Mumbai Confidential

Last updated
Mumbai Confidential
Mumbai Confidential Good Cop Bad Cop cover.jpg
Cover of "Good Cop, Bad Cop", the first volume in the series
Publication information
Publisher Archaia
Format Limited series
Genre Crime noir
Publication dateMay 2013
Main character(s)Arjun Kadam
Sunil Sawant
Yateem Qureshi
Creative team
Created by Vivek Shinde
Saurav Mohapatra
Written by Saurav Mohapatra
Artist(s) Vivek Shinde
Colourist(s) Vivek Shinde
Saurav Mohapatra
Collected editions
Book 1 "Good Cop, Bad Cop" ISBN   1-9363-9365-4

Mumbai Confidential is a hardboiled comic book series by Saurav Mohapatra and Vivek Shinde, published by Archaia. The story is set in the Indian city of Mumbai against the backdrop of the Mumbai Police Encounter killings, [1] [2] a series of alleged extrajudicial slayings carried out by an elite squad of policemen. [3] The story contains a western crime noir narrative, and a setting and structure inspired by Bollywood movies. [4] [5] [6]

Contents

Publication history

The first volume, titled "Good Cop, Bad Cop", was launched at the San Diego Comic-Con International in July 2012. [7] It was initially made available as a digital comic from Comixology, serialized into a 9-issue run. [8] The hardcover print edition was released on 21 May 2013. [9]

Plot

"Good Cop, Bad Cop" follows the story of Arjun Kadam, a washed-out, drug-addicted ex-cop in Mumbai, as he tries to solve the murder of a street urchin. His investigation brings him face to face with his own murky past as a member of the Encounter Squad of the Mumbai Police. [4] The story begins in media res at the chronological end as Kadam is involved in a bloody shoot-out in the alleys of the Dharavi slums. [10] [11] A series of flashbacks follow his tale as he navigates the Mumbai Underworld, forming alliances with gangsters against his former colleagues, the Encounter Cops. [10]

Influences

Mumbai Confidential is inspired by the "Mumbai gangster noir" [12] movies by Ram Gopal Verma, Anurag Kashyap, and others, including Satya , Company , and Black Friday . Hardboiled crime fiction from the West also has major influences on the series. [2] [4] It is thematically influenced by the Hong Kong crime movies and seminal crime-noir comics like Criminal , Sin City , and 100 Bullets . [5] [13]

Reception

The series has been well received by reviewers, especially for its unique setting (a crime-noir tale set in Mumbai, India). [6] The painted art of the title has also been generally favorably mentioned by reviewers, along with the "grim and gritty" [14] execution of the story. [4] [6] [13]

Publishers Weekly [5] found the book to be "stylish, sophisticated, and metropolitan: a fresh entry in the noir genre with an Asian twist." [5]

Library Journal [13] praised the book's story and art : "The twisty plot, well-tuned slang dialog, and unpredictable characters make this an appealing read for adult crime noir buffs looking for an international take on classic tropes.", [13] while noting the use of "plenty of violence and strong language plus some inexplicit sex." [13]

A review in Paste Magazine [15] criticised the scrambled timeline of the narrative and the varying art style as distracting: "The overall hash (not only the varying quality of the contributions, but also the rearranged chronology of the narrative) resembles Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire , and not just because of the setting. Both are magpies for ideas, more invested in throwing too much at a problem than in simplifying it, and although this tendency makes the result a sort of garbage salad, its provocations have a liveliness that saves the final product to a degree.". [15] The review also pointed out the use of "gratuitous profanity" in the book, while noting that the story played with and subverted classic tropes of hardboiled fiction: "It’s rich material, and although Mohapatra relies too much on gratuitous profanity and violence mixed with sentimentality, he also explicitly nods to conventions, like when his protagonist Kadam monologues while mocking the fact that he’s doing so." [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Film noir</span> Cinematic term used to describe stylized feature film crime dramas

Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylized Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American film noir. Film noir of this era is associated with a low-key, black-and-white visual style that has roots in German Expressionist cinematography. Many of the prototypical stories and much of the attitude of classic noir derive from the hardboiled school of crime fiction that emerged in the United States during the Great Depression.

