Vikramaditya Motwane’s latest series, Black Warrant, on Netflix takes a deep dive into the largest and most notorious jail of Asia through the naive and idealistic eyes of jailer Sunil Kumar Gupta (Zahan Kapoor) as he navigates a world full of criminals, corruption, coercion and dissenting colleagues. The seven-episode series created by Motwane and Satyanshu Singh is based on the book Black Warrant: Confessions of a Tihar Jailer by Sunil Kumar Gupta, former superintendent of Tihar, and journalist Sunetra Choudhury. Shot mostly within the walls of the prison, the series is a riveting, and discomfiting, look at the inner workings of Tihar where jailers have “settings” with the inmates, gang wars are a regular feature, weapons and drugs are available freely and inmates often hold the trump card.
What is more commendable and fascinating is the political narration of the country ranging from Emergency, Punjab and Kashmir Separatism and other issues confronting the nation during 1970s and 1980s. Motwane with the help of Confluence media associates such as Josy Joseph and Gautam Dutt present accurate and even handed approach towards some of the most tricky and volatile issues that had confronted India. In the very first few minutes of the first episode, the show lets you know that this is not the tale of a hero out to trigger a change. Sunil Gupta, a law graduate, applies for the job of a jailer because it was the only job opening in the employment exchange and he really needed the money for his family, even though he is clearly unsuitable for the job. Even his uniform — which he gets once he is “allowed” to join his Assistant Superintendent post after a recommendation from the smooth-talking Charles Sobhraj (Sidhant Gupta) — doesn’t sit well on the slightly built, neatly dressed, vegetarian who refuses to use swear words.
His other two new colleagues — the tall, strapping Sikh Shivraj Singh Mangat (Paramvir Singh Cheema) and the volatile Haryanvi Vipin Dahiya (Anurag Thakur) — slip easily into their hyper-masculine, aggressive and morally ambiguous roles, offering a starker contrast to Gupta, who wants to work by the book. Something that often lands him in trouble with his immediate boss Deputy Superintendent Rajesh Tomar (Rahul Bhatt), who has his methods to keep a tentative truce between the various warring factions. The moral ambiguity, the difficulties of dealing with criminals, walking the thin line between keeping peace and flouting the law, the psychological effect it has on the jailers and their families that Black Warrant holds up will remind the audience of the critically acclaimed Baltimore-based cop drama The Wire, one of the best cop shows to be made.
Set in the 1980s, Black Warrant, which is what death warrants are called, establishes its timeline through several infamous cases like the child murderers Billa and Ranga, Islamist separatist Maqbool Bhat and serial killer Charles Sobhraj. While it doesn’t turn the camera on what is going on in the world outside, things like the 1983 World Cup, the Khalistani movement, Indira Gandhi’s assassination and the bloody aftermath are all woven deftly into the tightly scripted story. And the show never loses its focus.
While Black Warrant reiterates that most of those in Tihar are under-trials, most of the inmates we see have committed some crime or the other. Instead of focusing on the innocent versus guilty narrative, it turns the spotlight on the lack of access to basic rights, whether it is a blanket in the brutal Delhi cold or legal representation. The show’s doe-eyed protagonist campaigns for changes in the system only to be snubbed, not just by colleagues but by the system itself. But you keep rooting for him as he goes through trial by fire in every episode to emerge not different, but better equipped to handle his role.
But none of the tight script, deft storytelling, crisp editing, and even the haunting music, would have worked without the powerhouse performances by the cast led by Zahan Kapoor, who speaks volumes through his eyes. The grandson of Shashi Kapoor and son of Kunal Kapoor does the family name proud as he lends authenticity to Gupta’s vulnerability when he is green and the steel once he finds his feet. It is gratifying to see the mustachioed misfit find his way in the notorious prison with his integrity and self mostly intact.
Bhatt is a revelation as the DSP, giving you the ick when necessary but is never made out to be an out-and-out bad guy. It is rare for a character with as many shades of grey as DSP Tomar to evoke an ounce of empathy, but Bhatt wrings it out of you. Both Cheema and Thakur are also exceptional as Gupta’s colleagues and deserve to be applauded. Another honorable mention is Sidhant Gupta as Charles Sobhraj. He gets the suaveness and charm bordering on creepiness just right, along with the accent. At an average of 40 minutes an episode, bingeable this is not, veering more towards the heavy and often disturbing. Grim, gritty and insightful, Black Warrant is definitely one of the best Indian crime shows on air.
