I have been following Shapath almost from the point of its inception. Initially, I did find the concept to be a little different from CID's although the genre of course, was the same and remains the same. Apart from showcasing different fictional crime stories, it also gave an insight into the private lives of the protagonists namely Abhigyan, Gautam and Shikha. Abhigyan is shown as the son of a business tycoon who instead of following in his father's footsteps and taking up the family business, chooses a comparatively less trodden path and decides to become a government servant by joining the Indian Police Services. He is ridiculed by his father and always has to bear the brunt of his father's wrath for going against his wishes. Gautam, another honest police officer and the son of a high ranking police officer, finds that his father is a corrupt and unscrupulous cop. This does not deter him from performing his official duties which include the dreadful task of arresting his own father. Shikha, the only daughter of an industrialist and a mutual friend of both Gautam and Abhigyan is shown as a righteous young woman who despite not being a formal part of the system of jurisdiction and law enforcement, still considers that its her moral obligation to prevent a crime from being committed or to help in catching the perpetrators of a crime that has already taken place.
When Shapath followed the daily format, its run time being very short seemed to me the only shortcoming. The cases were highly intriguing, at times a bit bone chilling but unfailingly and continually quite gripping. We also saw the development of a romantic track between Gautam and Shikha which was aesthetically quite appealing. Abhigyan who is shown to harbour a secret passionate regard for Shikha added to the spice albeit, it was a bit over dramatic and run of the mill. But then suddenly Shikha suffered a major injury and Abhigyan being inadvertantly responsible for this predicament of hers set into motion the animosity track between him and Gautam. Of course, the animosity was only from Gautam's side as he accused Abhigyan mercilessly of bringing forth this untoward situation on Shikha. Abhigyan continued to maintain the self deprecating tide of words. But then, suddenly Shikha disappeared without a trace and a rather lame excuse was offered. Everything was sorted out between Abhigyan and Gautam without much ado. This was the first sign of FW exhibiting one of its most common traits which we so often see in CID. "Do away with a track without any plausible explanation if feeling at wit's end regarding how to proceed with it further" seems to be an oft-repeated and ever pervasive motto of FW. This marked the beginning of Shapath being synthesized into a replication of CID. The next step which seemed to be the final nail in the coffin was Shapath turning biweekly. Two cases have been showcased so far and both were a rip off of old CID cases. We also saw the entry of two new cops and like CID, all the cops now seem to have no personal life and I guess the new ones may have a past shrouded in mystery or laced with tragedy.
I fear for the future of this show and truly hope that am proved wrong.
comment:
p_commentcount