Netflix’s Black Warrant Review: Vikramaditya Motwane's honest approach in telling a prison story is raw to the core

Director: Vikramaditya Motwane

Language: Hindi

 Cast: Zahan Kapoor, Rahul Bhat, Rajshri Deshpande and Paramvir Cheema

We hardly get to see movies which show the pitiful condition of the prisoners. They are criminals no doubt, but they are treated worse than animals. The idea of a prison is to try and reform them because deep within each and every criminal there is a backstory. And tomorrow if we are letting free a criminal after they have served their tenures, you want to see a reformed person.

Netflix’s Black Warrant, a seven-episode  series created by Vikramaditya Motwane and Satyanshu Singh is not an one-time watch and definitely not for binge watching. It’s an impactful prison series that will make you think.

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For a person to reform the environment of the prisoners needs to improve. That’s exactly what Netflix’s Black Warrant based in Tihar jail wants to show. This web series talks about the world inside the high-profile prison complex of Tihar through the eyes of a jailer and his perception. The narration is real and raw to the core. Black Warrant has references to all the crimes that become hot news in the 1970s and 1980s.

Based on Sunil Gupta, the former superintendent of Tihar Jail’s perception and journalist Sunetra Choudhury’s book Black Warrant: Confessions of a Tihar Jailer, the Netflix’s show touches upon all the major cases that shook the nation in the late seventies and early eighties. In three words the show is entertaining, engaging and immersive. It simply ticks all the boxes that makes for a brilliant series. Sunil Gupta (Zahan Kapoor) is not like his other collogues who have a strong physique, rather he is an exact opposite. But he is strong headed and you will realise that as you keep watching one episode after another.

Netflix’s  _Black Warrant_  is Vikramaditya Motwane’s second series after Sacred Games which was hugely popular among series lovers. Black Warrant unlocks the horrifying walls of Tihar through the eyes of a jailer. This thought provoking prison drama will make you think and understand the psychology of the prisoners.

Sunil Gupta (Zahan Kapoor) plays the role of a jailer and the main protagonist of the show.  _Black Warrant_ highlights the power play and politics that rule supreme in the prison not only among the officers in charge, but also among the prisoners. The series shows the power fight among the three gangs in the jail for survival. There are notorious activities happening inside the jail along with drug and alcohol abuse. Gupta wants to bring about a change in the living conditions of the prisoners and stop the corruption.

Armed with determination Gupta and his two colleagues want to bring about a change in the prison. They dig out the personal stories and the relation that affects the behaviour of a senior jailer and how he is making money by depriving the prisoners of their basic needs. The towering challenges of a jailer’s job are plenty, but the Black Warrant shows how they are never respected in their homes and in society. Despite having a tough job they are looked down upon. But the question is will Gupta along with two other teammates be able to bring about a change in the system or will they change themselves to fit into the harsh system which is ruthless and has no mercy for human life?

The series is bankrolled by Applause Entertainment.

Rating: 3 out of 5

WATCH the trailer of Netflix’s Black Warrant here: