When I started viewing Delhi Crime on Netflix, I was not aware that it was based on the Nirbhaya case. I am not even sure whether, if I had known this information earlier, it would have prompted me to see this show sooner, or not at all! Perhaps the latter. I was not exactly looking forward to a detailed depiction of a gory crime – and which is what a lot of OTT shows have become these days (Mirzapur, being a classic case) – so, if I had known that it was a Nirbhaya case story, I might have even put off seeing it.
As it turned out, I realised that this was the subject of the series, soon after I started viewing it, but by that time, the series was already starting to grow on me!
And at the end of it, I can say that Delhi Crime is perhaps, the best piece of content I have seen on these OTT platforms, bar none! It is an extremely well-written script with fabulous dialogues, very well-edited, so you don’t find it dragging anywhere at all, has all actors doing an extremely credible job, led by Shefali Shah, and in the end, it has to be a triumph of the captain – the director. A great product, overall, in all respects.
Other broad viewpoints on the show:
1. That this heinous crime got solved so quickly and that someone in Delhi Police went after it so passionately, was perhaps based on the fact that the right person got in charge, very early, in fact, in the middle of the night, when the crime happened. If that had not happened, wonder if the crime would have received that level of attention to lead to its ultimate closure.
2. There are some very interesting characters and exchanges, that bring out different aspects of life in Delhi, and at a level, also in india.
3. The exchanges between the main officer and her young daughter, who wants to get away from it all, and go to Toronto, because she is concerned about the life here. A dedicated police officer working her heart out, in spite of the many constraints, confronting the daughter who is a disbeliever of the life here in India!
4. Or the senior police officer, who however, is not from the IPS, but who has come up the hard way, in the police force, and is at this time, at a reasonably powerful position. However, due to the lack of IPS and a certain growth track, he does not see himself as powerful or big. And when his daughter is in the marriage market, that realisation that his position is dragging the quality of the prospects that she sees, go down. That sense of realisation, and acceptance of his fait accompli!
5. Then there is the typical political interference, and the games that the powerful play, that almost hinder and trip the investigation. That a result happened, in spite of it, is amazing.
6. Then, there are the culprits themselves. And their attitudes and their character. Speaks to an extent of the challenges we have as a society, especially due to the male-female ratio!
7. Clearly life in Delhi comes to the fore. With the presence of elements (and we have seen multiple instances, not just this one) of the kind that are the criminals in Delhi Crime, and the influence of bureaucracy and politicians in Delhi life, the contrast of a certain Lutyens kind of lifestyle and at the same time, a middle-class lifestyle of the cop who cannot find a good match for his daughter as his designation is not impressive enough! And many other such very interesting facets, that are both believable and intricately brought out.
8. The actors ALL do a great job. While Shefali Shah – one of India’s more underrated performers, I believe – does an outstanding job, all the rest of the actors, play their characters to the best, and give very convincing performances.
But even as I try to extract few of the individual elements that made this series interesting for me, the answer actually lies in the sum-total of a product that is very well-made. It is the sum of the whole that stands out as being exceptional, and hence, very engrossing.
I saw one or two episodes on weekdays, but then it got to a point that I had to see them all, and ended up binging it in a nearly full-night viewing, over the weekend.
Be warned that it can do the same to you, so you might be better off starting to see this on a Friday evening, for example!
Originally posted by Sanjay Mehta here.
