‘Siri’ Netflix Series Review - Creates Awareness But Lacks Entertainment

Siri, the new Kenyan Netflix series is based on the Majani Tea Garden and the lives of various workers working there. The owner of the farm, Mr. Majani has a wife and a young son, Bob. He was very concerned after the supervisor of the field died. The rumors of the supervisor making a list after his death were catching the wind in the village and everyone was scared about it.

Suleiman, the supervisor who died was said to have made a list of the people who’ll follow him to the grave. This point could be utilized in a great manner in the series, however, it gets ignored but repeated at the same time for three episodes of the show.

Mr. Majani wanted his workers to get tested for HIV. As there are taboos around the disease, the people were reluctant to get checked and hence the owner’s wife suggested the idea of a roadshow. As Majani was so full of himself, he didn’t heed the advice given by his wife.

There are lives of other farm workers also shown and out of them, it is Martha’s that catches your attention. Her husband does nothing and thinks that God will put food on their table without doing any job. The couple had many kids and Isaiah (the husband) still wanted more as he wished for three sons. Martha was facing difficulties feeding the kids as his husband was a lunatic and at the same time was forced to try for more kids.

It is good how this Kenyan series attempts to educate people about HIV and how they can still live a normal life despite contracting the virus. The various aspects of how society reacts after knowing one is positive have also been shown. The world has progressed rapidly in the field of medicine and nowadays HIV positive people too have a chance of living a long and happy life.

What I was not satisfied with was how Siri tried to cover the story of so many couples and the Majani family. Even the gatekeeper’s story has been shown. I have no comments on why the writers these days are trying to incorporate everything in just one script. Looking at the ending of the series, there’s a high possibility that another season will be coming. It would have been wise if some characters were given their due importance in the next series if it’s on the ecards.

There are twelve episodes with a duration of 25 to 27 minutes each. The plot of the show overall is very precise. The writers wanted to show the lives of various families involved in the Majani Tea Graden and in every scenario, we can see that it is the wife who is shown to be suffering or being cheated on. There is just one character, Emily, who seems to be an intelligent woman with no ties to a man. Other than her, all the women are sick of their husbands and Emily is the one giving them advice.

In all, this show might not be binge-worthy as there are too much of subplots and blabbering. This Kenyan series is good in terms of educating people about HIV and other than that, it’s below average. The actors in Siri have done a good job, but the characters are exact copies with just a few differences. It was too much watching women suffer while the husbands are too self-absorbed.

Final Score – [5/10]
Reviewed by - Riya Singh
Follow @_riyasinghhh_ on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times