Shaque Review: Parineeti Chopra Goes Detective, But Does the Mystery Really Hold Up?
Web Series: Shaque: Trust No One
Cast: Parineeti Chopra, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Harleen Sethi, Jennifer Winget, Soni Razdan, Anup Soni & others
Creator: Siddharth P Malhotra & Rensil D Silva
Director: Rensil D Silva
Streaming On: Netflix
Language: Hindi dubbed in English, Tamil, and Telugu
Runtime: 7 episodes of 40 minutes each
Rating:2.5
Shaque: Trust No One starts with a strong premise. Anvita’s (Parineeti Chopra) newborn daughter goes missing from a hospital, and a fresh clue surfaces nine years later. Suspicion falls on everyone around her, including her husband, mother-in-law, and friends. Across seven episodes, director Rensil D’Silva tries to build a mystery, but the show reveals its master plan way too early. You know the culprit by the second or third episode, leaving you waiting for the protagonist to catch up while hoping for a twist that never comes.
The pacing is the series’ main saving grace. The fast-moving plot keeps the show from getting boring, even when the mystery fails to trick you. Parineeti Chopra gives a convincing performance, anchoring the story with a mother’s deep desperation. Jennifer Winget’s entry adds a much-needed spark to the narrative. However, rest of the supporting cast, including Tahir Raj Bhasin, Harleen Sethi, and Soni Razdan, receives very limited material to build real tension or suspicion.
The series suffers heavily from overcrowded subplots. The script attempts to juggle illegal surrogacy, black magic, tarot sessions, extramarital affairs, and a cop dealing with cancer. Instead of adding depth, these thin storylines dilute the main plot. The technical elements, like the background score and camera work, fail to create any real atmosphere or suspense.
Ultimately, Shaque fails at the most basic rule of a whodunit thriller: keeping the audience guessing. Instead of doubting your own theories, you will feel steps ahead of the investigation the entire time. If ACP Pradyuman were on this case, he would wrap it up before the interval, because there is truly nothing hidden to solve. It leaves you feeling like a master detective simply because the show forgot to hide the clue.
