One of the most interesting aspects of Officer On Duty is its characterization of the protagonist. Often the writers have been guilty of providing a character trait of an individual but never fully tying it up to the main plot, so much so that if that trait weren’t present, it wouldn’t necessarily impact the trajectory of the drama. But here writer Shahi Kabir follows a very flawed personality of Harishankar – he is hot-tempered and almost flaunts his hyper-masculinity on citizens in a way that are the demands of his profession. Yet when you dig in deeper, you see a certain distance between him and his wife Geetha (Priyamani) even though the meeting point of the two characters is almost fleeting in nature. You also get an inkling about Harishankar being close to his daughter, given how his expressions change while interacting with a character being accused of a fake gold mortgage. In the scene, you see the accused sincerely requesting an inquiry given how he had bought original ‘gold’ for his daughter, even as a patient Harishankar changes his expressions. And while this case opens a pandora’s box in terms of the heinous crime being committed, it also adds some personal stakes for the protagonist given the sequence of events that eventually link to his past.

The drama unfolds on two accounts here – a police procedural and a revenge drama, both of which go hand in hand. It is one of those thrillers wherein you do get a faint idea about where this is headed, but you cannot exactly put your finger on it. And so just to break the predictability of the proceedings, it is important to inject the right amount of emotions while tactfully raising the stakes in the drama. And, the writing here does just that even as it kicks off the investigation on the outer corners of a labyrinth while slowly making its way inwards and towards its center. So while you are emotionally invested in the journey of Harishankar, you are also privy to a blurry picture created with respect to a few characters, one of them being linked to the protagonist’s past whose sudden death changes the course of the investigation. There is a definite purpose in the writing while linking its multiple subplots – from a simple fake gold mortgage case to something more serious in the form of POSCO and suicide to eventually linking it to a ‘gang’. In a startling interval block, you are acquainted to a few characters whose actions you are already privy to, even as a few more bodies pile up thereby setting up things perfectly for the second hour.

The proceedings are gripping even as most connections are met with a little more clarity even while the investigation shifts base to another city. The personal life of the protagonist acts as an underlayer while often interjecting with his unabashed personality that adds richness to his character. And one thing to note with respect to its investigation is on how seamless the transition is – it doesn’t seem convenient at any given point of time even as one lead links itself to another organically. There is a lot more urgency even as the mood of the drama marginally shifts from a pure investigation to a wild goosechase even as the writer maintains the high stakes in the drama. To give you a perspective, the writer isn’t shy to bump off a crucial character at a vital point even while the cat and mouse chase is on.

The screenplay utilizes the Rashomon effect as one of its crucial subplots that actually gives flesh to the proceedings while linking the events of the past quite well. I did feel that the writing could have fleshed out a little more details about the antagonists that would have offered a deeper edge or an unassuming emotional connect with regards to a crucial past event, while not justifying their current actions but atleast being worthy of a little more empathy. That aside, the writing does justify the revenge angle quite well while transitioning itself into a pure survival thriller in the final act. The events leading up to the final face-off are interesting too and how I wished that the actual face-off lasted a little more instead of being abrupt with its conclusion. Yet, if I were to look at it from a character arc point of view – earlier you did witness an infurious Harishankar beating a door to vent out his anger on his daughter, but at the end, you see him coming to the fore to save another important character. For me, the emotional arc was complete in a wonderfully written screenplay that had a simple storyline but was quite complex with its detailing.