Aditya Nimbalkar’s 2024 crime thriller film, Sector 36, which was released on Netflix on 14th September 2024, introduced us to various characters who are supposed to fight for ordinary people, but in reality can sometimes be even more dangerous than the serial killer they had been running after. So, without further ado, let’s get into the skin of these characters in the film and find out more about their motivations and the demons that guide their actions.
Spoilers Ahead
Prem
I know my opinion might be a bit controversial, but I feel like Vikrant Massey as Prem, the psychopathic serial killer, didn’t quite do justice to the character. Yes, Prem’s actions were gruesome, but they didn’t really give that spine-chilling feeling you’d expect when watching a movie about such a dark figure. Prem has a wife and two children—a little girl and a newborn son—but he doesn’t live with them. While Prem stays at his “Pappa Ji,” Bassi Saheb’s mansion as his worker, his family lives in the village. The money he sends home comes from him killing innocent children from the slums and trading their organs. What makes it even more disturbing is that, sometimes, he even feasts on their flesh.
Prem’s cannibalistic tendencies began after he killed his uncle, who used to assault him during childhood, and in revenge, Prem butchered him into pieces and fed on him. Apart from his killing spree, Prem had this obsession with becoming rich, as we have seen how he used to love watching billionaire contest shows and dreamt big despite his impoverished background. This is probably why Prem felt no remorse for killing kids from the slums, as he saw their lives as meaningless and thought he was helping their poor parents by ending their burdens. In his mind, by selling the organs of these children, he was also doing the privileged a favor.
When it came to his crimes, Prem admitted to Ram Charan Pandey that he never meant to kidnap the police officer’s daughter, and he didn’t plan on killing Chumki either, because Prem had actually loved Chumki, but when she disrespected him, his anger took over, and he killed her. But to show his respect he didn’t sell her organs, unlike his other victims. In the end, Prem was arrested, and while he initially refused to expose his master, Bassi Saheb, he realized that Bassi was turning against him and Prem had no choice but to reveal his master’s secrets. Prem told Pandey about Bassi’s Evergreen Hits CD collection, which contained recordings of Bassi’s crimes. Ultimately, Prem was sentenced to death for his horrifying actions.
Ram Charan Pandey
Ram Charan Pandey, played by Deepak Dobriyal, initially doesn’t live up to his name “Ram,” which is associated with righteousness, as his early behavior was a disgrace to the justice system, where he acted more like Ravana, the villain. He was more interested in taking bribes and looking out for himself than genuinely serving the public from all stature. So, his lack of integrity and commitment made him a part of the flawed system. However, everything changed for Pandey on the night of Dussehra when his daughter was almost kidnapped by Prem, and this personal tragedy made him vow to become the righteous cop he had never been, and promise to take down the culprit “Ravana” who was responsible for abducting and killing innocent children. Even after being suspended and fired from the police force, Pandey didn’t give up, which made him go against his superiors and led him to Prem, and he managed to finally arrest him. Even after he got fired from the police force, he took information from Prem and went to his village house, where he found Bassi Saheb’s incriminating Evergreen Hits CD, which he could use to bust the master. But his battle to go against the corrupt system and find the truth about Bassi saheb’s involvement in the case ultimately led to his death at the hands of Bassi saheb’s men. But honestly, his journey from being a part of the problem to fighting against the problem shows the harsh reality that some Rams have to fall in the battle to destroy the Ravanas in society.
Jawahar Rastogi
Jawahar Rastogi, played by Darshan Jariwala, was the DCP of Shahdara, and his character is a perfect example of how power and money can corrupt police officers who are supposed to work for justice. Rastogi’s climb to becoming the IBI (Inspector General of the Bureau of Investigation) happened because he tried everything in his power to protect the wealthy and powerful. Instead of focusing on cases involving the underprivileged children being missing, he chose to prioritize protecting his close friend, Bassi Saheb, as he knew Bassi Saheb was deeply involved in these heinous crimes. In order to do this, he manipulated Ram Charan Pandey when he started uncovering the truth and challenging the corruption. Rastogi did everything in his power to silence him. First, he managed to get Pandey suspended, and then, he went so far as to have him fired, all to protect Bassi Saheb and his own interests. In the end, maybe he was the one who, with his connections, managed to kill Pandey as well, as he wanted to get his friend Bassi out of prison. He proved how, with the right connections, anything can be achieved.
Bishnoi
Mahadev Singh Lakhawat played Constable Bishnoi, a character who didn’t get much screen time in the movie but could be crucial if there’s ever a sequel. Even though he was a part of the corrupt police precinct, Bishnoi seemed less tainted than others, as he showed a glimmer of hope and happiness when Pandey’s killers were arrested. At the end of the movie, Bishnoi got the secret package containing the Evergreen Hits CD, which contained evidence of Bassi Saheb’s crimes. This discovery suggests that Bishnoi might have the chance to expose Bassi and seek justice. However, taking such a risk could put him in a dangerous position, similar to what happened to Pandey. That’s why Bishnoi would have to make careful choices to bring Bassi Saheb to justice.
Pathak
Ajeet Singh, as Pathak, started off as an innocent constable who worked under Ram Charan Pandey. However, his ambition and greed for a better position and respect led him to betray Pandey and made him leak information about Pandey’s whereabouts to Jawahar Rastogi. It’s possible that Pathak played a role in Pandey’s death by helping Jawahar and Bassi Saheb’s men kill him as he was the only one who knew about Pandey going to Prem’s village. That is how he secured the position of Sub-Inspector of Shahdara by replacing Pandey.
Bhupen Salkia
I found Bhupen Salkia’s character played by Baharul Islam to be very complicated and gray. Because I think he used Pandey to rise from SP to DCP but didn’t stop the investigation, on the other hand, he avoided direct conflict with Bassi Saheb because he might have been waiting for the right moment to use his evidence against him by leaking information to Bishnoi and make him come to him and work on the case rather than him directly being involved with it. His methods are far from ordinary, that’s true, but they do show promise in bringing Bassi Saheb to justice. His experience with working the system and being transferred around might have made him smarter in handling these tricky situations. It seems like his unconventional way may be the key to finally taking down Bassi and serving justice.
