Vikrant Massey’s brilliant acting aside, the rest of Sector 36 is a tepid crime thriller that flatters to deceive
Who doesn’t like a good serial killer movie? Not me. Having watched Hannibal, Silence of the Lambs, and our all-time favorite, Manhunter, more times than I’d like to admit, I’m always up for a good thriller. Although my unwritten rule to kick off the weekend is with a light and breezy rom-com or thriller, when I sat down to pick our Friday night movie — yes, with great power comes great responsibility, and I take my movie-picking power very seriously— I saw two things that rank very high on the movie meter; true story and serial killer.
I’ve always wondered why so many people like myself are fascinated with serial killers and psychopaths. Is it that chance to play detective and carry out a little arm-char investigation with nothing hanging in the balance? Or is it the adrenaline rush we get ‘discovering’ the killer’s true identity? According to the scientist Baruch Fischhoff, it’s “hindsight bias”; the belief that we have predicted or discovered something for ourselves. For others, it’s not so much about the serial killer but the emotion and the realness of the depicted crimes.
With that in mind, I decided to watch Sector 36 on Netflix, which stars Vikrant Massey and Deepak Dobriyal in leading roles. I’d seen the trailer, and it seemed nice.
What’s the Story?
Sector 36 is a 2024 Hindi-language crime thriller and slasher film helmed by Aditya Nimbalkar and written by Bodhayan Roychaudhury. Produced by Maddock Films in collaboration with Jio Studios, the movie features performances by Vikrant Massey, Deepak Dobriyal, and Akash Khurana. The plot is loosely inspired by the infamous 2006 Noida serial murders, commonly known as the Nithari Killings.
The narrative centers around Ram Charan Pandey, a corrupt and negligent police officer. After nearly losing his daughter to an assault, Pandey experiences a moral awakening. Determined to take action, he sets out to confront a serial killer named Prem Singh, whose gruesome crimes have left several children missing. In doing so, he uncovers the sinister realities lurking beneath the city’s surface.
Okay, so it’s basically the story of a killer and a cop—the usual cat-and-mouse story. Awwwriiiight.
It’s time to get comfy. I got my cold coffee and slid over to my side of the couch.
The story is set in 2005, where Prem, played by Vikrant Massey, serves as the caretaker of a bungalow in Shahdara, Delhi, owned by Balbir Singh Bassi, played by Akash Khurana. Balbir resides in Karnal, Haryana, and seldom visits his opulent property in Delhi, leaving Prem in charge. Isolated and unchecked, Prem begins abducting children from a nearby slum and murdering them. Despite numerous complaints from the victims’ parents, Ram Charan Pandey (Deepak Dobriyal), a sub-inspector at the Rajiv Camp Police Station, turns a blind eye to the disappearances.
However, when Prem attempts to kidnap Ram Charan’s daughter, Vaidehi, also known as Vedu (Ihana Kaur), the officer is forced to take action. Meanwhile, Chumki Ghosh (Tanushree Das), an adult woman, also goes missing, and she was last seen near Balbir’s bungalow. Suspicion grows, and Ram Charan sets his sights on Prem, but capturing him proves to be far more challenging than expected. The rest of the film follows Ram Charan’s pursuit of justice.
I won’t go too much into what follows because the movie just came out. I’d like you to see it for yourself and let me know if you agree with me or not. Here’s what I felt after watching the movie, which has a running time of two hours and four minutes.
What Works in Sector 36?
Vikrant Massey’s Prem is loosely inspired by the real-life serial killer Surinder Koli, who gained national attention in 2006 when the remains of numerous children were discovered in Noida’s Sector 31, near the village of Nithari. Surinder, who worked as a housekeeper at Moninder Singh Pandher’s home, was found to have been committing the murders over two years. While much of the film reflects actual events, director Aditya Nimbalkar has made some changes, incorporating fictional elements and dramatizing the story. As a result, Sector 36 should not be considered a completely accurate retelling of the Nithari murders.
