Rating – **1/2 (2.5/5)
What is with the perpetual need of filmmakers to cast Anurag Kashyap in a role that is so banal, one-toned and predictable? Kashyap, who has shown shades of being an actor with versatility continues to be cast in the ‘ruthless-cussing-slightly-humoristic-antagonist’ and Disney+ Hotstar’s series, Bad Cop is another example of that. But that isn’t the only problem with Bad Cop, as the show stumbles upon one trope after another making a bland viewing experience that courses six episodes (the show actually has eight episodes and will have a weekly release format).
Of course, there are flickers of hope, entertainment and encouraging factors that propel the show towards promising avenues, and having had the chance to see the aforementioned six episodes, here’s what I thought about it-
A Trying-Too-Hard Gulshan, A Stereotypical Villain Anurag But Saving Grace – Harleen Sethi
Upon reading the opening credits of the show, it felt great to see that Rensil D’Silva is credited with adapting the show from the German series Bad Cop: Kriminell Gut; but I felt skeptical upon reading that director Aditya Datt is directing the show. The filmmaker’s track record hasn’t been great with the trainwreck that was Crakk being the latest example. And to our misfortune, that shows here as well.
To his and the action team’s credit, the show does have some fine action set-pieces and having to see someone like Gulshan Devaiah do it flawlessly is a treat, but that’s about the limitation of positive points to talk about. It takes a lot to make Devaiah look underwhelming, who is one of the finest actors we have but here – there is a certain loud treatment given to both the characters he plays, which just feels jarring and unnecessary. Hence, it just ends up being a case of trying too hard for him.
I already hinted about Anurag Kashyap and it is such a pity to see him be a stereotypical antagonist without any layers whatsoever. Spanning six episodes, Kashyap only arrives on a few instances where he is seen blasting his nephew and other gang members while doing weird things. The only innovation lies in the lines he mouths.
The saving grace here is Harleen Sethi. The actor, once again proves why she needs to be taken more seriously as an actor as she plays a conflicted wife and mother with subtlety, poignancy and maturity but also gets to be kickass and action-packed as the senior cop to her husband.
What is the Purpose?
The big twist that comes in the sixth episode does give you momentary shock value but everything else seems incredibly convoluted, and predictable at the same time. The entire track of Sourabh Sachdeva as the investigating cop, who is too affected by the death of his friend-journalist, Anand Mishra starts off well but continues to get so bizarre that your disdain for Sachdeva’s character keeps on increasing, and maybe not intentionally. Bad Cop navigates too much towards a central topic and several parallel storylines thus creating a mishmash that defeats the purpose, which always seems unclear from the get-go.
Bad Cop screams of being a show with unlimited potential being limited to banal tropes and talented actors having to do things that feel cringey to an extent.
