Murder in Mahim, JioCinema’s new original series based on Jerry Pinto’s novel of the same name, is a crime thriller that tells the story of a brutal murder of a gay sex worker in a public toilet at Mumbai’s Mahim railway station. Starring popular character actions Vijay Raaz and Ashutosh Rana, the series blends conventional crime thriller narrative with social commentary, putting its performances front and centre of the unfolding investigation. All through eight episodes, Raaz’s police inspector and Rana’s former journalist – both of whom are now estranged friends – try to solve the gruesome case in their own distinct ways. Through the course of the investigation, we are taken to gay clubs, queer parties, rallies, and the forbidden bylanes of Mumbai, where the bleak and alarming world of gay prostitution exists after dark. The series dives into the lives of sex workers, depicting their plight and persistence with discernible care. While Murder in Mahim seems a bit overstretched and predictable with beaten plots, familiar loopholes the heavy-handed social commentary at the beginning, it …