# The Married Woman
**The Married Woman** is a 2021 Hindi-language drama web series directed by Sahir Raza for the Indian streaming platforms [ALTBalaji](https://www.edgepedia.org/altbalaji) and ZEE5, adapted from Manju Kapur's novel *A Married Woman*. It follows Astha, a wife, mother, and college lecturer in Delhi who begins to question her eleven-year marriage and discovers a relationship with the artist Peeplika, against the backdrop of the communal unrest of 1992.[1](https://www.zee5.com/global/web-series/details/the-married-woman/0-6-3189) • [2](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/web-series/the-married-woman-director-sahir-raza-if-people-are-offended-by-the-story-they-can-switch-it-off-7220383/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original release | 8 March 2021, on ALTBalaji and ZEE5, timed to International Women's Day[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/web-series/the-married-woman-director-sahir-raza-if-people-are-offended-by-the-story-they-can-switch-it-off-7220383/) |
| Format | Hindi drama-romance series; ZEE5 lists 11 episodes of roughly 26 to 36 minutes, while the Indian Express interview described a 10-episode series[1](https://www.zee5.com/global/web-series/details/the-married-woman/0-6-3189) • [2](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/web-series/the-married-woman-director-sahir-raza-if-people-are-offended-by-the-story-they-can-switch-it-off-7220383/) |
| Source | Adapted by Jaya Misra and Surabhi Saral from Manju Kapur's novel *A Married Woman*[3](https://scroll.in/reel/988883/the-married-woman-review-passion-caution-and-unanswered-questions-as-two-women-fall-in-love) |
| Lead cast | Ridhi Dogra as Astha, Monica Dogra as Peeplika Khan, Suhaas Ahuja as Hemant, Imaad Shah as Aijaz Khan, Nadira Babbar as Kalpana[1](https://www.zee5.com/global/web-series/details/the-married-woman/0-6-3189) |
| Setting | Delhi in 1992, during the build-up to the destruction of the Babri Masjid and the communal riots that followed[3](https://scroll.in/reel/988883/the-married-woman-review-passion-caution-and-unanswered-questions-as-two-women-fall-in-love) |
| Audience rating | 6.5/10 on IMDb from about 12,000 user ratings[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11646658/ratings/) |
| Availability | Streaming on ZEE5 (and via Airtel Xstream Play in India); in Germany available on Zee5 by subscription[1](https://www.zee5.com/global/web-series/details/the-married-woman/0-6-3189) • [5](https://suchen.tv/titel/the-married-woman-mX2358) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and plot
Astha (Ridhi Dogra) is presented as a dutiful wife, daughter-in-law, and mother whose own wishes are set aside in an eleven-year marriage to the businessman Hemant (Suhaas Ahuja).[6](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/web-series/the-married-woman-review-the-ridhi-monica-dogra-show-is-painstakingly-slow-7222425/) She teaches English at a college in Delhi, where she meets Aijaz Khan ([Imaad Shah](https://www.edgepedia.org/imaad-shah)), the director of the college's production of *Romeo and Juliet*; the two grow fond of each other, and through him Astha first tastes freedom from her inhibitions.[1](https://www.zee5.com/global/web-series/details/the-married-woman/0-6-3189) • [7](https://gaysifamily.com/culture/something-left-to-be-desired-a-review-of-the-married-woman/)
After Aijaz's death, Astha comes to know his widow, the artist Peeplika Khan ([Monica Dogra](https://www.edgepedia.org/monica-dogra)), who sees through Astha's discontent and becomes the focus of her emotional awakening.[7](https://gaysifamily.com/culture/something-left-to-be-desired-a-review-of-the-married-woman/) Peeplika identifies as pansexual, telling Astha, "Main ruh se mohabbat karti hu… gender se nahi" ("I love the soul, not the gender").[7](https://gaysifamily.com/culture/something-left-to-be-desired-a-review-of-the-married-woman/) The second half of the season tests the bond between the two women: Peeplika wants Astha to choose between her and her family, while Astha is torn between her own happiness and her children's future.[6](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/web-series/the-married-woman-review-the-ridhi-monica-dogra-show-is-painstakingly-slow-7222425/) The season's final episode, "Crossroads", has Peeplika's mother revealing Peeplika's past to Astha, who learns that Peeplika has not been honest with her.[1](https://www.zee5.com/global/web-series/details/the-married-woman/0-6-3189)
A subplot follows an inter-caste marriage between the secondary characters Timsi and Mudassar, whose wedding preparations run through the middle episodes and whose affair is discovered by Hemant's family.[1](https://www.zee5.com/global/web-series/details/the-married-woman/0-6-3189)
