Rohit Shetty's OTT Debut 'Indian Police Force': High on Action, Low on Originality

vehicles that fly. Enticing slow-motion entrance with whistles. enticing background music. The trappings for a great Rohit Shetty movie are all there in his OTT debut Indian Police Force, but the storyline falls flat. Entertainment powered by testosterone? Indeed. Activating? Not at all. The Sidharth Malhotra-led criminal thriller, which is now available to watch on Amazon Prime Video and co-stars Shilpa Shetty and Vivek Oberoi, is formulaic from the first.

A 2.5-hour movie was expanded into a 7-episode series.

After a difficult upbringing, a young Muslim guy is brainwashed into fighting India. He begins detonating explosives in several locations, killing more than 500 people in all, including a senior Delhi Police officer. This leads to the formation of a special squad headed by IPS officer Kabir Malik (Sidharth Malhotra) and Gujarat ATS officer Tara Shetty (Shilpa Shetty). Their goal is to capture the terrorist.

The audience is acquainted enough with this tried-and-true plot that practically every scene is predictable. Additionally, Sidharth and Isha Talwar—Kabir's love interest—who appears in flashbacks and gets very little screen time—have a duet in the second episode.

Bad performance and stupid one-liners

Vivek and Sidharth make a big-screen entrance at the start of the first episode, showing off their police uniforms and similar-looking sunglasses. Even during social gatherings and family time, they maintain an erect stance with their tummy tucked in and chest protruding. In one scene, Mukesh Rishi, who portrays the Delhi Police chief, remarks, "A cop can be identified even if he is not in uniform," presumably to explain the stern demeanor of Rohit Shetty's officers. The conversation throughout the remainder of the movie is just as dull and uninspired as this. Take this example: "Dilli ka launda hoon, utha kar le aunga," says Sidharth's Kabir before to going out to capture the terrorist.

Properly, Shilpa Shetty is

In a program with a lot of men, Shilpa gets her fair share of action scenes but is relegated to a supporting role. Her classmates and coworkers call her character, ATS officer Tara Shetty, "Shetty." She is intelligent, athletic, powerful, and strong, yet she isn't featured in any of the major sequences in the program. Tara stays in Delhi for her squad to return, rather than accompanying them on their last operation. In addition, she is penning a book including a chapter about Kabir's valor. Shilpa is simply another gorgeous face used in this world of cops to elevate the lead male character.

A less scary opponent

Zarar, the bomb-setting terrorist (played by rookie Mayyank Taandon), is assaulted by Kabir and Vivek's Joint CP Vikram Bakshi. Not only is this villain a lover boy, but his companion finally betrays him. The persona elicits empathy but is unable to arouse terror.

No appearances by other characters from the police universe

Fans of Rohit Shetty's police world may be hoping for a Sooryavanshi to leap from a helicopter or a Singham to burst through the gate of his SUV before the conclusion of the second episode. Not so fortunate. Kabir tells Tara in one of the situations that he wants to be like Sooryavanshi and Singham. However, given the disaster that is the Indian Police Force, it seems improbable.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Press Time staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.