'Crime Beat' web-series review: Saqib Salim and Saba Azad reunite for a middling take on journalism and sensationalism

Cast: Saqib Saleem, Saba Azad, Sai Tamhankar, Rahul Bhat

Director: Sudhir Mishra, Sanjeev Kaul

Language: Hindi

Sudhir Mishra is a strange beast. His Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin and Hazaaron Khwahishein Aisi remain two of his most piercing works that brutally blended personal and political. Yeh Saali Zindagi was a heady cocktail of sexual and romantic gratification. Inkaar was a copout of a story about harassment at workplace. And Daas Dev was a no show. He also made the forgettable Khoya Khoya Chand, a pretentious and indulgent take on the cinema of the 70s. With OTT, there’s no commercial pressure on him as a filmmaker. And one is aware how the biggest of dead ducks are declared blockbusters.

Coming to his new offering Crime Beat, it’s a show that reunites two fine actors Saqib Saleem and Saba Azad. It’s a show that’s based on the book The Price You Pay. The title suggests it’s a take on journalism and sensationalism both. Saleem plays Abhishek like he has essayed most of his other characters. There’s something restless and zealous about the roles he plays and this rookie journalist is no different. He’s a go-getter who in one scene, listens to the conversation between two police officers from a washroom. But just like this headless chicken, the show feels rushed and hurried too.

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It begins with an encounter of an important political personality (Rahul Bhat) and moves to a flashback. There are multiple threats and twists that attempt to create a cohesive show with more misses than hits. We have the omnipresent Sai Tamhankar (Agni, Crime Beat, The Secrets of the Shiledars, Dabba Cartel coming on Netflix soon). There’s Saba Azad too, who magically appears and disappears with convenience for a good three episodes. Azad and Saleem did the immensely entertaining Mujhse Fraandship Karoge back in 2011, which feels fresher in 2025 than Crime Beat. It feels like a 300-minute Madhur Bhandarkar film without the steroids.

But to give credit where it’s due, it’s devoid of provocative dialogues and expletives. It assembles an ensemble of able actors who know their job. And it also exposes the dark reality of how journalists are still paid peanuts for their remarkable and sometimes questionable efforts. Abhishek in one scene says he only has Rs 800 in his account. Since the series is called Crime Beat, it’s understandable it cannot go beyond and explore the other areas of the profession. But yes, it does attempt to be an expose on the dark side of both the sides of the coin- The one getting exposed, and the one doing the exposing. Half-engaging but well-tried.

Rating: 2.5 (out of 5 stars)

Crime Beat is now streaming on Zee5