Delhi Crime — Season 3: A raw, badiya return (Rating: 4.5/5)

Delhi Crime returns with a third season that doesn’t lean on novelty for the sake of noise — it goes straight for the gut. After two thematically different but equally sharp seasons, this instalment tackles child trafficking and exploitation with an unblinking gaze. The result is bleak where it must be, humane where it can afford to be, and powered throughout by performances that refuse to let you look away.

Shefali Shah, once again, DCP Vartika Chaturvedi, owns the series in a way few screen roles do. Her Vartika is measured, exhausted, furious and quietly heroic — a performance that anchors every scene and keeps the show from tipping into melodrama. Around her, the ensemble hums: each actor gets a moment to be tough, fragile, angry or principled, and they take those moments seriously. Huma Qureshi’s Badi Didi is a chilling magnet of menace — a figure who makes the racket’s human cost feel immediate and horrific.

The geography of the series — from Rohtak and parts of Haryana to Assam, and back into Delhi — isn’t just a backdrop. It becomes the bloodstream of the story: small-town networks, porous borders, and brutal economies that feed organised crime. The show asks “why” and “how” with a procedural intensity; many questions about the racket are answered episode by episode, and the editing keeps the reveals sharp without spoon-feeding. That procedural clarity is one of the season’s strengths.

Technically, the show is tight. The visuals are clean and purposeful — not glossy for glamour’s sake but composed to underline mood and consequence. Shubhra Swarup’s screenplay moves at the right pace: patient when it should be investigative, urgent when it needs to land a blow. Dialogues by Anu Singh Choudhary add weight; lines land like small verdicts that linger after an episode ends.

Behind the camera, the season bears the stamp of the Delhi Crime universe while also signalling a new directorial voice. Tanuj Chopra’s direction keeps the action grounded and the human stakes at the centre. Richie Mehta’s creative imprint remains in the credits and the DNA of the show, a reminder of how the franchise began

If the series has a fault, it’s the emotional toll: this is difficult viewing. It doesn’t sensationalise, but it also doesn’t soften the brutality, so expect to feel heavy after a binge. For viewers looking for neat comfort or escapism, this is not the season to pick. For anyone who cares about craft, performance, and socially urgent storytelling, Delhi Crime S3 delivers in spades.

Final verdict: Watch it once for Shefali Shah, stay for the ensemble and the way the writing respects the gravity of its subject. This is not just a police procedural — it’s a topical, well-made reminder that TV can hold a mirror to ugly realities and still insist on human dignity.