<i>Sin City</i> Comic books series by Frank Miller

Sin City is a series of neo-noir comics by American comic book writer-artist Frank Miller. The first story originally appeared in Dark Horse Presents Fifth Anniversary Special, and continued in Dark Horse Presents #51–62 from May 1991 to June 1992, under the title of Sin City, serialized in thirteen parts. Several other stories of variable lengths have followed. The intertwining stories, with frequently recurring characters, take place in Basin City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crime film</span> Film genre

Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as drama or gangster film, but also include comedy, and, in turn, is divided into many sub-genres, such as mystery, suspense, or noir.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mumbai Police</span> Indian police department

The Mumbai Police is the police department of the city of Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is a part of Maharashtra Police and has the primary responsibilities of law enforcement and investigation within the limits of Mumbai. The force's motto is "Sadrakṣaṇāya Khalanigrahaṇāya".

The police procedural, police show, or police crime drama is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of police officers, police detectives, or law enforcement agencies as the protagonists, as contrasted with other genres that focus on non-police investigators such as private investigators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noir fiction</span> Subgenre of crime fiction

Noir fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction.

<i>Spider-Man: India</i> Indian superhero comic book series

Spider-Man: India is a superhero comic book series published in India by Gotham Entertainment Group in 2004, retelling the story of Marvel Comics' Spider-Man in an Indian setting. It ran for four issues, which were later also published in the United States in 2005 and collected into a trade paperback (ISBN 0-7851-1640-0). The series was created by Sharad Devarajan, Suresh Seetharaman, and Jeevan J. Kang with Marvel Comics. The titular character of Pavitr Prabhakar / Spider-Man made his cinematic debut in the 2023 feature film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse voiced by Karan Soni, depicted as a member of Miguel O'Hara's Spider-Society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Williams (American author)</span> American author (1909–1975)

Charles K. Williams was an American author of crime fiction. He is regarded by some critics as one of the finest suspense novelists of the 1950s and 1960s. His 1951 debut, the paperback novel Hill Girl, sold more than a million copies. A dozen of his books have been adapted for movies, most popularly Dead Calm and The Hot Spot.

The Harlem Detective series of novels by Chester Himes comprises nine hardboiled novels set in the 1950s and early 1960s:

<i>Aan: Men at Work</i> 2004 Indian film

Aan: Men at Work is a 2004 Indian action drama film directed by Madhur Bhandarkar. It features an ensemble cast consisting of Akshay Kumar, Shatrughan Sinha, Sunil Shetty and Paresh Rawal in the leading roles, while Jackie Shroff, Irrfan Khan, Raveena Tandon, Lara Dutta, Om Puri, Rahul Dev, Manoj Joshi, Rajpal Yadav, Preeti Jhangiani and Ravi Kishan played supporting roles. It was released on 4 June 2004.

<i>Crooked Little Vein</i> 2007 novel by Warren Ellis

Crooked Little Vein is the first novel by comic book writer Warren Ellis, published by William Morrow on July 24, 2007.

<i>India Authentic</i>

Deepak Chopra's India Authentic is a series of one-shot comic books from Virgin Comics which re-tell the iconic myths and legends of India for a global audience. The series has been created by Deepak Chopra, who also presents the foreword for each issue. The first five issues were collected as the 'Book of Shiva'. The next will likely be collected as a 'Book of Vishnu'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saurav Mohapatra</span> Writer and filmmaker

Saurav Mohapatra is a filmmaker and writer based out of San Francisco, California, USA.

<i>L.A. Confidential</i> Novel by James Ellroy

L.A. Confidential (1990) is a neo-noir novel by James Ellroy and the third of his L.A. Quartet series. It is dedicated to Mary Doherty Ellroy. The epigraph is "A glory that costs everything and means nothing"—Steve Erickson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Megan Abbott</span> American writer (born 1971)

Megan Abbott is an American author of crime fiction and of non-fiction analyses of hardboiled crime fiction. Her novels and short stories have drawn from and re-worked classic subgenres of crime writing from a female perspective. She is also an American writer and producer of television.

