Indian Police Force Review: Rohit Shetty's 'realistic' series sets Sidharth Malhotra's OTT debut

Indian Police Force Review: Sidharth Malhotra marks his OTT debut with Rohit Shetty and Sushwanth Prakash's cop action thriller, Indian Police Force. The series releasing today on Amazon Prime Videos begins with 6 bomb attacks being planned in different parts of the Capital of India, Delhi. The series of terrorist attacks planned on Delhi Police Raising Day comes as a shock for Special Cell Unity officers Kabir Malik (played by Sidharth Malhotra) and Vikram Bakshi (Vivek Oberoi). Keeping their safety aside, they are able to stop several attacks but still, around 250 people die during the blasts. And therein comes one of the most powerful speeches by both Sidharth and Vivek.

Then enters another senior officer Tara Shetty (played by Shilpa Shetty) from Ahmedabad to help the Delhi Police get to the main accused. The series has these three in the pivotal role until of course one of them dies and adds in to the purpose of getting hold of the culprit. Sidharth Malhotra and Shweta Tiwari's breakdown scene comes at the same time but both make their sorrow felt. 

Positives from Indian Police Force

The web series, Indian Police Force does not make false claims about the Police forces and their working culture. It sticks to the basic and original groundwork, and that perhaps is the USP of this series. Rohit Shetty has got no last-minute change of plans for Sid or any other actor in the series. They neither solve the case in two minutes nor do they fly and get hold of their suspects. The Indian Police Force actors are realistic in their skins. There is no Singham blood boil, no sudden rage, and no breaking of lawn that makes you feel that you're watching a hypothetical series. The lead actor actually gets hold of the terrorist after years, which is what happens in reality too. And with That, the gates for Indian Police Force season 2 have also gets opened. 

What also works for me in the series is that there's no stretching of scenes as much. Rohit Shetty and Sushwanth Prakash have not wasted time in overwriting or over-emoting any scenes. Indian Police Force gives an insight into how police officers balance their work and personal life, but the series does not give too much emphasis on the personal front and sticks to the job at hand. Solving the case in a series of events and time flowing like sand goes hand in hand, but you don't feel bored as the makers have planned the web series well. The best part of the series is Sidharth Malhotra and Mayyank Taandon's face-off scene. It reminded me of Nana Patekar's The Attacks of 26/11 film scene where the lead actor confronts Kasab. But you'll have to wait till episode 4 for Rohit Shetty-style action. 

Casting

Sidharth Malhotra carries the form of a 'sarphira police officer' but the calm-composed side of the actor offscreen also has a fair share in his portrayal of Kabir Malik. Be it his breakout scene after the death of a senior officer, or confronting the terrorist part, Sidharth Malhotra dons the skin of a Police officer and does it all with good camera presence. Shilpa Shetty's rage, however at the start of the series seems over but she gets it right by the end.Vivek Oberoi in Indian Police Force has a mediocre swag of his own. Playing a father of a 10-year-old, his exceptional love for kids which leads him in danger twice also seems justified in several ways.

Isha Talwar as Rashmi Malik is so adorable as Malhotra's love interest that you would want more of her. In fact, the antagonist, Mayyank Taandon as Zarrar has more romantic scenes than Sid in Indian Police Force. Taandon has done a fabulous job in the series and convincingly tries to show the other side of the coin. Supporting actors, Shweta Tiwari as Shruti, Rituraj Singh as Rafeeq, Nikitin Dheer as Rana, and Mukesh Rishi as Officer Jaideep Bansal, are all perfect at their parts. Sharad Kelkar also has the perfect entry in the series and makes his presence felt. Vaidehi Parshurami as Nafeesa and Shruti Panwar as Uniaza deserve praise for bringing so much authenticity to their characters. The best factor about Indian Police Force is its perfect casting. 

Verdict

There are several cop-based OTT series like Khakee: The Bihar Chapter and Pataal Lok, and when you compare Indian Police Force with them, you might feel that Rohit Shetty and Sidharth Malhotra's OTT debuts could have been more grander. But you'll surely have a good time while watching the series. Overall, Indian Police Force is a good one-time watch. And this 7-episode-based web show is also setting a perfect base for its second season. The series is now out on Amazon Prime Videos.