The Beast of Bangalore on Netflix is befuddled. It never gets the point across.
Consider adding something else to your list if you’re looking for excitement.
Following Dahmer, The Raincoat Killer, Worst Roommate Ever, and Conversations with a Killer, Netflix has attempted to milk the true crime genre once more with Beast of Bangalore: Indian Predator.
While it was a hotly anticipated release, especially after the previous instalments in the series — The Butcher of Delhi, The Diary of a Serial Killer, and Murder in a Courtroom — were huge hits, nothing about it is particularly intriguing. The story is well-written, and the narration and direction are adequate, but there is little that distinguishes it from previous efforts.
The series’ writer and director are Ashwin Rai Shetty, and the executive producers are Samira Kanwar, Vatsala Aron, and Niharika Kotwal.
The film is based on Umesh Reddy, a police officer-turned-serial killer who allegedly murdered 18 women and was convicted in 9 cases. He was sentenced to death by the Karnataka High Court in 2009, but the Supreme Court commuted his death sentence to a 30-year term in 2022 after he filed a mercy petition.
His criminal record dates back to 1996, when he was assigned to the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Kashmir and attempted to rape the commandant’s daughter. He fled to Karnataka’s Chitradurga district and later joined the District Armed Reserve (DAR) Police, who were unaware of his CRPF record.
The docuseries shows how he chose minors, sexually assaulted them, robbed them, and left them naked in the street. What stands out, not the gore or the heinousness of his crimes, is the ineptness of the police and the judicial system. However, it’s unclear what the creators are trying to convey. While there is a strong attempt to shock the audience with his crimes, it falls short.
Nothing has changed this time.
The documentary Beast of Bangalore includes stories from lawyers, activists, police officers, and others involved in Reddy’s murder cases. Ashwin Shetty also delves into his past by depicting his childhood. The writing is genuine and balanced, but when it all comes together, the docuseries feels like a long-winded news broadcast.
If you’re simply interested in crime as a genre and like to keep up with criminal histories, Beast of Bangalore is a one-time watch. However, if you like to binge-watch such shows to delve deep into humanity’s vices, it may disappoint you when compared to other great shows that Netflix already has in store.
Choose a side
At the end, Beast of Bangalore attempts to depict how the rule of law is trivialised — but the idea is at best half-baked. It appears that Ashwin Shetty was not attempting to do so, and the point is never made. Did he want to sensationalise and create horrifying optics, or did he just want to tell us the story in one place? He certainly didn’t get the first one right, despite his best efforts.
Even in the cat-and-mouse chase with the cops, Umesh does not appear to be a ruthless serial killer on the run who has perplexed authorities and is fighting them tooth and nail. It appears that the police are unsure of how to do their job, which is not surprising.
Consider adding something else to your list if you’re looking for excitement. Beast of Bangalore is a good watch for understanding the flaws in the system, but be aware that it will be lengthy. At the end of three nearly hour-long episodes, it feels a little dragged out.