How ‘Delhi Crime’ set the bar for Indian cop shows

In Season 3, Delhi Crime expands its canvas. DCP Vartika Chaturvedi, the series lead played by Shefali Shah, is pulled into a human trafficking nexus run by a woman known as Meena (Huma Qureshi), even as she investigates the case of an injured baby abandoned at a hospital, a story inspired by the real-life baby Falak tragedy. The two cases intersect as Chaturvedi and her team take on a new challenge.

What makes Delhi Crime connect so viscerally with audiences? “I’ve thought about this a lot," Tanuj Chopra says. “Maybe it’s my directing," he jokes, “but honestly, it’s Shefali. She has this magnetic hold as Vartika. Every time there’s a problem, you cut to her face and something resolves. It’s that marriage of actor and character—moral integrity, ferocity, relentlessness. She is the moral compass of the show."

For producer Apoorva Bakshi, that moral compass has always defined the show. “From the start, Delhi Crime was never built to judge," she says. “Richie created it as a mirror, and Tanuj carried that forward with the same integrity. The show reflects, it doesn’t preach. And that’s why even people in Delhi love it — because it feels like their truth."

Joining this unsettling world in Season 3 is Huma Qureshi. It’s a busy time for the actor: her film Single Salma is in theatres, and Maharani, the SonyLiv show in which she plays the lead, has just begun its fourth season. A long-time admirer of Delhi Crime, Qureshi said she had no hesitation signing on as the antagonist. “The series makes you feel complicit," she says. “You can’t just switch it off and move on. It’s authentic and haunting in a way few shows are."

Shah returns as DCP Chaturvedi, reuniting with her steadfast police team that includes Bhupinder (Rajesh Tailang), Neeti (Rasika Dugal) and Jairaj (Anurag Arora). For the actor, this meant finding a rhythm for a woman who has already carried the weight of the city on her shoulders. “She’s changed," Shah reflects. “Not softer, just more focused. She’s learned to channel her energy differently. This case of missing girls, a baby abandoned, human trafficking, hits close to home. Every case is personal to her, but this one resonates in a way that’s more intimate, more emotional."

Chopra says that evolution was by design. “Each season has had its own emotional grammar. Season One (the Nirbhaya rape case) was urgent. Season Two (home invasions) was fear and the vulnerability of senior citizens. Season Three is about these missing girls. So this season, we have explored the emotional approach to policing, a slightly more searching energy beyond pure crime-solving."

As the story sprawls from Delhi to Rohtak, Jhunjhunu, Surat and Mumbai, the show also broadens its emotional topography. “We wanted to grow," says Bakshi. “Delhi Crime has always had strong women, but this time it’s a true ensemble, including the new female characters played by Sayani Gupta and Mita Vashisht."

The decision to make the antagonist a woman was a conscious one. “We wanted to raise the stakes," Bakshi continues. “Human trafficking has been portrayed before, but rarely from this lens—the economics of it, the gender politics, the inherited trauma. Huma’s Meena is terrifying because she could be the woman next door."

Qureshi agrees that realism lies in restraint. “You could pass her on the street and never know who she is and that’s what makes her dangerous. I based her on the rock-solid script Tanuj had. The writers shared research, case files, photos. I read everything. My job was to understand her logic, to understand what makes her tick, and then just submit."

When it came to selecting a crime story for the new season, the decision-making process was based on the success of the previous season and the requirements of the streaming platform. “It’s exciting to head into new territory and the collective feeling was that the show can open up emotionally. Vartika’s search can be more an emotional search. The crime can grip you in more personal ways. This story had a little more scope with geography as well, a crime that took us out of Delhi," said Chopra, who has co-written this season along with Mayank Tewari, Anu Singh Choudhary, Shubhra Swarup, Michael Hogan and Bakshi.

Shah says Vartika has evolved quite a lot from the first season. “She knows the system now, how to work it, how to bend it. But she’s also more stubborn, steelier, and she hasn’t lost her humanity."

It’s also why Shah came on board as an executive producer this season. “I love Delhi Crime. I love Vartika. I’m possessive about her. I wanted to take ownership."

When asked what conversations they hope this season will spark, Qureshi said, “I hope it makes us look at who we are—and who we could be if we didn’t look away. If this season makes people a little more like ‘Madam-sir’ (a term Vartika’s juniors often use to address her)—more alert, more empathetic—that would be its biggest achievement."

Chopra adds: “Along with the questions about trafficking and missing girls, I really hope men watch this season and see themselves in these female characters. Whether they consciously talk about it or just absorb it, I hope it changes something."

‘Delhi Crime’ Season 3 is streaming on Netflix from 13 November.

Udita Jhunjhunwala is a Goa-based film critic and curator.