Delhi Crime review: Shefali Shah’s Netflix Original is a gripping, gut-wrenching thriller!

On December 16, 2012, a 23-year-old girl Jyoti Singh was robbed, brutally assaulted and gang-raped by six men for an hour on a moving bus at night in Delhi. The man with her too was robbed and assaulted, and the couple was thrown out of the moving bus, naked. The heinous crime shook the entire nation. It took five days for Delhi Police to arrest the six guilty men and it took about six years for the judicial proceedings to attain justice for the victim. Delhi Crime – a seven-episode series chronicles the five days of Delhi Police’s relentless investigation to find those six men.

The series begins with an aerial shot of smoggy Delhi in winter, with Shefali Shah’s voice over. The haunting background score gives you the chills from the first sequence itself, and it keeps you unsettled throughout the series quite magnificently. The crime has happened and the couple is found on the roadside, bruised and naked in the biting cold. One call to the DCP of South District Delhi, Vartika Chaturvedi (played brilliantly by Shefali Shah) post-midnight, brings her to the hospital where the victims have been admitted and she decides to lead the investigation herself. What follows is a gripping, pacey search by the DCP and her able team of cops to arrest the accused.

Shefali Shah plays DCP Vartika Chaturvedi in the Netflix Original Delhi Crime

The series is a dramatisation of the case files with some modifications made for cinematic effect. The story is told through the perspective of the Delhi Police, but it doesn’t seem biased. The problems that the police face during the investigation or prevention of crime – staff shortage, petty salaries, poor infrastructure and support are mentioned through the series. The blame game from the Government and media continues. But these things don’t seem like cries for help or valorising their sacrifices as we are used to seeing in Indian cop-dramas.

What Delhi Crime finely maintains is the ‘human story’ of all the characters. Whether it is the victim Deepika’s battle with death (all the character names have been changed from the real ones), or DCP Vartika Chaturvedi’s personal conflict with her daughter – who wants to move to Canada – as she tries to prove to her that Delhi is safe to stay in. Whether it’s a cop struggling to find a groom for his daughter because he works for the police, or a cop – not really a responsible one, when it comes to cases as sensitive as this one, you stay invested in everyone. Even in the main perpetrator who shows no sign of shame or emotion as he admits his deeds. We, like the police, want to ask him why, why would anyone perpetrate such an inhuman, insane, indescribable act? More than angry, you’re disgusted with the man.

Watch the trailer of Delhi Crime here:

This is not an easy narrative to sit through. The details of that heinous act are in the public domain. More than six years have passed by. You know you’re watching a piece of cinema. But it’s still gut-wrenching to hear the facts as the victim states on her deathbed. You’re equally numb and filled with disgust, as the characters are in the scene. The graphic recreation of that monstrous act has been avoided for the better.

Old and popular Hindi songs keep playing through the seven episodes at regular intervals. This is smartly and subtly plugged in, as the show is shot mostly on location in Delhi and around, during routine times and activities. This makes the show more human and realistic. The humour is subtle and sprinkled rarely; you actually wonder whether to laugh or not as you’re filled with disgust for those six men.

The characters and the narrative are layered enough to keep you intrigued, and the plot twists keep you guessing. Soon, you find yourself heaving a sigh of relief as the suspects are found and identified. Giving credit where it’s due – all the cops are played to perfection by dependable actors, especially the dashing performance by Rajesh Tailang as Inspector Bhupendra Singh. Delhi Crime has got everything that a great crime-thriller requires – meaty script, edgy cinematography, sensational music and crisp edit. Richie Mehta – the show’s creator, writer and director – gives us not just a brilliant, but an important piece of cinema. But the success of Delhi Crime lies in the humanising of the whole narrative.

Delhi Crime Cast & Director: Above: Aakash Dahiya, Rajesh Tailang. Below: Director Richie Mehta, Shefali Shah, Rasika Dugal

The Nirbhaya Case (as it was then called) brought a significant change in India’s legal course. Under the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act of 2013, the definition of rape was expanded, and the possibility of a death-sentence to the rapist was added. Fast-track courts were set up for rape cases. Every society reaches its limit of tolerance – the Nirbhaya case was India’s. Delhi Crime is a must watch.

Star Rating: 4 stars