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Beast of Bangalore: Indian Predator

Farhad Dalal
By-
Farhad Dalal
Rating
2.5 Star popcorn reviewss

Introduction

Onto one of the leftovers from the weekend and I finished watching the new Kannada Docuseries Beast Of Bangalore – Indian Predator which is now the fourth docuseries in the Indian Predator franchise. While the Netflix documentaries have always been a strong point, the Indian Predator series has been a hit and a miss for me personally. And one of the reasons for the same is the repetitive nature of the series. Despite a gripping narrative if you are going to tell a rather generic tale of various heinous crimes then it will get saturated after a point. You surely cannot have 4 releases of the same franchise in a single year! Netflix are you listening? So without any excitement, I ventured into the newest docuseries of the franchise, Beast Of Bangalore. Does it make for a fresh perspective or is it the usual generic narrative, lets find out.

Story & Screenplay

Beast Of Bangalore – Indian Predator follows the story of an unknown serial killer on the loose who targets women only to assault them before killing them off. This is yet another story of a heinous crime yet it is presented in quite a generic manner. The screenplay standing at 3 episodes of 40 to 50 odd minutes each does make for a brisk watch and that will definitely go down as one of the positives of the series that has little to offer in terms of its newness.

The drama is fairly decent and most definitely watchable but one thing that is lacking here is the layered narrative that atleast a couple of the docuseries from the franchise had to offer. The proceedings are pretty much one tone and straight forward without any details which are held back. Yes, a couple of the twists related to the identity of the killer and his fetish was an interesting aspect of the case that made me pay attention. However, I wish they had gone into the psyche of the killer as opposed to the surface level treatment that the docuseries had to offer. That was a missed opportunity as far as I am concerned as the focus was only on the victims and the manner in which he was caught, only for him to escape thereafter. While I do sympathize with the victims and such acts are indeed heinous, this did make for a slightly laboured watch owing to the repetitiveness of the franchise.

Episodes & Their Impact

The screenplay is divided into three episodes which are spread over 3 years from 1996 to 1998. Now the thing with some of the previous docuseries was that the structure was better etched out which had ensured that the series was constantly moving with different perspectives. However here, across the three episodes the basic plot remained the same.

The first episode did focus on a little buildup related to the identity of the killer and his weird fetish, it did make for a fairly compelling viewing. The tension was decently built up and some of the mannerisms of the crime was indeed spime chilling. It also exposed the incompetance of the authorities in approaching and resolving a case. As a result, the killer was always on the loose. If at all he was caught, he did manage to escape in true Bollywood style every single time.

The next two episodes continue to explore the case without any new perspectives. The proceedings were kept on loop wherein the criminal would commit a crime in a city, get caught, have an alibi, escape only to commit a crime again. Very briefly was the role of the media defined here which was a circus even back in the day(no surprises there). The biggest letdown here was the predictability of the series till the very end despite some gut-wrenching perspectives of the victims. If the narration had opted for a different approach(which is always tricky for a documentary considering the amount of approvals that you need from the authorities), it would have made for a better impact. As a result, the drama is watchable but laboured at times too.

My Take

Let’s get this straight first up. There is no forgiveness for a heinous crime like r*pe and assault. The perpretrators need to be fast tracked and sentenced to the maximum punishment possible. It is the most gruesome act anyone could think of. Even “attempts” of assault should be considered a crime, something that the law has been doing now for a while. But at the same time, if you are aware of any mentally disturbed individuals then they need to be sent for counselling immediately. The approach should be proactive and not reactive. These shall be a path to a better society. On a side note, the authorities need to be slightly more alert while handling a dangerous criminal.

Conclusion

Beast Of Bangalore – Indian Predator does make for a decent watch but the lack of novelty in the franchise is really reflective of this partly laboured drama. This franchise now needs to slow down and not keep on churning out content for the sake of it. Available on Netflix.

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