The Super Cop

I realise I have not written about the movies and series I have watched recently. In fact, I have reduced OTT time considerably, especially, before going to bed. Last night I was talking to my friend on the phone who also confirmed that she had to choose carefully what to watch at bedtime. The reason being what we watch right before sleep stays in the mind, comes back in our dreams in some form or the other and disturbs sleep. The same goes for scrolling or listening to something on the mobile neither of which has a soothing effect on the mind.

That’s why I saw Mardaani 3 on Netflix on a piecemeal basis – a little at a time. Mardaani 1 was based on the illustrious Mrs. Meeran Borwankar, the first female IPS Officer of Maharashtra cadre. I have not seen Mardaani 2. But my interest in Mardaani 3 was for a different reason all together.

Mardaani means a woman with a lot of masculine energy who can compete with men in brawn and brain. It’s a disturbing film supposedly based on true events. Inspector Shivani Shibaji Roy of the crime branch makes it her personal mission to bust a human trafficking racket after Pyari, an orphan and her niece’s friend, goes missing from the orphanage. The story is all about how she tracks down the kingpin and kills him.

Naturally, given the tenor of the story there is physical as well as sexual violence , bad language  and other inconsumable elements in the narrative. In my younger days such a movie would have got an A Certificate meaning only for adult viewing. But it’s now streaming on Netflix and can be seen by all age groups without any bar.

The villain of the piece was so hateful that I was getting impatient when he would be brought to books. Evidently it goes in favour of the actor’s caliber.

A week next to the release, a piece of news started doing the rounds on the internet about how a spike in the number of missing cases (all women and children) in the Capital had taken place in the month of January 2026 which understandably became a cause of worry for the citizens.

Subsequently, Delhi Police clarified on X that there was no spike in the number of missing cases and apparently the net-news was an outcome of paid promotion. Soon the netizens traced it back to the Production House of the film Mardaani 3. Delhi Police’s statement was followed by a Firstpost newsclip reconfirming with statistics (no less alarming) what Delhi Police had said before.

Yashraj Films, maker of the Mardaani series, retaliated saying that they were a fifty year old Production House committed to ethical business and would not dream of “sensationalising such a sensitive issue”.

In this exchange of X posts, Mardaani 3 got the publicity it required.

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