Hush Hush: An intricately woven whodunit which shows how crime impacts rich and poor differently

Prime Video’s Hush Hush is the love child of Made In Heaven and Delhi Crime . It explores the friendship of four upper-class women who have sushi and wine at get-togethers, discuss their in-laws, have superficial conversations but find solace in each other’s company as they navigate life with its trials and tribulations. The elegant, shimmery and candyfloss lives of Zaira, Saiba, Dolly and Ishi go haywire when they witness a crime at an engagement soiree. Hush Hush is the story of how these women chose to stick together in dark times that followed. There are no chest-thumping moments in the show that urge women to support women. There are no over-the-top speeches to drive home the importance of sisterhood. There are, however, subtle moments where we see these women stand like walls in front of the world which dares to threaten their existence.

Hush Hush is a primer on female solidarity. We see each woman lend unflinching support to the other. For instance, when Zaira (played by Shahana Goswami ), discovers that the crime in question was witnessed by someone other than their clique, she puts her fashion store on the line and readily agrees to pay a large sum to the blackmailer. Saiba (played by Soha Ali Khan ) and Zaira make it a point to not bother Dolly ( Kritika Kamra ), who is already struggling with having a baby and societal pressure, with the details of extortion. This sisterly bond, however, isn’t blind allegiance. We see Zaira and Saiba have screaming matches as the two disagree on how the trio should navigate the sticky situation. Each woman has her individuality which doesn’t get lost in the act of playing sisters. This becomes evident when Ishi (played by Juhi Chawla ) asks the women how they’d choose to die to which Zaira says she’d prefer being eaten by vultures while Saiba says she’d love to have a rockstar’s funeral.

In Hush Hush, Tanuja Chandra creates a world which is owned, inhabited and operated by women. The male characters in the series are at the backseat as women take the centerstage. Everyone who is a key character in this whodunit - from the suspects, investigator to the accused - are all women. The presence of men is reduced to officers who aid Geeta (Karishma Tanna) in investigating the case. Other male characters are love interests of the central women characters.

This woman’s world is inhabited by women who are flawed. We see Zaira, who heads her own fashion store, single-handedly create a toxic work environment for her employees - one of whom, Meher (played by Kavya Trehan), comes to office despite having a leg injury. When Meher dares to raise her voice against Zaira’s rather unrealistic and frankly, impractical expectations from her employees, the latter asks her to quit her job. Meher breaks down and profusely apologises to Zaira. She rushes out and yells at her colleagues - a classic case of how bosses at senior positions in corporations unknowingly create a toxic work environment.

Hush Hush has plenty of women-on-women crime but doesn’t look down on it because women, too, are humans and are bound to have flaws.

Crime And Class Divide

What is also worthy of appreciation is the show’s clever portrayal of how crime is experienced differently by the rich and the poor. “Madam inn ameer logo ka behind the scene kuch aur hi hota hai,” says the sub-inspector who is assisting Geeta in the case. “Isiliye jitna maza logo ko inke behind the scene mei hai utna hum aam logo ki life mei nahi,” says Geeta. At this point, it seems like the show writers were directly addressing the viewers and calling them out on their obsession with the lives of the rich and the famous and a clear lack of interest when someone from the poor strata of the society loses their life. It highlights how Ishi’s life is only valuable since she is a high-profile PR consultant whose name has been linked with several scams. Would Ishi’s murder get a dedicated investigator and 24x7 media coverage had she been an ordinary citizen is a question we must ask ourselves. Ironically, Ishi too, climbed the ladder of success by starting off as a pickpocket in the streets of Bengal.

In another scene, we see Geeta’s mother give her a blunt reality check in a way only a mother can. “Ameer log humse alag nai hai. Lekin ye jo paisa hota hai, door se dekhne mei achcha lagta hai. Paas jaao toh asliyat saamne aati hai,” she says. Geeta’s mother perfectly sums up the sentiments of the middle class when it comes to crime and murders. Middle-class households do not wish to enter murky waters and stay away from trouble because they are aware that the rich have their money and savings to fall back on if things go wrong. But if things were to go South for a middle-class family where income is not sky-high, they might just go bankrupt - the savings can only sustain so may court visits and lawyer fees. Perhaps, that is why, as Geeta’s mother says, “Middle-class people should stay as far away as possible from the rich. Tread carefully, my child…”

Crime often takes a toll on the poor in ways the rich cannot comprehend. While Zaira, Saiba and Dolly are visibly shaken after learning about a murder, Ishi’s house help Rekha (played by Nisha Jindal) breaks down and cries inconsolably when she finds out that she was at the crime scene. Rekha is acutely aware that the cops might just well frame her for the murder while the upper-class privileged women living in glass houses might walk scot-free, Geeta, who herself belongs to a middle-class household herself, grills Rekha on how she managed to build a house being a domestic worker. For the poor, facing interrogation by the cops seems troublesome because they know their economic status makes them vulnerable to exploitation.

All in all, Prime Video’s Hush Hush has some high moments. But more importantly, it addressed, rather unapologetically, why the poor shudder at the thought of being present at the crime scene while the rich, who might as well have committed the murder, often face no consequences.

Hush Hush is streaming now on Amazon Prime Video.

Deepansh Duggal is an entertainment, pop-culture and trends writer based in New Delhi. He specializes in op-eds based on the socio-political and gender issues in the world of entertainment and showbiz. He also writes explainers and occasionally reviews shows in the OTT space. He tweets at @Deepansh75. 

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