Delhi Crime Review

529 views
Ehraz Asmad Zaman
  • 4/5
A must watch

True crime is an extremely tricky genre for popular media such as films and shows for the simple reason that the crimes these shows portray have left such a scathing footprint that it becomes morally wrong to portray it through a non-biased lens. A creator thus has to take a balanced and objective stance while making a true-crime show. This is what Richie Mehta does with Delhi Crime, his 2019 Netflix show. Richie, the writer, director behind the show, takes one of the most horrible crimes in this decade, the famous Nirbhaya case that shook the entire world, and tells its aftermath in the most brutally honest way possible. The show does a great job of keeping the narrative balanced and simple, which makes it very easy to digest even though it deals with such a horrible crime.

The series captures the investigation process that followed the rape case and how the Delhi police captured all the culprits responsible for the assault and death of the victim. Vartika Chaturvedi, played by Shefali Shah, is the Deputy Commissioner of Police who has been tasked to solve the case before all the culprits escape from the city. She thus assembles a team of cops and starts investigating. Through the investigation, the show reveals the intricate details of the crime and also portrays the pain and anger the whole nation was going through. Various protests across the city took place in real life that has been aptly captured in the series as it is without any overt dramatization of it. Nothing in the series seems hyped or dramatized; such is the writing of it. Richie told in an interview that he had been writing the show for over three years and it shows in the series. The screenplay is very well researched and written in a very compelling style that makes the show, a taut and compelling thriller.

Delhi Crime has an ensemble of great actors who are at the top of their game. Shefali Shah gives a career-defining performance as the strong and clever DCP who is shattered after witnessing such a tragedy and is doing everything she can to track the culprits down. Rajesh Tailang, who appears as an inspector called Bhupendra Singh, perfectly plays the role of the rough and tough cop, struggling to run his home with his meager salary while giving his everything to the police department. Other terrific actors like Rasika Dugal, Adil Hussain, and Avijit Dutt, all give some of their best performances which elevate the experience of watching the series.

Delhi Crime is devoid of any over-the-top subplots, musical interludes, or overtly stylistic approach which makes the show seem like a documentary in terms of realism. It is a terrific show which deserves all the more attention just for the fact that it is brave enough to show the events just as it is without any emotional manipulation as happens quite often with other shows.

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