Nuance is not a word that has existed in Rohit Shetty’s ‘bokwaas’ dictionary. Plot and performance barely make it. What we have mostly been treated to — especially in his highly ambitious but one-note cop universe — is moment after moment of big setup, big dialogue, and big action. But as they say, big is not always beautiful.
The same extends to Shetty’s digital debut and the latest instalment in his ever-growing cop universe. Indian Police Force, all seven episodes of which are now streaming on Prime Video, is cut from the same cloth as the filmmaker’s Singham, Simmba and Sooryavanshi. That is a given since a franchise/ universe calls for a certain consistency and synchronicity, but in the case of Indian Police Force, it is just an excuse for lazy filmmaking.
For one, the plot is as old as post-1993 Mumbai blasts Bollywood (or was it even before that?) Six writers, including Shetty, drum out a story about key cities in India being bombed in the name of jihad by Muslim extremists, specifically the Indian Mujahideen (now where have we heard that before?). A special task force comprising Tara Shetty (Shilpa Shetty Kundra) and Kabir Malik (Sidharth Malhotra) swing into action to capture the mastermind — itrh seller Zarar (Mayankk Taandan) who moonlights as a terrorist. They are also out to avenge the slaying of a team member and as the series reiterates at various points, the mission is personal.
There is absolutely nothing in Indian Police Force that you haven’t seen before — and seen much better. Shetty and co-director Sushwant Prakash dish out episode after episode of sheer mediocrity, most of which, despite the serious theme of the series, is downright laughable.
Take the dialogues for example. A senior cop, while motivating his team before a key mission, seriously says: “Let’s find this ghost who bombs.” During an emotional moment, Sidharth’s Kabir laments the death of his wife (Isha Talwar as Rashmi gets one song and two scenes), saying that he lost her to: “Lupus, ek rare disease”, and his mother pipes in with: “Usi ki tarah rare thi, Rashmi”. Almost the whole of Indian Police Force is peppered with such unintentionally hilarious, cringe-inducing lines.
Before Indian Police Force released, the promise from Shetty was that he was going to deliver a film on the web. That idea doesn’t translate well. For one, every medium demands a different tone and treatment and Indian Police Force doesn’t get that memo at all. We are subjected to long stretches of drone shots, fight scenes that go on for ages and even a romantic song. All of these, done quite a few times, are completely out of place in a web series.
What is also difficult to ignore is the over-glorification of the Delhi police force, one which is not particularly known for its honest, by-the-books ways. Indian Police Force seems like an attempt to whitewash the image of Delhi Police, but the plot is so hackneyed and tedious that the effort and intention are evident. At one point, when the home minister of the country tells Kabir to make sure that the culprit is caught, the latter directs a sardonic smile at what is his super-raised-to-the-power-of-infinity-boss and says: “Dilli ka launda hoon, utha ke leke aaunga.”
Stereotypes abound in Indian Police Force. There is the “good Muslim” vs “bad Muslim” debate (also seen in Shetty’s Sooryavanshi), with Kabir — whose name is kept deliberately ambiguous — telling a terrorist handler: “Yeh jihad nahin, ch*****pa hain.” There is no other way to justify this than to assume that Brahmastra and Adipurush procreated to produce the baby called Indian Police Force. And we still have Fighter to contend with next week.
The output of every department is just as average. The Indian flag fluttering when everything else is static in the frame screams substandard VFX work. In the age of sustainability, I am all for repurposing but the Goa location of Indian Police Force looks straight out of Golmaal, Dilwale and a dozen other Rohit Shetty films. And when the action moves to Bangladesh, the sudden shift to muddy-tinted frames brings on a new-found respect for Extraction.
The performances range from decent to dull. Sidharth has the physicality and does well in the action scenes, but there isn’t much that handsome face can do in the acting department. Shilpa does decently with whatever little she has while Mayankk as the antagonist is passable. Vivek Oberoi does a Suresh Oberoi right at the beginning. If you have watched enough ’90s Bollywood, you will get it right away.
Priyanka Roy
I liked/ didn’t like Indian Police Force because... Tell t2@abp.in
