In the early stages of developing The Trial, creator-director Suparn S Varma knew two things for certain—that he had a powerful source material in The Good Wife. Secondly, he would make the adaptation only with Kajol in the lead. The actor steps into Julianna Margulies’s shoes to play lawyer Noyonika Sengupta.

“When it came to casting, I had only one name. I have been a Kajol fan. She has resilience as well as a strong sense of what she will accept and what she won’t. Likewise, Noyonika is a woman of tremendous inner strength,” reasons Varma.

He was confident the leading lady would bring the much-needed depth to Noyonika, who is compelled to begin her life anew after her husband—essayed by Jisshu Sengupta—is put behind bars. “Kajol brings gravitas, and depth of emotional experiences to [her role].”

But at the end of the day, every actor is in service of the script. Adapting an Emmy Award-winning show is no mean feat. Varma and his team of writers had to localise the Disney+ Hotstar offering.

“The cases shown are contemporary. The angle between Kajol and Alyy Khan’s characters had to be reworked because in today’s times, Alyy’s character would be cancelled for having an affair with his employee. The lead character has been changed too. Plus, we knew how the original seasons evolved. So, we could add a lot of those [developments] in the first part itself.”