Delhi CRIME - V View Reviews #23

Delhi crime is seven-episode anthology series, based on horrific incident of 2012 gang rape of 23 year old girl in a moving bus. The Deputy Commissioner of Police(DCP) Vartika Chaturvedi is tasked to find the culprits responsible for the assaults and death of the female victim. The plot begins with the discovery of naked men and women in a ditch. They were medical students Deepika and her friend Aakash,  who were heading home after seeing a movie that night. Aakash was brutally beaten and knocked unconscious with an iron rod. Deepika was dragged to the back of the bus and beaten with the same iron rod while being sexually assaulted by those on board. Deepika suffered serious wounds to her abdomen, intestines and genitals. She underwent five surgeries but could not survive. She was beaten and gang-raped in ways that are detailed in dialogue and makers thankfully chose not to show the scene of the crime.

The series is objective, fast-paced and well-edited, and rarely digress from the plot. It focuses much more on the investigation and police than the brutal events on the bus. It covers the period from the incident happened to the final arrest of the suspects.

The show is narrated from the perspective of South Delhi DSP Vartika Chaturvedi, who creates a special team of officers to hunt down the six culprits responsible for the assault and death of the female victims. It shows in detail how hard the Delhi police work as a team to catch the six bloody rapists in five days. Salute to the dedication shown by the Delhi police. The makers displayed their skill in a very sensitive portrayal of the investigation and the way Delhi police handled nations anger, media protest, inner conflict, political pressure, government meddlers, and voices of superior.

The show is superb because it is made brilliantly with a realistic production design, terrific cinematography, smart editing, splendid sound designing, exceptionally good acting, fantastic screenplay, amazingly added essence of suspense without troubling the crust of the story, outstanding direction, real set-up, and script intelligently written with precision and grace.

The passionate performance of the actors both lead and supporting made the show emotional and gripping. It centres around two female officers Vartika Chaturvedi (Shifali Shah) and Neeti Singh(Rasika Dugal).'Shifali Shah's performance was exemplary. She delivers her best as usual. Similarly, Rasika Dugal is always dependable. Rajesh Tailang as inspector Bhupendra Singh and Adil Hussain as Kumar Vijay have done full justice to their characters. But the most underdeveloped character is that of the victim, who suffered irreparable damages. Outstanding acting by the cast made this series believable.

Delhi Crime received the award for "Outstanding Drama Series" at the International Emmy Awards held in September 2020 and became the first-ever Indian series to win this award.

This crime series is streaming on Netflix.