Welcome to the OT
London files is an investigative thriller starring Arjun Rampal in role of a homicide detective Om Singh. The story is set in a politically charged London. Om is handed a missing person’s case. The missing person in this case is daughter of Amar Roy, a media tycoon and an anti-immigration law advocate.
A cop show with minimal cop work.
Although the series is primarily supposed to be a cop show, it meanders a lot due to various sub plots. Even in terms of cop drama, Arjun Rampal’s character does not come up with any ground breaking investigation. Whatever clues he gets, are due to sheer luck. Infact, his cop work is so bad, that when he is tailing a supposed missing person, he blurts out their name alerting them. He is never able to chase down a suspect, nor is he able to come up with any plausible theory.
Add to it the tragic backstory of his son’s manslaughter, and his vape addiction, Om Singh is hardly able to appear as an efficient cop in any way.
An overdone political trope
The immigrants right vs anti immigration lobby political angle which forms the backdrop of this entire story is an overdone conflict. Gopal Dutt as the leader of extremist immigrant cult is a miscast. He is not suited for a villainous role and this is his second attempt at playing the baddie. Just like in Candy (Read more about Candy here) he tries to appear menacing but as an audience you just wait for him to crack a joke in the next frame.
A brainless daughter.
Amar Roy’s daughter Maya, who forms a major character in this web series, is the weakest character. Her entire arc makes one question her IQ. The fact that Medha Rana who plays Maya cannot express makes her casting even more questionable.
A snail paced narrative
The story could have been completed in just 3 or 4 episodes but the director felt the need to move the pieces at a snail’s pace. This makes the show a tad boring to watch. The slowness of story telling makes this difficult to binge watch.
Bored actors
When the lead himself looks like sleep walking through the entire series, you can understand how the show is. Purab Kohli, who plays the media moghul Amar Roy, probably got tired and did a disappearing act midway. It seems that the entire cast was eager to wrap up the shooting as fast as possible.
Verdict
London Files is definitely not something that will change your world if you skip this. In fact with the plethora of good content available on OTT, you must skip it.
