This series is unprecedented in the world of Indian TV.
For years, Indian TV has been riddled with poorly directed/edited/acted dramas all of which borders on the ridiculous without exception. They all feature lavish makeup/jewelry on the actors, very few of whom can emote anything of substance. Those who are talented find themselves stunted by the lack of anything worthwhile. 99% of the directors are amateurish and editors probably do not know ABC of editing.
Till Crime Patrol ...
For the first time, I find myself watching a Hindi channel ... and really looking forward to. Now even WW2 based shows and African lions hunting countless wildebeests (my perennial favorites) are relegated to the back-burner. Some of the episodes of Crime Patrol are so gripping that I do not remember watching any movies of comparable quality ... either Hollywood or Bollwood. Honest! I am not making it up.
There are crime deeds so wanton and so horrifying that I make sure no one younger than 25 gets to watch them. If I cannot stop younger folks from sitting in the same room, I flip the channel and bear with them through something fluffy. Then in my privacy, I search for those episodes on YouTube.
And did I say how thankful I am that all the episodes are present on YouTube unabridged!
This series has restored my confidence on the Indian police. The actors (esp Mr. Sanjeev Tyagi) who portray police officers in this series now look like super heroes ... nothing escapes them ... no criminal dares mess with them ... they will solve everything ... spare no wrongdoing ... avenge each victim. And occasionally they portray their human sides too (like when Mr Tyagi played an about-to-be-transferred police officer in search of a missing child).
Usually each episode depicts an independent story (sometimes in 2-3 parts) somewhere in India. Usually Maharashtra gets represented most frequently, maybe due to proximity of the crew. The names are fictionalized and some trivial events too ... but the ages/places/sequence is taken from police files and media clippings to recreate the story as truthfully as possible. And more often than not, the events are so recent that it boggles the mind. Very impressive achievement.
Suddenly a new unthinkable thing has happened in my family ... now my wife gets to scold me for being glued to TV.