## Setting and themes
The series is set in Delhi in 1992, during the period leading up to the destruction of the [Babri Masjid](https://www.edgepedia.org/babri-masjid) in Ayodhya by Hindutva (Hindu nationalist ideology driving 1992 unrest) mobs and the communal violence that followed. The Scroll review describes the show's framing as one in which "one idea of India dies and the possibility of another one takes shape": even as inter-faith tolerance comes under strain, two women take tentative steps toward a life together.[3](https://scroll.in/reel/988883/the-married-woman-review-passion-caution-and-unanswered-questions-as-two-women-fall-in-love) Episodes weave the unrest into the personal story, with Astha accompanying Peeplika to a relief camp during curfew and trying to stop Mudassar from joining the riots.[1](https://www.zee5.com/global/web-series/details/the-married-woman/0-6-3189)
Director Sahir Raza resisted reading the show as simply a love story between two women, calling it "the story of two people who have been conditioned in their respective worlds to discover their individuality and what they want from life".[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/web-series/the-married-woman-director-sahir-raza-if-people-are-offended-by-the-story-they-can-switch-it-off-7220383/) He said the writing drew on a wide range of world cinema rather than a single source, in response to a question about [Deepa Mehta](https://www.edgepedia.org/deepa-mehta)'s *[Fire](https://www.edgepedia.org/fire-1996-film)*, the 1996 film commonly cited as a precedent for lesbian love stories in Indian cinema.[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/web-series/the-married-woman-director-sahir-raza-if-people-are-offended-by-the-story-they-can-switch-it-off-7220383/) The Scroll review likewise argued that the show's observations that people fall in love with souls rather than men or women keep it from being categorized strictly as a lesbian love story in the mold of *Fire*, *Sancharam*, or *Dedh Ishqiya*.[3](https://scroll.in/reel/988883/the-married-woman-review-passion-caution-and-unanswered-questions-as-two-women-fall-in-love)
## Reception
Critical response was mixed, with praise concentrated on the performances. [The Indian Express](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-indian-express) review called the show "painstakingly slow", finding that writers Jaya Misra and Surabhi Saral failed to turn the theme of "love-beyond-gender" into an engaging tale, while crediting Ridhi Dogra, Monica Dogra, Suhaas Ahuja, and Imaad Shah with well-contained performances.[6](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/web-series/the-married-woman-review-the-ridhi-monica-dogra-show-is-painstakingly-slow-7222425/) The same review criticized the inter-caste marriage subplot as adding nothing to the central narrative, and objected to the cliched depiction of the independent Peeplika as an alcoholic who mourns over wine at every meal.[6](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/web-series/the-married-woman-review-the-ridhi-monica-dogra-show-is-painstakingly-slow-7222425/) A Hindustan Times review found the show mostly stereotypical in its portrayal of religion and sexuality.[8](https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/web-series/the-married-woman-review-melodrama-and-monologues-kill-the-charm-101615279431003.html)
The Gaysi review, written from a queer perspective, called the release of a women-love-women story on a mainstream Indian platform a step in the right direction while judging it "just a start and definitely not an exemplary representation of queer stories"; it noted the show's use of small visual cues, such as Astha's hair moving from a tight bun to worn down as her liberation progresses, but found the fourth-wall breaks and message of acceptance occasionally preachy.[7](https://gaysifamily.com/culture/something-left-to-be-desired-a-review-of-the-married-woman/) A Rediff review took the opposite view of the show's boldness, writing that its pansexual female leads explored territory that had perhaps never been explored in Indian entertainment content.[9](https://m.rediff.com/amp/movies/review/the-married-woman-review/20210309.htm)
On IMDb the series holds a 6.5/10 rating weighted from about 12,000 user ratings, with per-episode scores for the first season ranging from 7.2 (episode 1) down to 6.2 (the finale).[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11646658/ratings/)
