SHE’s got everything apart from a compelling story

Solid acting gigs by the cast fail to rescue Imtiaz Ali’s latest from falling flat

KARACHI: Imtiaz Ali has a way with story-telling. He's known for providing his audience with the cinematic experience many might not align themselves with initially but get hooked to right after.

The film-maker's sheer brilliance as a storyteller is proof for him to be counted amongst the best in contemporary Bollywood. The same however can’t be said about his venture as a producer/writer. His latest production SHE is a far cry from his previous outings, and more of a disappointing addition to the Netflix catalogue.



The teaser and the trailers of the show looked promising. The fact that the said show was the streaming debut of a renowned director was reason enough to binge it. But here's the plot twist: SHE lacks the very same narrative Ali has always been lauded for.

SHE revolves around a local female cop finding her own while staying covert for an important mission. The Anti-Narcotics Unit chases the drug kingpin - namely Nayak (Kishor) - to get to the bottom of the upcoming shipments to the city.

It follows a senior female police constable, Bhumi Pardeshi (Aaditi Pohankar), who goes undercover as a prostitute to bust a major narcotics ring in Mumbai. Bhumi manages to capture a low-level goon Sasya (Vijay Varma), who, once under police custody, divulges all the secrets of the business to none other than Bhumi herself. Why you may ask? Because the very same low-level goon sees 'potential' in her.

While some Netflix shows with an indie vibe fail due to a new set of actors and a lack of finesse in performances, this not the case for SHE. The show falls prey to sloppy writing and direction.



The series, directed by Arif Ali and Avinash Das, gets interesting halfway through and by that time, you’ve already lost interest. The only reason one might want to move forward with the show is to see more of Verma as Sasya; he manages to breathe new life into the show through his phenomenal performance.

Pohankar's character, on the other hand, fails to grab attention as Bhumi who fights her own demons throughout the seven episodes. Her peak performance comes out in the final ten minutes of the finale as opposed to her tedious portrayal of the protagonist in the previous episodes - which leaves the viewer frustrated.

Kini and Kishore as Fernandez and Nayak respectively deliver powerful performances. Kishore's role as a drug kingpin was raw and promising. In fact, his Nayak could very well give Nawazuddin Siddiqui's Ganesh Gaitonde a run for his money. Yet, we don't get to see more of him. Nayak's brilliance and shrewdness could have been the saving grace of SHE but he was introduced in the show a little too late. Kini as ACP Fernandez is smart and at the top of his game.



To sum it up, SHE will keep you engaged but will not hold your attention for long. There might be times when you would want to switch off your television in absolute disappointment because one would expect better when it comes to the famous Imtiaz Ali.

But let's get real. Maybe Ali is losing his Midas touch as a writer. His last offering, Sara Ali Khan and Kartik Aaryan starrer Love Aaj Kal (2020) bombed at the box office as well. Maybe we do give him more credit than he warrants.

Lastly, if you really want to watch a cat and mouse thriller, a re-run of Sacred Games just might be a better choice.

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