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| Lead Investigator |
Because so many of us are fans of crime fiction, detective series, and police procedurals, I want to mention a television series that I just finished watching last night.
It is a seven-episode series called Delhi Crime that was produced in 2019 by/for Netflix. The approximately-50-minute episodes were filmed over a 62-day period in Delhi, India. The crime being investigated in the show by the Delhi police is based on an actual case that occurred in that city in 2012, and the series covers what happened between December 16 and December 21 of that year as the six suspects were rounded up one-by-one.
Warning: the crime being investigated is a horrifically brutal gang rape of a young woman and the beating of her boyfriend. Even though the rape is not shown on the screen, the horrific details of her injuries are revealed in interrogations and testimony.
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| No. 2 Investigator with Suspect |
The series has been well-received, and even won an "International Emmy" in 2020. The acting is terrific, and the fact that I was completely unfamiliar with anyone in the cast gave the series almost a documentary feel to me. I recommend watching the episodes in the original Hindi language version with English subtitles, as I did. Interestingly, much of the dialogue in that version is in English as the characters seamlessly switch back and forth between Hindi and English. They do that so often and so easily that I have to assume it's the norm there, but it did lead to one unexpected problem: I found it difficult to understand all the English words being spoken by some of the actors - and the subtitles disappeared when English was being spoken by anyone - so my comprehension was actually better when Hindi was being spoken and I was reading subtitles.
Delhi Crime has been renewed for a second season, but that was before COVID-19 landed on the film industry with both feet. So even though, I look forward to a second season at some point, it may be a while. I'm going to go way out on a limb here and admit that this film left me with a clearer picture of street life in India than any novel covering similar material I've ever read. That's about the strongest endorsement of Delhi Crime that an avid reader can ever give to any film.
India is a fascinating country, and I enjoy reading mystery series that are set there. Thanks for drawing my attention to this Netflix series. I'll be on the lookout for it.
ReplyDeleteI "feel" like I have a better appreciation for the culture now, especially that of the huge cities like Delhi. I hope it's not too distorted a view, considering that it comes from a crime story. I'm still thinking about this one - and finding it almost impossible to lose myself in a new series.
DeleteThanks for highlighting this series and after reading The Secrets Between Us I definitely want to see this film which as you say gives a very realistic view of Indian street life. There are a number of really fine international series on Netflix. I just have to get the hang of subtitles. It takes practice.
ReplyDeleteThe subtitle-reading gets to be second-nature soon enough, Kathy; I don't even think about it anymore.
DeleteAnother good source of international movies is Walter Presents which is a subset of the programs made available to subscribers to the PBS app on Prime.
I hope you enjoy this one; do let me know.
Will have a look for this one on Netflix, it's completely new to me, not heard of it at all.
ReplyDeleteIt's a fascinating look inside a culture that so many of us are curious about, Cath. It is beautifully filmed - but it is not a beautiful movie. It pulls no punches.
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