The female officer has emerged as the new fallback for thrillers in Indian television programs. Web series featuring a female police officer is commonplace since there is an opportunity to recruit top female actresses who are eager to accept meaty roles that position them in the lead. Only those stories that started with strong, distinctive characters are now devolving into generic, occasionally weak characters that don’t uplift or emphasize a woman’s greatest qualities.
A female officer plays the main character in both SHE (Netflix) and Suzhal- the Vortex, a Tamil original series available on Prime Video. Aditi Pohankar portrays police policeman Bhumi in SHE, who poses as a sex prostitute in order to capture a dangerous drug lord. The one component of the story that stands out is what actually gives this heroine the ability to transcend her ordinary, restricted existence. The series has received some (deserved) criticism for being written from a male lens and being just surface deep. Bhumi, a police officer in Mumbai who was deserted by her ex-husband on her wedding night because she was “frigid,” has a routine, uninteresting life.
Then there is Suzhal, in which Sriya Reddy portrays Regina Thomas, the chief police officer of a small town who is disillusioned and on the verge of corruption. When tested, she will carry out her duties as an investigator while addressing her own weaknesses. Why does female police officer always have to look like she had a fireball for breakfast? said the film reviewer at Newsminute. This officer, a crucial character in this overly complex drama, never really has the chance to change or mature in order to justify her actions and present demeanour.
Shilpa Shetty will portray a styled super officer in The Indian Police Force. As cinematic is more in demand on OTT than credible, the temptation to glam up and ratchet up the excitement over a female police officer is once again evident. Any character on OTT must be credible and worthwhile to relate to in order to have an impact on people and stick with them. We also need to give our screen ladies in uniform a spirit.
