Nothing ‘exclusive’ about Black Warrant

Black Warrant

In an era of internet and with practically every information, about whosever or whomsoever, it is surely an onerous task to recreate a film drama, even if there is much-room for maneuver, yet surely and certainly, the web series, Black Warrant, on Netflix, based on a book ‘Black Warrant, Confessions of a Tihar Jailer’, by Sunil Kumar Gupta and Sunetra Chowdhary, directed by Vikramaditya Motwane, could not stir any surprise. After binge watching, there wasn’t anything where it could be called anything ‘new’ during its seven-episodes, except for some dialogues from the high-profile prisoner Charles Sobhraj ( Sidhant Gupta), as only something worthwhile to carry back home.

 The film revolves around four protagonists, the main being Sunil Kumar Gupta (Zahan Kapoor), who takes on the interview to become a jailer and his two colleagues Vipin Dahiya (Anurag Thakur), Shivraj Singh Mangat (Paramvir Singh Cheema) and their immediate boss DSP Rajesh Tomar, played by Rahul Bhat. The film opens up with Sunil facing an interview to become a jailer, and throughout the film, trying to become one? He is scoffed for his rank by his own family members and is shown trying to learn the cuss words. His diminutive personality is contrasted to his role, but what came as quite unbecoming, in one scene, was that he was slapped on face by his colleague, spat blood, but does not retaliate and instead later offers hand in friendship. The role does not inspire. 

Sunil Kumar Gupta is credited for his successful efforts for jail reforms in real life also. But, where is the drama into it? Merely getting it type-written and its submission to IG Prison, that too, be rebuffed, as proposals for jail-reforms, come from Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) officers, offers the naivety of the film. Why is the jailer shown so innocent? Didn’t he know his brief? Anyone can browse the enormous research papers for jail reforms. Where is the kick? Which goes missing?

It also makes it all apparently ridiculous as Gupta is shown trying to learn the abusive words?  The ‘kind’ of language used in jails is otherwise all too known to the audiences. It becomes quite jaded to see Gupta so submissive yet made the spokesperson of the jail too. It should be known that today’s generation in India, has come of age. Remember ‘hum angrezon ke zamane ke jailor hain’ from Asrani Sahab in the film Sholay, which was released 50 years back.

The film is being watched in post-Nirbhaya India. The film tries to put Ranga-Billa, who were convicted and ‘rape and murder’ side of the story. What purpose did it serve? Of course, the criminals were squeaky as they were dragged to be hanged, unlike Maqbool Bhat, who took to the gallows, on February 11, 1984, as haughty with a high chest filled with air. The director does deserve kudos that actual Quranic recitals were made on his burial, unlike typical Kalima. He was hanged as in immediate reaction to the killing of an Indian diplomat Ravindra Mhatra in London by Kashmiris on February 6, 1984. The judge Neelkanth Ganjoo, whose signatures on death-warrant were shown, was later killed in 1989.

There are two warring gangs one led by Tyagis and the other by Ranas, both Upper Castes, and the third by Sikhs. DSP Tomar breaks the thaw in-between Tyagis and Ranas, and uses them against Sikhs, in the backdrop of PM Indira Gandhi’s murder. But, their fights, power struggles, drugs business etc pale in comparison to the jail ‘scenarios’ as have been portrayed in the recently released film Criminal Justice-1 starring Jackie Shroff. DSP Tomar once straggles that the most (nazuk) crucial thing in jail in reputation, which he himself is shown letting-off, in lieu of his own corruption, from precisely everything that takes place, to the extent of even selling quilts. The one who takes-up the courage to bring it before IG Prison, everyone is corrupt from top to bottom, is an old accountant Rajendra Gupta ( Saini Sahab) who hangs himself as in sobriquet, showing that system is all by itself hanged.

The film builds an unnecessary trope around why the pen nib is broken on signing a death sentence? The answer is given finally by Sunil Gupta; to send a message that no another criminal follows to it. Women in the film are nearly invisible. An extra-marital affair of Jail Superintendent’s wife, it’s subsequent disclosure, a staple diet these days, failed to evoke any worthy tangent to the plot. There was not even one scene on women inmates and their issues in jail.  


Perhaps, the best taker for home, apart from many others from Charles Sobhraj, is that authorities use a knife instead of a butter-knife to look important, but everyone wants to be important too. Sobhraj suggests Gupta to make friends, pauses for a second, then says, enemies, smiles; ‘they make themselves.’ Gupta, is shown almost subservient to Sobhraj on all occasions. Sobhraj, later dupes the entire staff of the biggest jail in Asia, by mixing sedatives in sweets, and escapes from jail. The reward he gave after making friends.

Haider Abbas is a former UP State Information Commissioner and a film reviewer.

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