Griha Laxmi Season 1 Review : With its improbable events, this series fails to deliver a convincing plot

Story: Laxmi, a maid, finds several gunny sacks of weed and secretly takes two. After her efforts to sell them to drug dealers fall through, she begins selling the weed on her own, aided by her rapper friend.

Review: ‘Griha Lakshmi’ is an improbable and exaggerated series set in the small town of Betaalgarh, where logic takes a backseat, and viewers must suspend disbelief to follow the outlandish plot. The story centers on Laxmi (Hina Khan), a maid working in several households, whose husband Milan (Manish Raisinghan), burdened by debt, works as a peon at the local police station. Laxmi’s brother-in-law is a constable at the same station. Desperate to lift her family out of poverty, Laxmi seizes an unexpected opportunity when she stumbles upon gunny sacks of marijuana. This discovery propels her into the dangerous world of drug dealing. The town’s drug trade is controlled by local kingpin Vikram Kandawal (Dibyendu Bhattacharya) and his dealer Surya (Hariish Kumar), all under the distant command of Karim Qazi (Chunky Panday) from Dubai. As the drug problem escalates, senior police officer Balram Tokas (Rahul Dev) is brought in to crack down on the booming illegal trade. However, unknown to the police and the drug mafia, Laxmi, now operating under the alias Rani, has her own plans and a few surprises in store.

This crime drama feels like a waste of time, with scenes that often verge on unintentional hilarity. The cringe-worthy dialogues occasionally evoke laughter for all the wrong reasons. While the series boasts a cast of talented actors, many seem to be sleepwalking through their roles, lacking any real engagement. The only redeeming feature is its brisk pace, with events unfolding rapidly and each episode running for an average of 30 minutes, packing in plenty of action. However, the series falls short of its potential. It could have taken inspiration from shows like ‘Griselda’ and ‘Queen of the South,’ which successfully depict women rising from humble beginnings to become powerful drug lords. Despite an intriguing premise, the lacklustre execution robs the series of any real enjoyment.

Hina Khan delivers a sincere performance as Laxmi/Rani, but her efforts are undermined by an uninspired script that fails to support her. Dibyendu Bhattacharya brings a menacing presence to the role of drug lord Vikram Kandawal, but his character ultimately devolves into a caricature. Rahul Dev stands out as the most convincing of the cast, portraying super cop Balram Tokas with a believable blend of grit and authenticity, particularly with his desi Haryanvi dialect. Chunky Panday, appearing in the final episode as Karim Qazi, the Dubai-based drug lord, cuts a striking figure but falls short in delivering the necessary gravitas for a character managing a vast drug empire. Director Rumaan Kidwai, making his debut after assisting filmmakers Mani Ratnam and Shaad Ali, had a promising story at his disposal but fails to capitalize on it.

‘Griha Laxmi’ is a missed opportunity, hindered by its lack of realism and depth. The transition of Laxmi from a maid to a drug seller feels poorly developed and overly convenient, leaving little room for genuine investment in her journey. The premise, where a maid effortlessly steals two gunny sacks of marijuana and enlists a perpetually doped rapper as her assistant, stretches credibility to its limits. The series struggles to make its events believable, which diminishes the impact of what could have been a compelling narrative.