Black Warrant: When the nib must break
Why does the judge break the pen’s nib when they sign the death sentence? This question is posed in the first episode of the Indian Netflix series Black Warrant, and answered in the last. It is a theme that carries through the series; from the Black Warrant – the order that the prison receives to carry out an execution – to the actual hanging and life in between, the seven episodes of the series play out under the shadow of this one question. Helmed by Vikramaditya Motwane and Satyanshu Singh, the series, set in the volatile 1980s, is based on the book Black Warrant: Confessions of a Tihar Jailer (2019) by former Tihar jailer Sunil Kumar Gupta and journalist Sunetra Choudhury.
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The motley crowd of Tihar
Cast out of society, the Tihar inmates create a microcosm of their own. The problem is that the prison —notorious in the 1980s — is populated by some of the most volatile, violent, and corrupt people. But among them were many innocent ones who can’t afford lawyers to defend themselves in court. And then there are petty criminals whose punishments are far larger than their crimes. All these outlaws are thrown together in an overcrowded prison with minimal facilities. The result is an explosive situation where the inmates have gangs based on religion, caste, and political affiliations. These gangs keep butting heads, often violently, as they defend their hard-fought territories inside the jail. The staff, horribly outnumbered and overworked, have an understanding with the inmates that so long as things don’t escalate, they will look the other way.
Reality: When violence is not entertaining
Black Warrant breaks away from the stylized and choreographed “action” in popular commercial cinema. The series is a realistic presentation of violence where viciousness is a way of life. The jail’s volatile atmosphere is established in the very first episode when, in the blink of an eye, a man slits the cheek of another, right in front of the newly-appointed jailer, Sunil Kumar Gupta (Zahan Kapoor).
Most bone-chilling is the episode where the infamous Ranga-Billa duo is executed. Ranga and Billa were accused of kidnapping and murdering Geeta and Sanjay Chopra (Geeta was also raped), children of an Indian Navy Captain in August 1978. Even though the court found both guilty, each would insist that the brutality was committed by the other. The crime, depicted in the series in black & white, is raw, visceral and disturbing. A Black Warrant was issued for the two in 1982. The scene of the execution is shot brilliantly. A haunting song plays in the background as the jail prepares for the hanging. On the day of the execution, the two are brought in and at 6:00 am sharp, the lever is pulled and the two are hanged. Billa dies quickly, but Ranga’s pulse continues. How the execution is completed and the aftermath is a scene for the ages. Saumyananda Sahi’s cinematography, Ajay Jayanthi’s music, and Yogesh Bansode’s art direction all come together to make a scene that I am unlikely to forget any time soon.
Casting Coup: A Kapoor Delivers
When the trailer first dropped on YouTube, many derided the choice of a “nepo kid”, (Zahan Kapoor is the grandson of actor Shashi Kapoor) as the lead. But the creators and the casting assistant Satyam Jha knew what they were doing; the range Kapoor displays in the series is marvelous. As the narrator of the story, Sunil Kumar Gupta is pivotal and gets significant screen time, and Kapoor does full justice to his role. He portrays a naïve, polite, soft-spoken young man who evolves into a quick-thinking jailer who can handle the immense pressures of his job. The shock on his face when he witnesses the first attack, the horror of seeing Ranga’s execution, the way his brutal environment haunts him, or the way he slowly, but surely puts his foot down, asserting his authority, Kapoor is a treat to watch.
Rahul Bhat plays the hardened, corrupt but efficient DSP Rajesh Tomar. He is a character with multiple shades and Bhat navigates the complexities of Rajesh Tomar skillfully. When he stares down a person, it feels like he is boring through their confidence. When he gives his orders, the authority in his voice is palpable. He cares for his team, but he will also look to save himself first. When it comes to his daughter, he’s a softie. DSP Tomar is human, deeply flawed and relatable at the same time.
Paramvir Cheema as Shivraj Singh Mangat and Anurag Thakur as Vipin Dahiya are apt in their roles as Gupta’s colleagues.
Mangat plays a Sikh officer in Tihar in the 80s, when the anti-Sikh riots began following Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination in 1984. He is a character who doesn’t speak much, but Cheema’s face and body language reveal his trauma and pain.
Dahiya is the muscle of the group. In a lesser series, he would be a bullish character without depth. But here we see a nuanced character who makes mistakes, holds grudges and hates some orders he must carry out.
Sidhant Gupta as Charles Sobhraj has a menacing, slimy presence, making the viewer very uncomfortable with his slow, measured dialogues and languid body language.
The veteran Rajendra Gupta plays Saini Sahab, whose story arc broke my heart.
Humor in all the grimness
You don’t expect humor in a series like this but some moments got a genuine laugh out of me. DSP Tomar’s reaction to Dahiya’s indiscretion, the way the students stage a jailbreak, alcohol being offered to the Home Minister, or a high-profile prisoner’s jailbreak at the end of the series – all of these moments bring much-needed levity to the story.
The pace of the series, however, is unsettling. The first two episodes go at a breakneck pace, but then the narrative slows down significantly, almost to a crawl. Episode six picks up the narrative again and takes it to a nail-biting crescendo, and then moves to episode seven when the denouement happens rather quickly.
Black Warrant is one of the best web series in recent times. After Jubilee, Motwane scores again, proving he is one of the best in the industry today.