Film: Sector 36

Director: Aditya Nimbalkar

Cast: Vikrant Massey, Deepak Dobriyal, Akash Khurana, Darshan Jariwala, Ipsita Chakraborty

Rating: 3 Moons

In 2006, a horrific incident in the Nithari area of Sector 36 in Noida shook the country. The kidnapping and brutal murder of innocent children by a maniac became a challenge not only for the police but also for society. This incident highlighted serious issues such as serial killing and cannibalism. Inspired by this horrific incident, Maddock Films made Sector 36 which is now available on Netflix.

The story mainly revolves around Inspector Ram Charan Pandey (Deepak Dobriyal), who is a responsible father and husband. The twist comes when he gets involved in a dangerous race against a cunning and ruthless serial killer, Prem Kumar (Vikrant Massey). Distressed by the frequent disappearances of children, Pandey feels a responsibility beyond his duty and sets out to solve the murders. Against mounting pressure from the top and orders to close the case, Pandey crosses all limits to save the children.

The glimpses of cannibalism shown in the film are proof that this disgusting trend has rarely been discussed in depth in our country. The film also tries to highlight the mental state of the serial killer and the reasons behind it. Inspector Pandey’s dedication to his work and family gives the story an emotional and social perspective, which keeps the audience hooked till the end.

The way Vikrant has played his character, not only scares but also forces the audience to think. This is another strong performance from him after 12th Fail. While Deepak Dobriyal brings life to the character of Inspector Pandey. His acting is so natural that he overshadows Vikrant Massey. He is a versatile actor and is capable of playing any role. The supporting cast like Akash Khurana, Darshan Jariwala and Ipsita Chakraborty have also played their roles well, although there was limited screen time for them.

This is Aditya Nimbalkar’s first film as a director and he has not been able to live up to expectations completely. The film starts as a thriller, but it falls flat somewhere in the middle. Where there should be a surge of emotion and anger, the long and ineffective dialogues slow down the pace of the story. Bodh Yana Roy Chowdhury’s writing is weak at some places, due to which the film lacks suspense often. There are some scenes where more intensity and accuracy was needed, but was lacking. The film could have shed light on a deep and scary issue like cannibalism in a much more serious way, but it was shown superficially.