I’ve always had a gripe with actors who cannot escape their image. Whichever movie or role they play, they remain more or less a version of themselves. It’s an aura thing, I guess. Like I was watching this interview with Imtiaz Ali where he said that one of the reasons why ‘When Harry Met Sajal’ didn’t work was because he hadn’t factored in the larger-than-life-real-life aura of Shahrukh Khan. There’s the believability aspect of Shahrukh working as a tour guide. Whether it’s a knock on his acting or just our collective bias to be unable to see him in a common-man role is a topic for another time. There are many actors who, when portraying a role, let us know how big of a star they are. While that works for die-hard fans and others who want to experience the story, the result is a diluted drink that leaves one wanting more. I’ll admit that I’ve been slow to join the Vikrant Massey bandwagon. But one thing is categorical: he has not fallen into the previous bracket so far. In Sector 36, his portrayal of a cold-blooded killer is one of the standout aspects of the film.
Massey delivers one of the finest performances of his career in this film. Typically known for his positive roles, such as his well-received portrayal in 12th Fail [2023], he takes a darker turn here. His character is crafted to evoke a sense of repulsion from the audience, and he masterfully captures the subtle details and body language necessary to bring this disturbing role to life.
For me, Deepak Dobriyal first came to attention for his loud, cheerful roles in Tanu Weds Manu and Omkara. So, seeing him in a more subdued and sober role took some getting used to. There is a physicality to such roles that has nothing to do with size, and I feel like Deepak, while doing a good job, still fell a little short.
The rest of the cast is fine. Akash Khurana and Darshan Jariwalla provide strong support, while Subir Bisawas makes an impression despite his brief screen time. Kacho Ahmed (Compounder Chote Lal), Ajeet S Palawat (Constable Pathak), and Mahadev S Lakhawat (Constable Bishnoi) also don’t do badly in their limited roles.
The screenplay by Bodhayan Roychaudhury is not bad, but it’s not unforgettable too. I don’t know why, but I kept thinking that I’d heard the words somewhere before. The pacing of the story was good, and it didn’t lag at any place, which was one of the good points.
What Doesn’t Work?
I’m glad that Bollywood has an appetite for movies that tread off the beaten path, but there’s still a long way to go. I say that because there have been examples in the past with movies like Raman Raghav 2.0 where the genre has been portrayed perfectly well.
Sector 36, sadly, doesn’t fall into that category. For one thing, it follows the one Bollywood trope that I find the most irritating: dumbing down every aspect of the story. This need to spell out every motive and reasoning might work for movies meant for the masses, but it takes away some of the joy of subtle storytelling.
It’s a good thing that the song and dance phase of Bollywood movies is now becoming a thing of the past, but they still haven’t nailed the background music area. Following on from the dumbing down point, Ketan Sodha’s background score also acts like a clue most of the time, letting the audience know what’s coming in the next five minutes. Ominous music in the background doesn’t work all the time. It’s like reading text that’s been enlarged ten times. Everything is telegraphed, taking away one of the biggest selling points of this genre: suspense and thrills.
Prem’s character explains his past by referencing Newton’s third law of motion – for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This serves as his way of justifying how a servant working for a businessman who takes pleasure in unchecked violence transformed into the monstrous figure he has become. As I said, Massey is good, but only when he doesn’t say much. This need to provide a backstory or a reason for how and why criminals turned into monsters is an affliction that’s not ailing just Bollywood. It’s everywhere, apparently. A case in point is the Netflix Dahmer series. Someone needs to tell them that it’s not working. I get that it’s a departure from black-and-white and two-dimensional storytelling. But this is too simplistic and just feels hokey.
It’s also unconvincing why Prem behaved the way he did during the investigation. He seemed well-informed and should have known that such behavior could cost him dearly despite his boss having contacts in the right places. I think this is where the movie falls apart. It can’t decide if it is going to stay true to the actual events or swerve off into a well-laid-out cat-and-mouse thriller. The confession, which comes across as being preachy and too long, is almost an anticlimax.
What follows afterward is just an attempt at tying up loose ends, and seriously, I’d lost interest by then. The final scene is interesting but again raises questions. I had to do a bit of online searching to find out what it meant. So, basically, Prem sought an escape and cleverly managed to send a second CD to Bishnoi’s home, hoping the upright constable would expose Bassi’s true nature to the world. This conclusion mirrors a common tactic used by many filmmakers, leaving the possibility of a sequel open for future exploration.
As for myself, I had to rewatch the first couple of episodes of Manhunter just to get the bad taste of what I’d seen and to atone for ever considering it in the same pantheon as David Fincher greats such as Zodiac and Seven.
Final Verdict: I give it a 2 out of 5 stars
Let us know your thoughts and your favorite serial killer movie/show.
