Dancing on the Grave and What Lies Underneath

Exploring a gruesome death that seemed to have shaken the entire populace of this nation, the narrative is a chilling retelling of maybe, the crime of the century. The tragedy that took place decades ago will be sure to dumbstruck the audience with the facts that are highlighted.

Investigating into the mysterious disappearance of Shakereh Khaleeli, the series unfurls the chilling facts that are still being deliberated. Reported as missing way back in 1991, the remains of the hapless lady was unearthed approximately 35 months later from the backyard of the home where she lived. Married, to her 2^nd husband, Swami Shraddhanand, six months after she separated away from her ex, Akbar Khaleeli, who was once also her 1^st cousin, Shakereh tried leading a life different from just being wife to a foreign diplomat. But this decision not only distanced her from Akbar, but this resulted in her separation from her four daughters as well. Of them, Sabah, the second eldest, however, kept in regular touch with her mother than her other siblings. So, it was only natural that she first got the inkling of something alarming as she suddenly realized the disappearance of her mother. Searching frantically for her mother in avenues as directed by the husband, Murli Manohar Mishra aka Swami Shraddhanand, she turned to the police in desperation after being deceived for months. Such was his persuasive power that Mishra displayed to keep the daughter frustrated yet consciously unaware of any serious foul play for nearly a whole year. The police themselves took another year before a series of surprise breakthroughs ultimately revealed the crime that remained hidden for so long. But the revelations were unthinkable and terrifying.

Based on personal interviews, police records, rulings, media coverage, discussions with psychologist, author and lawyers, archived footage, historical records, India Today Originals and India Today produces this gripping docuseries that must be fully praised for presenting facts and never trying to irrationally infer. Patrick Graham directs to sieve through the unnerving anecdote of this sensational case and attempts to recreate the likely events that had caught the headlines of dailies in the past and still has the capacity to stupefy the minds of the present and the future.

Goliath......the last duel

A gripping courtroom drama unfolds as the learned warriors draw swords against the legal giants to seek justice that lies beneath the burden of injustice. The show starts with sincere sequences of irritating repeatability but concludes with such a thrill that kicks away the cumulative disappointment due to the slackened pace at the start of the narrative. But on hindsight, it should be acknowledged that the slackened moments might have been a necessity both to prepare for the appropriate ground for the classical crescendo moment and also to let the audience understand the psychological trauma of the protagonist and his state of mind as well as his spirit.

As Billy McBride recuperates from the threat that almost took away his life, his irritability at accepting his torn state of mind estranges him from his daughter. Flashes of memory and dream overwhelm him during his idle moments and not only disturb him but applies break to the momentum of the season that can offend the feelings. But these disappointments will be few and need to be patiently endured to cherish that final moment of classic twist that will be at once wittily terrific and gratefully satisfying.

As Billy brews over the past and tries reviving his health in seclusion, suddenly he is recruited through Patty by her employer, a giant of a law firm, to take steps agains the opoid industry. As the war wages against the chain of the mighty industries in the pharmaceutical business, the lead counsel goes missing and Billy takes up his place. With his usual confidence, Billy takes the case and while starting to score over the opponent he senses something amiss as the other side seems to give away too easily. Dark motives seem to lie dormant while a few are watched. A peculiarly startling discovery is made and Billy is trapped into suspension. Deals are negotiated and witnesses cornered as Billy watches helplessly. The old enemy is befriended as the key seems to lie in Billy taking the stand. How the lawyer conjures himself as the witness remains as one of the smartly crafted and brilliantly played sequences in this battle of brains and deserves applause.

Billy Bob Thornton not only acts in this tense season finale, but directs as well alongside Lawrence Trilling and Derek Johansen to present a refreshing standalone season that also wraps up as the final of a realistically legal series.

Billy Thornton reprises his nonchalant attitude as Billy McBride and his charisma is as addictive as the dope against which the character fights. Nina Arianda similarly reprises as the foul-mouthed but warm-hearted Patty-Solais Papagian who supports her senior colleague, curses him at the slightest of his eccentricities yet harbours the deepest of respects for the veteran in the arena. Arianda will once again be the heart of the theme with her character showing maturity but remaining the same effeminate spirit. William Hurt also reprises with a short peek as Donald Cooperman and adds to the detail significantly.

This must watch saga is highly recommended for the critically skewed Billy and Patty admirers.