## Place in Indian queer representation
Academic work on Hindi streaming series treats *The Married Woman* as part of the post-2018 wave of queer narratives that followed the Supreme Court's decriminalization of same-sex relationships under [Section 377](https://www.edgepedia.org/section-377) of the [Indian Penal Code](https://www.edgepedia.org/indian-penal-code). A 2025 study in the International Journal on Science and Technology lists it alongside *Made in Heaven*, *His Storyy*, *Four More Shots Please!*, and *Rainbow Rishta* as series whose protagonists navigate social and romantic challenges with more complex narratives than earlier stereotypical portrayals.[10](https://www.ijsat.org/research-paper.php?id=5498) A ResearchGate paper on queer representation in post-Section 377 Indian web series groups it with *[Made in Heaven](https://www.edgepedia.org/made-in-heaven-tv-series)* as having introduced "more empathetic and layered depictions of queer characters", while noting that such representation still tends to favor urban, English-speaking, upper-class characters and leaves rural, Dalit and Adivasi, and trans or non-binary realities largely absent.[11](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/393710940_FROM_CLOSET_TO_STREAM_THE_POLITICS_OF_QUEER_REPRESENTATION_IN_POST-SECTION_377_INDIAN_WEB_SERIES) The Print's commentary placed it among notable recent depictions of queer relationships between women in Indian media, observing that in these depictions marriage is an integral part of the story and that tenderness of the female bond matters alongside desire.[12](https://theprint.in/opinion/pov/new-ott-rules-wont-stop-bollywoods-queer-stories-geeli-pucchi-to-the-married-women/645141/)
## Availability
The series streams on ZEE5, where all eleven first-season episodes are listed, and is carried in India through Airtel Xstream Play under ZEE5's streaming rights.[1](https://www.zee5.com/global/web-series/details/the-married-woman/0-6-3189) • [13](https://www.airtelxstream.in/tv-shows/the-married-woman/ZEEFIVE_TVSHOW_0-6-3189) In Germany it is available by subscription on Zee5.[5](https://suchen.tv/titel/the-married-woman-mX2358) JustWatch reported in its most recent crawl that the series was unavailable to stream in India, having last been available on VI movies and tv until December 2023.[14](https://www.justwatch.com/in/tv-show/the-married-woman)
## References
1. [The Married Woman, ZEE5 official series page](https://www.zee5.com/global/web-series/details/the-married-woman/0-6-3189)
2. [The Married Woman director Sahir Raza: If people are offended by the story, they can switch it off, The Indian Express (9 March 2021)](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/web-series/the-married-woman-director-sahir-raza-if-people-are-offended-by-the-story-they-can-switch-it-off-7220383/)
3. ['The Married Woman' review: Passion, caution and unanswered questions as two women fall in love, Scroll (8 March 2021)](https://scroll.in/reel/988883/the-married-woman-review-passion-caution-and-unanswered-questions-as-two-women-fall-in-love)
4. [The Married Woman (TV Series 2021– ) – Ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11646658/ratings/)
5. [The Married Woman streamen | Zee5, suchen.tv](https://suchen.tv/titel/the-married-woman-mX2358)
6. [The Married Woman review: The Ridhi, Monica Dogra show is painstakingly slow, The Indian Express (11 March 2021)](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/web-series/the-married-woman-review-the-ridhi-monica-dogra-show-is-painstakingly-slow-7222425/)
7. [Something Left To Be Desired: A Review Of 'The Married Woman', Gaysi Family (13 March 2021)](https://gaysifamily.com/culture/something-left-to-be-desired-a-review-of-the-married-woman/)
8. [The Married Woman review: Melodrama and monologues kill the charm, Hindustan Times](https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/web-series/the-married-woman-review-melodrama-and-monologues-kill-the-charm-101615279431003.html)
9. [The Married Woman review, Rediff.com (9 March 2021)](https://m.rediff.com/amp/movies/review/the-married-woman-review/20210309.htm)
10. [Analysis of LGBTQ+ Representation in Hindi OTT Series: An Examination, International Journal on Science and Technology, Vol. 16, Issue 2 (2025)](https://www.ijsat.org/research-paper.php?id=5498)
11. [From Closet to Stream: The Politics of Queer Representation in Post-Section 377 Indian Web Series, ResearchGate](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/393710940_FROM_CLOSET_TO_STREAM_THE_POLITICS_OF_QUEER_REPRESENTATION_IN_POST-SECTION_377_INDIAN_WEB_SERIES)
12. [New OTT rules won't stop Bollywood's queer stories – Geeli Pucchi to The Married Women, ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/pov/new-ott-rules-wont-stop-bollywoods-queer-stories-geeli-pucchi-to-the-married-women/645141/)
13. [The Married Woman TV Show, Airtel Xstream Play](https://www.airtelxstream.in/tv-shows/the-married-woman/ZEEFIVE_TVSHOW_0-6-3189)
14. [The Married Woman – streaming tv show online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/in/tv-show/the-married-woman)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Unscripted, reality, and web-native series › Web-native and streaming-original series › LGBT-related web series*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license