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Qatil Haseenaon Ke Naam Review: Gritty Noir Tale Of Fiery Women Battling It Out For Justice
Oscar-nominated British-Indian director Meenu Gaur's noir anthology series Qatil Haseenaon Ke Naam that will stream on December 10 on Zee5 narrates the badass tale of some fiery and no-nonsense women who are down to business and on a quest to trace the scale of justice for themselves. The different characters revolve amidst the backdrop of a mysterious locality with its own share of secrets and macabre stories. The centrestage is taken by these women who leave no stone unturned to turn the tides towards themselves in the face of deep-rooted patriarchy and misogyny.
What's Yay: The riveting plotline, strong performances, a unique take on the otherwise stereotypical femme fatale concept and the music as well as the cinematography.
What's Nay: Some of the parts in the storyline could've been avoided and made the episodes less convoluted and long.
Story
Qatil Haseenaon Ke Naam revolves around a tale of diverse women ranging from a spiritual leader's eccentric wife, a nurse who has to choose between her love and duty, a high society woman discovering a secret in her marriage, a former judge's wife who has to set the scales of justice straight, a victim of domestic abuse, an ill-fated woman separated by her lover and a woman meted to exploitation right since her childhood. It is how these women battle out for their freedom and justice forms the main crux of the story. Their plotlines also tend to get intertwined with each other through some enthralling twists.
Direction
Meenu Gaur has successfully curated a unique appeal to the otherwise cliched femme fatale narrative, this time through the eyes of women. Against the backdrop of mystery and noir, the plotline shifts from these badass women and each of their actions will leave the audience wanting for more. The writing by Gaur and Farzad Nabi is extremely nuanced with each female protagonist exhibiting the right amount of vulnerability and strength. The powerful dialogues indicate that despite being raw and brittle, these women have an intricate and a sharp sense of empowerment and a quest to uplift their fellow women too. The best part of the writing is that all the characters have a steadfast development and their actions look engaging, empathetic and ruthless at the same time. The only shortcoming is that some over-dramatization of scenes especially involving MaiJi (Samiya Mumtaz)'s character could've been toned down a bit. They laboriously added to the screenplay and the plot.
Performances
The performance was one of the strongest suits of the series. Samiya Mumtaz as MaiJi is captivating in every scene while Sarwat Gilani as Mahek brings the right kind of intensity in her performance. Faiza Gilani as Nurse Kanwal is a delight to behold while Sanam Saeed as Zuvi proves yet again that she's truly effortless in her craft. Beo Raana Zafar was one of my personal favourites as she added her free-spirited flavour to her role of Massey Ma. Eman Suleman and Meher Bano were a visual delight in their respective parts. Other supporting cast members like Ahsan Khan, Gulshan Majeed, Daniyal Asad and Omar Rahim were also convincing in their parts.
Technical Aspects
The music by Ali Sethi especially the title track crooned by Farheen Raza Jaffry is extremely captivating and sets the mystical, sensual and gritty tone of Qatil Haseenaon Ke Naam. The soundtracks from the episodes are appealing and take the storyline forward convincingly. The cinematography by Mo Azmi also wins big and captures the tense yet transcendent aura of the show.
Verdict
Watch Qatil Haseenaon Ke Naam to witness this extraordinary anthology tale of these strong women and their battles through their varied obstacles. The series makes one relive the noir genre with a full relish which has become quite rare now.
Rating
We give Qatil Haseenaon Ke Naam 3.5 out of 5 stars.
