Indian Predator - Murder In A Courtroom
Introduction
Onto the final release of the weekend and I finished watching the new Documentary series Indian Predator : Murder In A Courtroom streaming on Netflix, just in time before the big India vs South Africa match. That match promises to be a cracker and all eyes are on it while I am quickly penning this review.
When it comes to documentaries, the leading OTT platform is Netflix by far. The OTT giant has a knack of delivering some intriguing and engaging documentaries that have really been worth my time(I can only speak for myself here). But when I talk about the documentary franchise Indian Predator, it has been a bit of a mixed bag. While the first in the series was a fascinating and cerebral watch, the second one just fell through and it kind of gave me a feeling that things are getting out of hand. So when I stepped into the third in the series, Murder In A Courtroom, I did have my reservations. And now that I have finally watched it, here are my two cents on Indian Predator : Murder In A Courtroom.
Story & Screenplay
Indian Predator : Murder In A Courtroom is a very different documentary from the point of view of an “Indian Predator” simply because the predator here was eventually at the receiving end for his actions wherein a mob of people attacked and eventually killed him in a courtroom. Now I was aware of the incident, one because I have been abreast with the news and two, there is a Hindi film titled 200 Halla Bol already made on this incident. That film was really engaging and currently streaming on Zee5 whose review you will also find on Popcorn Reviewss.
Here the screenplay is slightly different from the film though! Standing at 3 episodes of roughly 50 odd minutes each, it did seem like a well researched and well rounded series. It definitely did make an effort to be neutral for starters yet also gave a chilling background of the victim who uses to terrorize a slum. There was absolutely no remorse for his actions and it did really get intense after a point.
What the documentary did was also subtly comment on the method of working of the authorities be it the police or even the court, with the middle man suffering indirectly at the hands of them. Some of the descriptions of crime provided were gruesome and bone chilling and I found it overwhelming to visualize the final act of crime which did take the intensity to the next level. So overall, the screenplay was very well researched and engaging.
Episodes And The Impact
The three episodes of the documentary are nicely compartmentalized here and the events unfolding do not seem to be repetitive, a thing that I did find in the earlier two parts of the Indian Predator series.
The first episode does begin on a wobbly note despite setting a context right at the beginning. It did take me a little while to warm up to the drama. The entire first episode is dedicated to giving a brief background check on the victim, right from his early days to his eventually rise into the world of crime. I did feel that maybe the things could have been shown with a little more urgency here.
By the time the second episode comes up, you are invested and engaged in the drama. While the second episode is invested in a string of incidents wherein the victim does terrorize the people of the slum, this was an uncomfortable watch in more than one instance. The description provided would make your blood boil while also stimulating an element of fear inside you for the people of the slum. It was rather intimidating in more ways than one.
The third episode is when the people of the slum get together in order to serve themselves justice by planning and executing the murder of the victim. And the intensity levels in this episode went through the roof. The slow buildup definitely does keep you at the edge of your seat and when the event finally arrives, it is hard to even picturize the turn of events at the courtroom. But what this episode also does is provide a commentary of the justice system in the country. Overall, a well executed episode!
My Take
In a country of 1.3 billion people, the justice system is the most important pillar of the democracy. While it is understandable that there is a clear disparity in the amount of workforce, there should be a way of speeding up a few cases that run into years. In the past few years, there have been special courts set up but again the need of the hour is the relevance of justice as opposed to justice itself. Something to ponder about and work on a better process which would prevent a few people from taking law into their own hands(as seen here and which is wrong too).
The second thing is the unity of the people is very important. The series did show that the victim was successful only when he was overpowering people individually and when everyone turned up against him, he was cornered and how. A life lesson to be had there!
Conclusion
Murder In A Courtroom is probably the best yet in the Indian Predator Series which is well researched and quite engaging. Available on Netflix.