Black Widows Review: Mona Singh, Shamita Shetty, Swastika Mukherjee's Murder Plan Should Have Been Busted Before Execution

Here's my review for ZEE5's latest presentation, Black Widows starring Mona Singh, Shamita Shetty, Swastika Mukherjee, Sharad Kelkar and Raima Sen

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Black Widows Review: Mona Singh, Shamita Shetty, Swastika Mukherjee's Murder Plan Should Have Been Busted Before Execution
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If you're planning to watch Zee5's dark comedy thriller, Black Widows, my advice to you is keep a painkiller handy! This 12-episodic web series, which revolves around the lives of three troubled women, will test your patience at various levels. It was my call of duty, so I had to sail through the 12 episodes, but as a viewer I don't know if you will be able to sit through the entire series, or would just jump to the last episode to know how the circus ends. 

The story is adapted from Finnish series, Mustat Lesket. Though I haven't watched the original, after seeing the adaptation, I have lost all will. The trailer of the series is self-explanatory about the plot. Mona, Shamita and Swastika are in an unhappy marriage, and one fine day, just like that, they decide to kill their husbands to get freedom. Seriously? 

And what's their master plan? Well, they bomb the yacht their husbands were chilling in and boom, that's it. Most definitely, the ladies forgot that there is law and order still existing in the country! What they thought would be an easy, tension-free, rosy life, turns out to be a mess (I mean what were they expecting?) once the investigation begins. 

There is a third angle in the story to add more drama, in case you doze off. A strong, cunning, sexy entrepreneur- Inaya, played by Raima Sen. She is the owner of a Pharma company, which is creating a virus to double its income on vaccines. And Mona's husband, played by Sharad Kelkar is connected to this entire nexus. 

There are so many unnecessary characters in the show, that I had to literally ask myself a few times, 'iska kaam kya tha series mein?' Some of the twists in the story don't create curiosity but leave you bugged, because, hello, you're increasing the minutes of the show. 

The direction, by Birsa Dasgupta, lacks finesse at many places, which is required in a murder mystery. Too many loopholes in the screenplay, continuity, and over all execution. 

The actors of the web series also don't impress, well, most of them. I still don't know why Shamita agreed to make a comeback on screen with such a frivolous role, whose writing is as confused as her character's stance on her financial status. I mean she claims to be broke but the way she dresses seems ma'am is straight out of sex and the city! Mona is average, Swastika holds your attention and Sharad does a fair job. No opinion on Raima. 

Overall, Black Widows lacked a neat vision. In an attempt to make it twisty and engaging, the director made it draggy and aimless. Had she not introduced so many sub-plots, characters and stuck to a main track, and wrapped up the series in 8 sharp episodes, this review would have been way different. I'll say the series is blahworthy and give it 2 stars. 



Image source: Youtube/ZEE5,Instagram/monajsingh