On a full moon night, an innocent woman is killed. A rookie psychologist stumbles upon the identity of the killer. But before he can reach the police, he too is killed. Whodunit? Victims, group of suspects and few red herrings on the way—this was a world of mystery and suspense few years back. And to solve these mysteries, Zee TV had a Mohandas BA LLB, CID on Sony had ACP Pradhyuman, Star Plus’ Yehi Hai Raaz showed Ruby Bhatia as a desi Remington Steele and Doordarshan’s Bengali detective Byomkesh Bakshi who was the last word on solving mysteries.

After a successful run of detective and crime-based serials, Indian television witnessed a lull period in this genre in the last few years. But with saas-bahus on the wane, crime on Indian television seems to be back. This time with a bent towards that TV buzzword: reality.

“Every genre has its phase on television and, when extended, it sets in boredom in the life of the audiences,” says Parakh Madan, who plays the role of Monica Mogre in Monica Mogre Case Files. “Crime shows are topical, socially relevant and also borrow from real-life instances,” she says, adding, “Earlier, crime shows used to strictly revolve around cops and mysteries. With this serial we want to make it more real by also showing the protagonist’s family life.” This serial tackles stereotypes and also hopes to bring back the crime genre on prime time television. “There are not many women in the police force because they consider the profession to be a tad risky. By showing a female cop as the main protagonist, we are trying to change the perception towards women,” says Yash Patnaik, producer of the show.

While fiction is always welcome, crime-based reality shows also seem to be having quite an audience. Almost a decade back, Suhaib Ilyasi’s India’s Most Wanted, brought hardcore criminals from the country to the forefront. But with Kiran Bedi’s Aap Ki Kacheri, crime and its various facets have been tackled at a grass-root level. “While most crime shows are about solving murder mysteries, this one talks about crimes such as wife battering, child labour, gender abuse and so on. Moreover, it is anchored by a female cop which itself is a huge feat. It is the realism and the genuineness of the show that is the USP,” says Susmita Roy, an IPS aspirant.

While women-dominated crime shows are on the rise, Crime and Bollywood is strictly for the men, says Sunil Bohra, producer of the show. “This series shows the nexus between the film producers and the underworld. It is based on all the rumours we have heard in the film industry — like extortion cases, murder, breaking of criminal laws,” confirms Bohra.