I watch a lot of British crime series and the first thing that struck me about this series was that even though it is made by Indians and completely homegrown, the production quality, packaging, editing and finishing was at par with most Brit crime series. London Files on Voot, is full of layers of mental trauma, parenting confusions and relationship realities.
The plot opens to London in the sun, a rare sight and a delight to the cold dreary eyes of those who live in this beautiful city, which has gloomy weather most of the year. The context is local too – the series has some real London city issues earlier seen in Brit crime series and racy spy movies, mingled with the protagonist grappling with mental health trauma. The dimension of his trauma is anti-hero, which makes your heart break as the story unfolds in bits and pieces. Very real world and stark. Arjun Rampal was surprisingly honest in his performance as the brooding cop with personal trauma. Purab Kohli seemed restrained and could have got a little more screen time but his character did not get too much of a chance to get layered. Gopal Dutt of The Week That Wasn’t (with Cyrus Broacha and Kunal Vijaykar) has come a long way to land a pivotal role but seemed to go little over the top. His menace, fanaticism seemed like hamming rather than scary. The plot had some twists and turns that keep the viewer engaged. The end seems hurried but gives you hope for a better tomorrow after the entire debacle is exposed during the six part series. Each character is etched in a manner that no one is as they seem. The last scene is simplistic to the mental health issues faced by father-son but I hope that leaves room for season 2.
All in all, an intriguing weekend afternoon binge watch.
