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If you were expecting a mellowing of Rohit Shetty and his established brand of crash-bang-no-thank-you-ma’am cinema in his first OTT outing, this is your chance to scarper. Because with ‘Indian Police Force’, Shetty and his co-director Sushwanth Prakash, have have spread over seven episodes the things they do in two-and-a-half-hours of their blockbuster cop sagas: evil Muslim terrorists balanced by brave Muslim cops, clunky plots to demolish innocent lives, scores of cars and jeeps cartwheeling in the air. And oh, they’ve thrown in romantic duets between the good-looking male lead and his lady love: how else do you fill in all that time?
Just in case anyone was in any doubt, a character dutifully brings up ‘Singham’, ‘Sooryavanshi’, and ‘Simmba’, and we know we are deep in Rohit Shetty’s universe, even if the setting is meant to be Delhi. We know this because the Capital’s hot-spots are served up as visual short-cuts: of course, a bomb is to be found under a bench in India Gate; and of course, the terrorist gang’s hideout is near the Jama Masjid: it’s all CGI, but who cares?
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Because this is a streaming show, and Akshay-Ranveer-Ajay are not available for this second rung, or at least not yet, we get Sidharth Malhotra-Vivek Oberoi-Shilpa Shetty, all spiffy in khaki uniforms, not a spare inch around their worked-out-flat midriffs, and togged out in identical trademark glares. Just a query: how did they make out which RayBans was whose?
But it has to be said that Vivek Oberoi should have been given more play. And that Sidharth Malhotra’s good-boy mien is at odds with the violence he has to unleash on suspects. And also that Shilpa Shetty seems to be having the maximum fun: first off, I like that she is badass enough to be called by her surname, and that she gets a chance to jump into some action, kicking and lashing out at the baddies. Here’s hoping she’ll have more of that in the second season, because a show with such a slap-dash spirit, so unbothered about detail, giving us for free what we’d have to pay a cinema ticket for, will surely get another round.
Indian Police Force trailer:
There are supporting acts from Mukesh Rishi, whose terrific Muslim policeman having to prove his patriotism in ‘Sarfarosh’ comes instantly to mind when you see him here, all stiff and laboured, as the top cop who shows up only to bark orders. Some effort has gone into creating the orphan (Tandon) radicalised at a young age by, who else, a ‘maulvi’, and who grows up as a ‘kathputli’ being jerked around by his handler. Oh, and he is also a softie, or why would his feelings for a pretty young thing be real? Both Oberoi and Malhotra are given a personal side too, with mothers, wives and kids, and tragic pasts meant to move us.
But despite this effort at creating a broader base, the whole thing remains a Rohit Shetty show, all surface, minimal depth; all familiar flourish, nothing new. At least his movies go past quickly, this series is such a drag.
Indian Police Force cast: Sidharth Malhotra, Vivek Oberoi, Shilpa Shetty, Mayyank Tandon, Vaidehi Parshurami, Isha Talwar, Shweta Tiwari, Shruti Panwar, Mrinal Kulkarni, Sharad Kelkar, Mukesh Rishi
Indian Police Force directors: Rohit Shetty and Sushwanth Prakash
Indian Police Force rating: 1.5 stars
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