‘Babita Singh Reporting’ (right) is the latest show on female police officers and their conundrum.
Nimisha Sajayan has just delivered the performance of the year in Amazon Prime Video’s new slow-burn crime drama Babita Singh Reporting.As the titular police officer investigating the murder of her childhood friend Bansi (Barun Sobti), Sajayan conveys a quiet, long-suffering intelligence with her wounded eyes. She is frequently better than the film’s screenplay. The pacing is uneven, and when it finally comes, the big reveal doesn’t really land the way the makers would have hoped.One thing the screenplay does get right though, in conveying the sheer scale of Babita’s balancing act.Justice is elsewhereAt work she takes the blame for a media leak she wasn’t involved with — just to get the leave required to attend a family wedding with her demanding in-laws (who make snide comments about her weight). At home, her holier-than-thou husband boasts about being a progressive champion because Babita belongs to a different (implying ‘lower’) caste. Besides, people within the police system are always reminding Babita that the powers-that-be only made her an ASI (Assistant Sub-Inspector) because her policeman-father died in the line of duty.
