True-crime documentary series follows Bengaluru police as they attempt to solve four violent crimes
Even a cursory analysis of the stories covered by media organizations shows that despite the ethical dilemmas, it is hard to resist the temptation of true crime stories. Fulfilling this unexplored curiosity, the Netflix documentary-series follows the Bengaluru police as they attempt to solve four violent crimes. Three are linked to murder and one is linked to kidnapping of a child.
Unlike crime shows on normal entertainment channels, here craft is given as much importance as reason. On a fundamental level, the four-episode series tries to understand the anatomy of a crime, finding the beating heart inside the uniform; A human story in First Information Report.
Read also | Get ‘First Day First Show’ our weekly newsletter from the world of cinema delivered to your inbox. You can subscribe for free here
Clearly, the producers are allied with the police force and there is a definite attempt to present the “men at work” in their best manners, but the fact that the suspects also tell their side of the story makes it a whole lot more enjoyable. The practice is, albeit a dubious one. However, showing faces of suspects and family members leaves a bad taste and the absence of advocates is troubling.
When it comes to the nuts and bolts of investigation, we get a sense that without CCTV footage, modern-day police are as clueless as today’s doctors are without lab reports.
At the same time, clear confessions like an officer’s, “There’s no black-and-white method of investigation,” and that innocent people sometimes face harsh interrogation, give the sense that you can’t afford a cosmetic operation as a whole. are not looking.
When another officer tells a suspect that if he doesn’t tell the truth, he’ll send the camera crew out, then… it gives you enough to imagine the whole picture.
Or for that matter, when an officer asks the beggar father of a kidnapped child when he last bathed, it seems as though he is trying to show his social empathy.
However, an insight into the lives of police personnel after duty hours opens a hitherto closed window. A deputy commissioner of police, dancing with junior staff and an inspector on his way back to his differently-abled child after a bloodied day, creates a clean image of a force that is often questioned on its emotional quotient. is picked up.
Through the testimony of a female officer, the series also underscores the social taboos that years of training could not wash away. In the episode that traces the murder of a sex worker, she admits that she harbored a prejudice against the victim’s choice of work, but as the case unfolds, she realizes the social and economic compulsions she faces. Forcing women to enter prostitution.
Although there are moments when it appears that this volume has been tailored to a particular narrative, it serves to house an important point about society and the workforce. Even in the absence of a sobbing story, the police are expected to rescue a sex worker from a murderer.
Similarly, the gray area in the episode about the kidnapping of the child of a family living under a flyover gives rise to many dilemmas, and when the investigating officer casually shoots a one-liner, “Even the That truth should also be investigated,” it strikes home on point.
For a crime series, the tone — verbal and non-verbal — is subtle. Shots of eagles flying across the vast Bangalore skies, hawks waiting to pounce on prey, and dogs barking in amber shades of street lights are seamlessly inserted to add to the emotions in the investigation. When facts and commentary become monotonous, aerial shots lift the mood. Even the twinkling lights of the police van add to the atmosphere.
In short, a cool compliment to men hockey before the hoarse sooryavanshi acquisition.
Crime Stories: India Detectives is currently streaming on Netflix
.