The undeniable love and the dedication that all of us have for the genre of true crime is marvellous and astoundingly spectacular at the same time. it is probably one of the rare genres where every human being comes and shakes hands in unison for the likeness and proclivity towards it. Further, the true crime market definitely sees a lot of increase in its advancements as well. True crime and Netflix are like very old friends, they go hand in hand. There are lots of True crime documentaries and series as well as lots of movies available on the OTT streaming platform.
There are various documentaries based on the lives of famous well-known serial killers like Ted Bundy, Richard Ramirez and many more. Last year, Netflix released an Indian true crime documentary series named House of Secrets: The Burari Deaths, which was able to captivate the viewers on a global scale. The series was based on the demise of Eleven family members of the same family in Delhi, India. The series was well-loved and praised by the critics for its riveting writing as well as its wonderful and soul-captivating execution.
Now, recently Netflix again released a true crime documentary series named Indian Predator: the Butcher of Delhi, it is directed by Ayesha Sood and it is receiving mixed reviews lately, some say it is still mildly alright, while the critics are cursing it for its below average execution and the not so good writing as well. It also lacks in the exploration of the main character’s, and the subject’s psyche as well, it does not really bank on the brutality of the serial murders committed.
Is The Indian Butcher Based On A True Story?
This recent release on Netflix is a true crime show produced by VICE India that is spine-chilling, hard-hitting, and packed with instances that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The three-part documentary follows the life of a notorious serial killer who becomes a nightmare for the police force. And if you like classic true crime dramas, you’ll love this one. We learn the true story of the Indian Predator: The Butcher of Delhi.
The show is indeed based on a real-life case that happened in India. It is based on one of the most horrifying serial murders in Indian history, the subject of the Indian Predator is Chandrakant Jha who committed all the grisly murders, and the show then details the investigation into him. He was found guilty in 2013 of three grisly murders that occurred between 2003 and 2007. The makers are not helped by the declining popularity of the case over time. Because so little time had passed since the Burari incident, it had the benefit of still being well-known in people’s minds.
With a crude montage of higher authorities providing fragments of information on a killer, the documentary gives us a preview of the vibe it wants to convey right away. Right when the documentary starts, we hear the same old cliché that says “we have never come across such a drastic case in the last 23 years of our lives”.
Now, the show gives out some Hannibal-Lecter vibes, but it miserably fails at being something other than a big old cliché.
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Sixteen years ago, on the 20th of October, 2006, there was a mysterious caller who informed the Delhi police that he has left a corpse near the entrance of Gate three of the Tihar Jail. The cops acted on it and found a mutilated body of a middle-aged man. The body was neatly packed and left inside a fruit basket.
The killer not only brutally murdered the victims but he also then scattered their body parts after mutilating them, in various parts of the city. He also used to leave notes for the police, mocking them and challenging them to catch him if they are capable. Many people, who were involved in the investigation of the crime said that they have not come across such a heinous crime ever in their lives.
The Indian Butcher Story
The story of Chandrakant Jha, the Butcher of Delhi, follows the police procedure that occurred following the discovery of an unidentified decapitated body. It also tells the story of a migrant worker who came to Delhi to try his luck, as well as his desire for blood. The world he arrived in seemed unfair and unjust, and he took it out on those around him, creating a system in which he saw himself as the messiah of justice to them.
The story then gradually unravels into one of the most shocking investigations and one of the most horrific crimes. He was once arrested but that was done on false charges so the police had to let him go as there was a lack of concrete evidence. However, later in 2007 on the 25th of April, they got another news of a different body placed in the same spot. This body was also mutilated, and the body parts were scattered in various different places again. Now, the police started an investigation for this as well, but while the investigation was still going on, they found another body murdered in the same fashion.
Then the police thought of doing something substantial and they along with the assistance of some of their sources as well as some informants got a sketch made with the person’s similarities and then they also found a man who looked like the one from the sketch.
The way the Delhi police found him seems very straightforward, however, what is more, shocking and sketchier and that truly grips our attention is the way the investigation forwarded and how it all unravelled a series of gruesome truths about a man who was broken and has a shockingly dark past, which is one of the most common traits amongst the serial killers.
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The Indian Butcher Review
Although the material at hand is strong, filmmaker Ayesha Sood barely goes past the surface of the narrative. We frequently see bloody recreations of horrific crimes while professionals follow the investigations. Even if the actor portraying Chandrakant fits the role, he seldom does anything other than show up at random and kill folks with a club. Beyond a certain point, it becomes too boring and, occasionally, disturbs the story.
The second and third episodes do improve, particularly when the killer’s past purported crimes are revealed and the investigation goes back to its beginnings. Particularly the sections situated in Bihar help us gain a better insight into the killer’s psychology. however, as we see in many other true crime series, there is at least one psychologist who tells us about the serial killer’s thought processes in detail and that makes the show even more interesting, but here one is bound to get disappointed as there is no such thing included here. No one really speaks about why Chandrakant is the way he is. Instead, we receive professional judgments from police officers and forensic investigators, who repeatedly avoid the issue.
The show attempts to discuss the socioeconomic aspects that affected Chandrakant’s life, but the investigation comes out as cursory and unconvincing. In contrast to many other true-crime stories, the killer and the victims in this one are both from the lowest socioeconomic strata. The majority of victims are poor and are drawn in by the promise of food, housing, or company. When mental health problems are humorously trivialised as being the domain of the upper socioeconomic classes, this may have been an opportunity to discuss the significance of mental health awareness among the lower socioeconomic classes.
Further, in reality, Chandrakant had also laid certain allegations on the police for their brutality against him. But the show did not even address that. We are constantly told that his taunts at the police were all attempts to subvert the system and that this rage is the result of his bad luck with powerful women in his life, including his mother. However, none of the officials mentioned by Chandrakant is investigated. Overall, the series could have been executed in a better way, as the story is indeed shocking and very dark in the history of Indian crimes and Chandrakant is one of the worst killers in history, it could have been made more enthralling but it does not fare well in those waters. The documentary has its moments but it is disappointing a lot more. If you want to watch this documentary, you can watch it on Netflix.
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