<i>Fatale</i> (Image Comics) Supernatural noir comic book by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips

Fatale is a supernatural noir comic book created by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. It was published by Image Comics between January 2012 and July 2014. The series was initially announced as a 12-issue limited series, but was later extended to 24 issues.

<i>Mumbai Police</i> (film) 2013 film by Rosshan Andrrews

Mumbai Police is a 2013 Indian Malayalam language neo-noir psychological thriller film written by Bobby-Sanjay and directed by Rosshan Andrrews. It stars Prithviraj Sukumaran, Jayasurya, Rahman in the lead roles along with Kunchan, Aparna Nair, Deepa Vijayan, and debutant Hima Davis in supporting roles. Shweta Menon and Riyaz Khan appear in guest roles. The film is produced by Nisad Haneefa and co-produced by Nivas Haneef and Niyas Haneefa. The background score was composed by Gopi Sundar and the cinematography was handled by G. Diwakaran. The film was edited by Mahesh Narayanan.

<i>Monsoon Shootout</i> 2013 film written and directed by Amit Kumar

Monsoon Shootout is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language neo-noir action thriller film written and directed by Amit Kumar and produced by Guneet Monga, Trevor Ingma, Martijn de Grunt, and co-produced by Anurag Kashyap, and Vivek Rangachari, starring Vijay Varma, Geetanjali Thapa, Sreejita De, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Tannishtha Chatterjee in the lead roles. The film received positive reviews at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival in the Official Midnight Screenings section. Belonging to the school of Parallel cinema, Monsoon Shootout was released worldwide four years later on 15 December 2017 to positive reviews.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Credence (novel)</span> Novel authored by Michael Easton

Credence is a graphic novel written by Michael Easton. It was published in 2013 by Blackwatch Comics. Illustrated by Steven Perkins, the story is presented with black-and-white art panels in a stark, film noir style and is visually different from Easton's previous Soul Stealer trilogy or his The Green Woman. While the perspective of both these earlier stories reflected their morally conflicted protagonists, Credence is harsher, with a bleaker perspective on the surrounding world.

<i>Nobody Move</i> (novel) 2009 novel by Denis Johnson

Nobody Move is a crime novel by Denis Johnson published in 2009 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. The novel first appeared as a four-part serial for Playboy magazine in 2008.

References

  1. Mohapatra, Saurav (21 May 2013). Google Books Listing. ISBN   9781936393657 via Google Books.
  2. 1 2 "GQ India March 2013". GQ India.
  3. Time (magazine)
  4. 1 2 3 4 "LiveMint (Wall Street Journal India) Article on Mumbai Confidential". LiveMint/WSJ India. 27 April 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Are you ready for this MUMBHAI encounter". Mid-day Mumbai. Archived from the original on 2013-07-05. Retrieved 2020-04-10.
  6. 1 2 3 "Publishers Weekly review of Mumbai Confidential". Publishers Weekly.
  7. "SPACE 1999 and MUMBAI CONFIDENTIAL premiere digital first". ComicList. 28 June 2023.
  8. "ComiXology Listing for Mumbai Confidential". Archived from the original on July 27, 2012.
  9. Amazon listing for Mumbai Confidential. Amazon.com. 21 May 2013. ISBN   978-1936393657.
  10. 1 2 "Criminal Element review". Criminal Element. 18 April 2013.
  11. "Sketch and the City". The Times of India . Archived from the original on 2013-07-05.
  12. "Mumbai Crime Goes Graphic". Mid-day Mumbai.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 "Library Journal review of Mumbai Confidential". Library Journal.
  14. "ComicAddicts review". ComicAddicts.
  15. 1 2 3 "Paste Magazine review of Mumbai Confidential". Paste Magazine. 22 May 2013.