Goliath and how to slay the demons

Billy Bob Thornton stars as the coolest brained foul mouthed big hearted lawyer with whom his peers in the field would be happy to keep a distance with if they happen to be his opponent. Watching the drama interspersed with a season of Fargo, in which he is cast in a villain avatar, it was not the only reason that Thornton appeared here as blissfully refreshing to me but this is surely one of his critically appealing performances till date.

Playing the part of once a giant, now turned shadow of his former self, Thornton as Billy bloody McBride spends the greater part of his time between the bar and his residence, when not meeting his scanty volume of clients with a willingness that borders indifference. But life as he got used to it, was going to take a roller coaster turn as he is hooked by Patty Solais-Papagian, a lesser lawyer with a greater ambition, in a case of his lifetime against a weapon manufacturer, represented by none other than McBride-Cooperman, the firm that he helped build but later left due to a personally traumatic episode. With wife estranged and still a partner in McBride-Cooperman and a daughter whose love for her parents gets thwarted by their relations, life was not so easy sailing for Billy already. But this case of challenging the Goliath in the law business swept everything aside. With the power of money and influence weighing heavily against him and Patty, his only hope lay in the justice which also seemed to look askance at quite a few occasions. Evidences are disqualified and witnesses dismissed in season 1, till Billy is trapped to call to stand his arch rival, the veteran with a twisted mind that looked forward for such a sort of bout to obliterate anybody that stand against his pride in this legal drama as the series intensifies. Donald Cooperman holds a grudge against Billy and remains his arch rival with a passion that is greatly perverse and is dutifully portrayed with necessary details by William Hurt that ensures the character is hated but never ignored.

Season 2 finds a more devastated Billy embroiled in a ring of cartel, politics and amour. With a familiar face getting murdered and another innocent destined for the gallows, the desperation for justice gets complicated by involvement of agents of the federal machinery with their distractions of various levels. Frustration runs supreme as the wealthy throws in their influence and the vicious their determined snipers who will stop at nothing to silence their targets. Beliefs are shattered while deceptions dominate that drives Billy to be trapped in the path of treachery. Clearly the best of seasons so far which will tax the emotions as when it seems justice prevails, but it will be partly so with delay that will cost innocent lives. Also, the hand of justice will seem a bit less fast as the verdicts are overruled by violence. Realistic to its core with the poetic touch of fictions, the season spells tragedy as it unmask the true Goliath of our times. There will be losses for Billy that include parts of his memory, but the lessons might teach him and Patty to hold a firmer grip over their instincts.

Memories will return as will some old enemies in season 3 as Billy battles a Goliath with evidence that is complicated to obtain. Fighting water theft in a drought ridden society, the leverage over the liquid sows the seeds of corruption favouring the economy of the riches without a conscience. Twists await while the folds of conspiracy unfurl, revealing surprises for the legal duo of Billy and Patty whose life also seems to be stabilised by some blessed turn of events.

A superb series that climaxes at each season with a cliffhanger but the beauty of the writings designed by Jonathan Shapiro, D E Kelley, Ben Myers, Noelle Valdivia, Tony Saltzman, Marisa Wegrzyn, Jennifer Ames, Steve Turner, Andrew Matisziw makes each theme standalone. The necessity of completion might be required for its absolute clarification, but without it, each season will still be satisfyingly refreshing. There is a rumour for season 4, mainly because season 3 classically concludes with a blend of fright and fresh start, but the critically biased audience will have something to contemplate over without a follow up nevertheless.

Created by David E Kelley and Jonathan Shapiro, the plots are gripping and intense.

The direction of Lawrence Trilling with Dennie Gordon, Alik Sakharov, Anthony Hemingway, Bill D'Elia ensures continuity of perspective amidst the variety of storylines weaving each event within already established fabric.

Radiating his characteristic charm amidst the roughest of situations, Billy Bob Thornton infuses optimism and hope to the deprived as Billy McBride who is practical yet emotionally foolish at times, following ethics that transcends standards but justifies the heart.

Applauds for her effortless performance as Patty Solais-Papagian, the equally foul mouthed partner of Billy McBride, it is Nina Arianda that breathes relief to the show by her impulsive, awkward loquacity. She gets inside the skin of Patty and capably characterizes the firm yet funny sidekick. She is irritatingly sceptical but humane at the same time. The character as well as the actor will be my personal favourite and is the true spirit of the show. Being the effervescent bundle of action called Patty, the frankly natural Arianda effuses spontaneity that uplifts the mood considerably. She proves to be the right partner to Billy with her contrasting attitude of life that is addictive as well as enthusiastic.

Streaming in Prime, this Amazon Original is a must watch for the critical minds in need of entertainment!