Mumbai Mafia: Police Vs Underworld is the latest addition to the documentaries streaming on Netflix, which is based on a real crime story from India. The country is familiar with the underworld crime organisation, D-company, which terrorised Mumbai in the 1990s. This Netflix will retell the story of the rise and fall of gangsters and the underworld in Mumbai from the perspective of police, journalists and people previously associated with D-Company.
The Story:
In 1990s Mumbai, a crime boss and his network wield unchecked power over the city — until the rise of 'encounter cops,' who brazenly kill their targets.
First Half:
The documentary first talks about the rise of the underworld and gangsters in Mumbai and how they controlled the city. We are first introduced to former Mumbai Police officers, Pradeep Sharma, AA Khan and Ravindra Angre, who talked about the violence involved in their job and how Mumbai police were earlier powerless in front of the Mafias. The documentary takes you back to the 1990s in Mumbai when the city was ruled by the Mafias. Apart from the police, we hear the perspective of journalists and ex-mafias, who eye-witnessed these horrific incidents.
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Second-Half:
After the 1993 Bombay Bombings incident, the police decided to take the matter into their own hands and a 'special crime branch' was created to eliminate the underworld and gangsters from the city. This special crime branch had 'encounter specialists' who were labelled as heroes by the media and public for killing these alleged gangsters. However, the documentary finds a balance as it shows the perspective of journalists, other policemen and civilians who questioned these encounters by the police.
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The documentary brilliantly shows the horrific shootout at Lokhandwala from the first-hand encounter of Minty Tejpal. Meanwhile, author and former investigative journalist Hussain Zaidi shares his in-depth research on the fight of Mumbai police against the mafias.
Meanwhile, journalist and author Puja Changoiwala sheds light on the other side of the encounters of gangsters by the Mumbai police. The story by Alex Perry, the Times Magazine Writer, on Pradeep Sharma started raising questions about the Mumbai police and their encounters.
Final Thoughts:
Directed by Raaghav Dar and Francis Longhurst, the documentary does an exceptional job of keeping you engrossed with the first-hand account of people who witnessed the era of mafias in Mumbai. It also narrates these dreadful encounters by giving them a little fictional touch to give you insight into how frightful things were in Mumbai in the 1990s. Mumbai Mafia: Police vs Underworld gives you all the aspects of the incidents and will leave the audience to have their own judgements.
Directed by: Raaghav Dar and Francis Longhurst
Streaming On: Netflix