DELHI CRIME is soul shaking and heart wrenching story that questions the moral ethos of society
Our craving for an engaging web series never seem to settle down. After the monumental success of Netflix’s Sacred Games the benchmark has been placed so high that creators and directors have a lot of pressure to produce quality content with intriguing stories and relatable characters. One such attempt is Netflix’s latest series DELHI CRIME. Set up in Delhi (no points for guessing there!) this disturbing tale focuses on one of the most heinous crimes reported in the capital which shook the entire nation. Created by Richie Mehta and starring Shefali Shah, this seven episode series focuses mainly on the crime and the aftermath thereof, the role of Police, media and the general public. It shows you how the real demons don’t exist in fairy tales but in our society, among us, around our children and how are we oblivious to them. The show never tried to draw a pretty picture of the gruesome world we are living. Rather the scarred and charred face of our civilized, metropolitan city is on full display here. Here’s our analysis of DELHI CRIME.
What’s it about?– The show narrates a detailed sequence of events that happened after the infamous 2012 Delhi gangrape case and tells the story from the perspective of the Police, a side that has not been given much attention otherwise. The Delhi Police has been facing and dealing with a reputation as complicated as the city it serves to protect. The higher ups are full aware of the rampant corruption in the department at the ground level, lack of sensitivity and responsibility among certain colleagues and subordinates and certainly have to make do with shortage of staff. In Spite of that, they are trying their best to make something worth out of their thankless job and make the city a safer place. Alas! all they receive is criticism. On the other side, the role of media has also been looked into by this drama series. We seem to put the media on this pristine pedestal as a source of facts and unbiased opinions. However due to rise of independent journalism it has been more than obvious to observe that today’s big media houses only follow certain narrative or an agenda. The story was not different even 6 years ago. The questionable stance of media in this case has been portrayed in the show in such a way that it’ll force you to think “is fooling me that easy?” As soon as the news broke out journalists went head on tearing the Police apart with their accusations in spite of the fact that the perpetrators were caught in a matter of days and a bulletproof charge sheet was filed in time.
While the girl was on her deathbed, all the news channels and the reporters were concerned about was not to put out facts but put out stories and Rumours before anyone else. The public is no different either. When any such event takes place the insane mob mentality that we have as a society makes us unleash our fury no holds barred on anyone and anything we can get our hands on. We don’t even bother to double check the lies we are fed on a daily basis. When will we ever learn? The show presents the events with such gut wrenching realism it will shock you to your very core and will leave you to introspect the kind of future we are providing for our future generations.
What stole the show?– Director Richie Mehta along with writers Laurence Bowen and Toby Bruce have given a sensitive touch to the role of cops in the case which we believe was much needed as the common people have no idea about the internal working of the Police Force.
That being said, when it comes to portraying the actual events that happened after the crime as well as the public reaction to the same, the trio has presented things as they are with no added flavours. Johan Heurlin Aidt’s camera work is spot on. The Blade Runnerisk opening scene of the first episode shows the capital from the point of view of an outsider unaware of the overwhelming situations the Delhiites confront everyday. But the showstopper has been the performances of the leads. It is quite baffling to us that even after so many years in the industry Shefali Shah has remained one of the most underappreciated actors around. She literally knocks it out of the park with her role of DCP Vertika Chaturvedi. Holding her tone while with family or friends and commanding orders to her team with authority, she is a delight to watch.
Rasika Duggal and Yashaswini Dayama have already proved their mettle in Mirzapur and Made In Heaven respectively. Likewise they shine in their respective characters in the series and prove to be an ideal choice the said roles. The creators of the show have made no mistakes as far as casting is concerned as every actor has played their roles effortlessly be it the almost new faces like the aforementioned Yashaswini or veterans of the game like Denzil Smith and Rajesh Tailang.
What didn’t work?– Almost nothing. Whether it be the locations, the screenplay, the direction or the acting, everything was next to perfect.
Final Verdict– Here we are with 4 out of 5 stars for DELHI CRIME. Such hard hitting dramas are rare to find on TV or in cinemas and need the love and appreciation of the people. If you are not in shock or anger or in utter dismay by the end of the series, you missed the whole point!
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