 "Netflix’s Sector 36 Movie Review")
Language: Hindi
Director: Aditya Nimbalkar
Cast: Vikrant Massey, Deepak Dobriyal and Akash Khurrana
Netflix’s Sector 36 film is not for the weak hearts. If the smell and taste of human blood gives you a high, this movie is a must watch. Inspired from true story and touching upon the present day situation, the scam behind organ trading, selling of unclaimed dead bodies and how it works, the film has shown every bit of it in detail. The plot of the Netflix original movie, Sector 36, is based on the Nithari Killings case in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, which shook the soul of the nation in 2006. Both Vikrant Massey and Deepak Dobriyal revisit this real-life horror with their deeply intense performances.
It’s not a typical cat and mouse race where a policeman runs after a criminal, but much more intense and engaging. These are the kind of films that will literally get into your head and make you think. Netflix’s Sector 36. Not only Vikrant Massey , Deepak Dobriyal as Inspector Ram Charan Pandey have given a kind of layered performance that will make you think again and again even after you have finished watching the film. Thanks to digital platforms for bringing up such stories and revisiting real incidents in a sensitive manner and making us aware.
Understanding the psyche of the character, Vikrant Massey has truly got into the skin of the character making Netflix’s Sector 36 a hugely immersive watch. Based on a story about a village called Nithari situated in the middle of Noida city which is just 20 km away from Delhi, there was this mysterious disappearance of young women and children for nearly two years from 2005 to 2006.
Going back to the Netflix’s film, nobody understood what was happening to these kids and women. But it was mostly kids who went missing from the village. Initially no police complaints were even lodged. The movie shows corruption at different levels. Nobody got to know who was the man behind it. Vikrant Massey who played the role of Prem Singh who worked as a servant was seen cutting the body of a school girl into pieces and disposing it off in plastic bags in different places nearby. He also liked the taste of human blood and flesh and would often eat it too.
But Prem (Vikrant Massey) was not the main person, in fact he was just a domestic help. The actual man was a powerful business man called Bassi played by Akash Khurrana who had the bureaucrats, police and politicians inside his pocket. And he was into this organ trade and was a person who loved molesting and raping young girls and a pedophile of highest order. In fact, he needed a new girl every day. And his servant, Prem used to do the video recordings of the nude girls.
But how long can you carry on with such heinous crimes? Ram Charan Pandey (Deepak Dobriyal), father to a young daughter and doting husband, chases after this serial killer, Prem and his master despite warnings to desist. With the lives of missing children in the balance, he hunts the enigmatic yet beguiling Prem Singh (Vikrant Massey), hiding in plain sight. Netflix’s Sector 36 an extremely engaging film which will shake you to the core. Ram Charan Pandey was not all that clean a man at the beginning of the film. It was much later when reality hit his own home, that he realised the value of his uniform and immersed himself into this case.
This is the first time; Vikrant Massey has done something that is so different from his previous roles. He plays a negative character with a twist and back story. During his childhood days he was a victim to sexual abuse by his own uncle. It isn’t an easy job to convincingly play a layered and terrifying killer who has a simple appearance and is soft on the outside, but a cannibal from within. This terrifying killer can pass off as any other person and I feel it is a must watch for all to understand how we need to be careful and how looks can be decisive.
Prem’s creepy smile and the way he narrates the crimes committed by him in front of police will send a shiver down your spine. Indeed, the convincing performances of all the actors, makes Sector 36 film an engaging watch. While watching the film you will often feel is it the same actor who played the role of Manoj Kumar Sharma in 12th Fail. Massey is indeed a master craftsman and his performance in Netflix’s Sector 36 has proved it yet again.
Sector 36 is bankrolled by Dinesh Vijan and Jyoti Deshpande under the banners of Maddock Films and Jio Studios respectively
WATCH the trailer of Vikrant Massey starrer Netflix’s starrer Sector 36 here:
Rating: 3 and half out of 5
Lachmi Deb Roy is the entertainment editor of Firtspost, Network18. She reviews films and series with a gender lens. Her interviews are called 'Not Just Bollywood' because she takes huge interest in world cinema. OTT over theatrical releases is her preference unless and until its a King Khan film. She takes interest in fashion, food and art reviews too.