Cast: Gulshan Devaiah, Anurag Kashyap, Harleen Sethi, Saurabh Sachdeva, Aishwarya Sushmita

Director: Aditya Darr

Language: Hindi

If not anything else, director Aditya Datt at least gets the casting of his films right. He cast the brooding Emraan Hashmi in Aashiq Banaya Aapne, who can still pull of sensuality and erotica with more effortless ease than any other. In Commando 3 and Crakk, he opted for Vidyut Jammwal, who moves faster than the speed of light and can make breaking bones look like poetry in motion. These were convincing choices that paid half well. His new show Bad Cop that will stream on Disney Plus Hotstar from June 21, is his most interesting casting choice. He casts two Gulshan Devaiahs for the price of one and filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, who could now give veteran actor and Guinness World Record holder Jagdish Raj a run for his money. Raj held the record for playing a cop in over 150 films, Kashyap has now discovered his evil side on celluloid. The droopy and dreary eyes fit well into the hideousness of his fictional characters. He plays a poacher who’s both funny and frightening. A journalist leaves behind a video evidence before being brutally murdered ala Raj Zutshi from Kundan Shah’s 2000 dud Hum To Mohabbat Karega.

Kashyap said his character of Kazbe mama is a “one of a kind villain”. “His aura is charismatic and lethal at the same time. I was scared and sceptical when shooting for gore scenes; as opposed to my films. Kazbe is powerful, hard-hitting and I drew traits from many of the negative characters that I had created, to prepare for this role,” he said.

Bad Cop- Good Beginning

There’s a lot of zaniness in the way Bad Cop begins. A sexual and surreptitious encounter in a seedy hotel room turns twisted and tumultuous, with some mortifying one liners by Devaiah. The sudden and abrupt change in tone adds more tension to the narrative. The split screen to introduce the dual characters in its opening credits feels like an obvious choice, they are called Karan and Arjun, without a Rakhi to add melodrama to the material. One is a crooked conman and the other a crooked cop, and unlike most of the other double role films, the two brothers are barely apart. Karan, Devaiah number two, isn’t just a crooked cop but a covetous husband too. He refuses to allow his wife to play the woman card during an altercation scene. The conflict is not only necessary in the larger scheme of things but plays a crucial role in establishing the dynamic of the character too.

Bad Cop- Bad Cliché?

Let’s figure out what binds Shatrughan Sinha’s Kalicharan, Akshay Kumar’s Rowdy Rathore, Amitabh Bachchan’s Don, Salman Khan’s Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, and the recent blockbuster Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 together- The Switch. A double role where one has to masquerade the other for some unfinished business. Why should Bad Cop not follow the template (read cliché)? A sea of bullets are heaped on the twins and successfully connect only in that one last attempt that kicks off the second part of the proceedings. There’s no reincarnation here. And despite the uneven staging and shooting, the first episode ends with an absolute banger (and yes, a solid cliff-hanger too). The similarities between the brothers are so seamless, there are no nuances for Arjun to follow that won’t blow his cover once he becomes Karan (barring wearing a wrist watch properly). Arjun is a tricky part to nail. He needs to go bonkers but also hold his horses, he ought to have fun but know when to pee in his pants. And every time the man fumbles, he has an ingenious YouTuber’s videos for help. He learns how to cure a heart attack and to wear a police uniform. He has to cater to the love of his life but also care for his deceased brother’s wife by being in his shoes, both at home and work. And Devaiah is imminently watchable despite the writing not being as inventive as his previous duality in
Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota
that made it a complete revelation.

The Duality Of The Tone

Bad Cop isn’t just about a pair of twins. The tone of the show has a certain sense of duality too. What begins as a show about crime on steroids slowly morphs into a drama about revenge and redemption. The hysteria begins to fade and uprightness takes over. And Devaiah shares some convincingly awkward scenes with Harleen Sethi, his boss and wife. They both are allergic to one another but get drawn by duty and circumstances. The trailer of the show has the Bhaag DK Bose song from Delhi Belly that suggests it’s going to be a ride filled with madness and mayhem. But the discovery of the Phir Le Aaya Dil number from Barfi in a scene where the husband and wife sleep together after ages with their daughter was both bracing and bizarre to watch. It felt as if writers Hussain Dalal and Renzil D’Silva’s attempt was to create a series that feels silly and soothing at once.

It’s now almost impossible to think beyond the conventional while penning crime thrillers. Bugging houses, tapping phones, a chart of all the characters’ pictures to connect the dots, and disobeying orders from seniors with heroism dripping with swag. A terse Saurabh Sachdeva (of Animal and Jaane Jaan fame) and a solemn Sethi do the honors of playing uptight officers with the kind of attitude that feels out of place for a series that promised to be a satirical take on criminals and cops. The final product ultimately feels at odds with the glimpse that was thrown at us despite some genuinely tense moments. My one takeaway from the show has been how it combined Karan Arjun, Delhi Belly, and Barfi all at once. The cop may be bad, the concoction is not.

Rating: 2.75 (out of 5 stars)

Bad Cop will stream on Disney Plus Hotstar from June 21

Working as an Entertainment journalist for over five years, covering stories, reporting, and interviewing various film personalities of the film industry see more

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