Mrs. Deshpande review: ‘Dhurandhar’ Madhuri Dixit powers this twisted Indian Ott version of Hannibal Lecter.

Mrs. Deshpande web series review

Normally crime dramas of the world enter around male serial killers, they are even characterized as cool operators and, in some cases, they unintentionally turn into icons. Mrs. Deshpande flips the genre and creates a female serial killer in Mrs. Deshpande – the infamous serial killer of her times who after twenty-five years has an admirer who is committing murders exactly in the same manner.

Obviously, Mrs. Deshpande who basically loves cooking is curious and so we are, Mrs. Deshpande agrees to help the Police in its investigation and an honest police officer Tejas Phadke (Siddharth Chandekar) leads the investigation.

Writer - Director Nagesh Kukunoor along with his writing partner Rohit G. Banawlikar in their Indian adaptation of the French miniseries wastes no time in introducing us to a murder of a young celebrity that sets up the momentum. The biggest USP of Mrs. Deshpande is the genre twist and maze created by the serial killer where the audience is hooked by the antics of the fan and the icon – the current serial killer and Mrs. Deshpande.    

Nagesh Kukunoor after the outstanding brilliance in the reality based investigative thriller ‘The Hunt: The Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case’ shows his flair in this fictional tale having layers of physiological tones and understanding of human nature.

Madhuri Dixit as Mrs. Deshpande is the heart of the show, the super star of her times is charismatic, simple, adorable and yet frightening at will.

Siddharth Chandekar as Tejas Phadke is outstanding as the honest police officer whose life faces unexpected changes and challenges as he investigates the killings with Mrs. Deshpande’s help.

Diksha Juneja as Pallavi – Tejas’s wife and support comes strong as a wife and as a person as the series progresses.

Nimisha Nair as Divya – BFF of Pallavi gets opportunity to show her talent and she impresses.

Priyanshu Chaterjee as Arun Khatri – the senior police officer is competent.

Kavin Dave is fantastic.

Technically well-polished were cinematography by Sangram Giri takes us to different moods and emotions in light, dark and grey marvelously. Tapas Relia’s music adds flavor while the editing by Tapas Shankar is up to mark. Costumes by Gopika Gulvadi are apt.

However, though the twists and turns of the six episodes are compelling and are able to hold the interest of the public in general, a flashback of its cinematic predecessor, the immortal character Hannibal Lecter played by the incredible Anthony Hopkins in ‘The Silence of the Lambs’, in which a serial killer is recruited to help catch a similar serial killer on the loose passes your mind.

Further, Mrs. Deshpande has the required ingredients to please the mainstream audience but after reading the name Nagesh Kukunoor and his brilliance in ‘The Hunt’ haunting my mind, I expected some more insight into the psychopath psych which is not there and later ‘Mrs. Deshpande’ does gets conventional.

Mrs. Deshpande web series review – final words

Powered by Madhuri Dixit, ‘Mrs. Deshpande’ is a chilling, and engaging crime series which keeps you hooked right from the first frame and it’s a perfect binge watch for a crime thriller/psychological thriller fan.

Going with three and a half stars for ‘Mrs. Deshpande’.

Produced by Applause Entertainment and directed by Nagesh Kukunoor, ‘Mrs Deshpande’ is streaming on Jio Hotstar from December 19, 2025.