ZEE5's Black Widows Review: An exciting revenge drama laced with dark comedy

Cast: Mona Singh, Shamita Shetty, Swastika Mukherjee, Sharad Kelkar, Parambrata Chatterjee, Raima Sen, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Amir Ali, Shruti Vyas, Faisal Malik

Director: Birsa Dasgupta

Stars : ***1/2/5

The plot of Black Widow revolves around three women who feel trapped in their marriage. The trio hatch a plan to earn freedom by planting a bomb in their husband’s boat. Just when they think that they have succeeded in their plan and think about moving on, they find themselves in a bigger soup than ever before. On top of it, the investigating officer is convinced that something is fishy and is not willing to bury the hatchet till he had unravelled the complete truth.

Zee5’s Black Widows show is the remake of the 2014 Finnish TV series Muskat Lesket. This is the eighth adaptation of the series and the makers have localised the same before presenting it to the Indian audience.

It packs in a perfect mixture of suspense and humour. What makes it work is the tight storyline that keeps you on the toes till you are done with all the 12-episodes. Another aspect that needs to be lauded is the brilliant acting by all three protagonists. Mona Singh, Shamita Shetty and Swastika Mukherjee are brilliant in their performance and you feel empathy towards them from the first episode itself.

Mona Singh has shown her acting chops in plenty of TV series and web series and she is a treat to watch in Black Widows as well. Swastika Mukherjee is at the top of her game with her flawless acting and her one-liners. Shamita Shetty is a surprise package. She looks convincing even in the dumbest of the things that she does.

Sharad Kelkar had an excellent 2020. He was phenomenal in Tanhaji. Even his role in Zee5's movie Darbaan was appreciable and he is good in his role in Black Windows as well. Wish there is more for him to do in the second season. 

Raima Sen, Parambrata Chattopadhyay and Aamir Ali provide a great support in their respective roles.

While the show has great suspense and one is dying to know what happens next, but it is the dark comedy that needs a special mention. In India, while there are plenty of good crime thrillers but not too many shows that can be complimented for their dark comedy.