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Black Warrant – review

Interesting, yet prolonged

  


Black_Warrant Movie Review

The latest offering by Netflix, Black Warrant is streaming on their OTT platform, it is a seven part series with each episode of approximately 45 minutes length on an average.

Black Warrant is a term used when a hanging takes place within the premises of a jail and a Warrant is issued by the magistrate to hang a certain person, it is issued a day prior to the actual hanging, naming the person or persons to be hanged and the time, it is basically an official instrument or shall we say a permission to the prison authorities issued on behalf of the court to proceed with the hanging after all mercy petitions have been rejected.

Based on the true accounts mentioned in the 2019 book Black Warrant: Confessions of a Tihar Jailer by Sunil Gupta who has written the book as first person account and is also the protagonist.

It is about the time when he was a fresh joinee ACP Jailer in the iconic Tihar Jail New Delhi. The period depicted in the series is that tumultuous time between 1975 and 1985 when there was a lot happening inside and outside (the country at large) the jail premises and also about the outrage in public about the goings-on within Tihar.

Few high profile hangings are shown. The series is seen through the eyes of the freshman Jailer who actually wants to make a difference within the jail to improve conditions which are otherwise a living hell, despite a massive push back from his superiors and almost loosing his job twice in the process he ultimately has his say. The time also corresponds when Charles Shobhraj (famous for the great escape from this jail by distributing drug laced laddoos) and many other high profile/controversial prisoners like Ranga and Billa of Sanjay and Geeta Chopra rape and murder ill repute were also lodged in the same jail.

The series is about the day to day activities within the prison and how all the jailers tackle the same. Though well directed the show is not binge worthy as it is unable to draw you in the story or the narrative.

The protagonist is played by Zahan Kapoor (Kunal Kapoor’s son) who has put in his sincere efforts however the story is a bit weak for him to do much in it. But.. but .. but the surprise packet of the series is Rahul Bhat seen here after quite a while, last seen in Ugly, he plays the role of the senior jailer, he exudes confidence and style.

Rest of the cast is just about bearable. Vikramaditya Motwani’s direction ranges from brilliant to okay this and hence overall I would consider it as good. A 7 episodes Crime Thriller.

– Review by PAWAN GUPTA

Black Warrant Cast:
Zahan Kapoor as Sunil Gupta
Rahul Bhat as DSP Rajesh Tomar
Paramvir Singh Cheema as Shivraj Singh Mangat
Anurag Thakur as Vipin Dahiya
Sidhant Gupta as serial killer Charles Sobhraj
Joy Sengupta as SP JP Singh
Tota Roy Choudhury as SP Mukhopadhyay
Rajendra Gupta as accountant Saini Saab

Black Warrant Credits:
Production companies – Applause Entertainment, Andolan Production, Confluence Media
Based on Black Warrant by Sunetra Choudhury and Sunil Gupta
Created by Vikramaditya Motwane, Satyanshu Singh
Written by Arkesh Ajay, Satyanshu Singh
Directed by Vikramaditya Motwane, Satyanshu Singh, Arkesh Ajay, Rohin Raveendran Nair, Ambiecka Pandit
Cinematography – Saumyananda Sahi
Editor – Tanya Chhabria
Music by Ajay Jayanthi