Delhi Crime is based on the 2012 Delhi gang rape case that took place in the neighbourhood of Munirka, in South Delhi. The series follows the story in the aftermath of the gang rape, where Deputy Commissioner of Police Vartika Chaturvedi is tasked to find the culprits responsible for the assaults and death of the female victim.
Mehta conceived the idea of Delhi Crime during a conversation with Neeraj Kumar, the former Commissioner of the Delhi Police, who introduced him to the investigating team and provided access to several legal documents that were prepared as part of the investigation. Later on, Kumar asked Mehta if he would consider making a film on the case to which he denied. He then started reading the documents and was "amazed at the precision with which this case was solved, and so quickly." He also met the officers involved in the case and was "blown away by them." Mehta sought permission from the victim's family. Mehta said that films like The French Connection and Zodiac influenced his approach. He modeled several portrayals of the cops based on his own observations. Mehta said that the making of the series was a "personally transformative journey" for him. He spoke to several police personnel involved in the case and tried "retracing the paths that the police took during the course of the investigation." It took Mehta six years to finish his research. The series was shot in Delhi over the course of 62 days. Mehta initially wanted to make it as a feature film, but as he continued the research, he realised that he could not fit the content in that length. The character of Vartika was based on Chhaya Sharma, the former deputy commissioner of police in Delhi. Mehta met Sharma, who was in the team who caught the perpetrators. They spoke for months as Mehta wanted her point of view in the crime. Shah also met Sharma for the preparation of the role. The series spans six days, covering the period between 16 December and 21 December, from the incident to the final arrest. The film went on the floor in January 2018 after taking permission from the Delhi police and the victim's family. Mehta decided not to show the rape on screen as he wanted "not to cross that line into exploitation." Tailang's character was an amalgamation of different investigating officers, but he spoke to one police officer and used him as reference point.
Episodes
Reception
The first season received positive reviews upon its release. On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 92% based on 12 reviews, with an average rating of 7.25/10. Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter called it "consistently different enough to be interesting." He also felt the police-procedural conventions felt "reasonably fresh and consistently engaging." Ben Travers of IndieWire wrote: "An expertly told, hard-to-watch true crime series, Delhi Crime Story won't be for everyone — but it won't let go of anyone who watches." Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express wrote: "Where Delhi Crime scores is in the portrayal of a beleaguered police force, which is easy to point fingers at." Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV called the series "grim, gritty and grounded in the everyday." He further wrote: "Delhi Crime is a knockout punch of a series: unsettling and enthralling by turns." Piyasree Dasgupta of HuffPost noted that the series "comes across as such an elaborate exercise to valorise the Delhi Police that it actually seems deeply insensitive." She also said that the "only people the show humanises are the police." Rahul Desai of Film Companion wrote: "It’s the tiny infusions of well-informed opinion into what is essentially dramatic long-read reportage that make Delhi Crime one hell of a ride." Rohan Naahar of Hindustan Times called it: " gut-wrenching, stylishly directed, passionately performed, and most important, not at all exploitative." Avinash Ramachandran of The New Indian Express – Cinema Express in his review wrote: "Delhi Crime might be a glorification of the police force, but it is also a mirror to our society. It might absolve the Delhi police of its alleged dereliction of duties, but it is also a reminder that we vouched, and hoped, for a similar incident to never happen again." Along with the story telling and the premise of the series, the cast also received widespread appreciation for their performances in the series. Priyanka Roy of The Telegraph said: "And while the rest of it is worth a watch, Shefali Shah is reason number one why you shouldn’t give Delhi Crime a miss." Nandini Ramnath from Scroll wrote: " Rajesh Tailang, Anurag Arora, Adil Hussain, Jaya Bhattacharya, Gopal Dutt and Vinod Sharawat are among the numerous actors who display the same dedication to their craft as did their fictionalised selves to the investigation." Namrata Joshi from The Hindu said: "Tailang’s control, poise and measured way plays out beautifully against Shah’s dynamism to give us arguably the best on-screen buddy-cop team seen yet in India."
Future
Mehta said that Delhi Crime will be an anthology series and the next season will have same characters but with a different crime story. Shah will reprise her role as DCP Vartika as well along with other main characters.
