet wanting her to succeed) and sister Uttara (there is an awkwardness between the two despite a sisterly vibe) are two of the high points of the show. The men put in decent performances though Rakesh Bapat as the Haryanvi speaking love-lorn Aditya seems to be the weak link. Kamya Punjabi as the sexy but battered Uttara and Ridhi Dogra as the now-timid-now-fire-and-brimstone Priya are fine.

On the flip side,the Aditya-Priya love track sometimes borders on the filmi. Also the drama around goons and thugs hounding Priya and her loser father and brother all the time is completely unnecessary. We know that she has to pay for her past but no need to keep hammering it!

However,despite these flaws,Maryada is still watchable.

Verdict: ***

Try it. It shows you a different side to women who are probably in every other family carrying their own crosses!