In this drama-thriller Netflix streaming series, a prison officer takes it upon himself to get to the root cause of the systemic problems plaguing Delhi’s Tihar Jail and hopefully get rid of them once and for all. The series is based on the 2019 book ‘Black Warrant: Confessions of a Tihar Jailer’ by Sunil Gupta and Sunetra Choudhury.
The series has 7 episodes, with a runtime of around 50 minutes.
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Black Warrant Netflix Creators
Vikramaditya Motwane, Satyanshu Singh
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Black Warrant 2025 Cast
Zahan Kapoor, Rahul Bhat, Paramvir Singh Cheema, Anurag Thakur, Sidhant Gupta, Tota Roy Chowdhury, Rajendra Gupta, Rajshri Deshpande, Joy Sengupta, Priya Chauhan
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Black Warrant Series Directors
Arkesh Ajay, Vikramaditya Motwane, Satyanshu Singh, Ambiecka Pandit, Rohin Raveendran
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Black Warrant Writer
Arkesh Ajay
Black Warrant Review
Set during the 1980s, Black Warrant is a riveting tale set inside the Tihar Jail, whose protagonist, a soft-spoken and naive Sunil Kumar Gupta, pulls you to the screen from the moment the series sets off. Showcasing some of the most deadly criminals in Indian history along with the politics of a place as unforgiving as Tihar, there’s a gritty realism to this Netflix series that makes you uncomfortable from the get-go.
Showcasing Gupta’s moral dilemmas within the confines of the jail, it becomes clear from the start that nothing can be taken at face value in Tihar and we see Sunil’s journey to that painful realisation. Once a rather innocent chap, the jail changes him slowly, as it does a lot of people, leaving viewers to mull over the incidents that jailers must be facing every single day under such harsh conditions. Sunil’s journey is one that viewers will be pulled towards instantly, firstly because his character is written so relatably and second because Zahan Kapoor plays him with unmissable sincerity.
The series showcases different issues that jailers and criminals alike face inside the four walls of their prisons. There’s something so gritty about the series that it somehow affects you thoroughly. While the petty (but still serious) moments of jail politics are thrilling and sometimes even amusing, I found myself thoroughly disturbed by some other moments, notably the Ranga-Billa hangings. The series showcases key moments in Tihar’s history with a sort of realism that is hard to shake off after each episode ends, leaving a deep impact on viewers.
Whether it be showcasing Charles Sobhraj’s unbridled reign inside the prison and the unique ways in which he controlled everything and everyone, or the more subtle moments when Sunil learns something new that changes everything that he has thought of about the world, the series does a fantastic job of recreating them. However, the most interesting moments, personally, were when Sunil’s morality is challenged in every episode, making him (and us) question everything and everyone.
However, it’s not just Sunil who gets the spotlight in the series. The others, although not equal participants, have a presence and their actions have an impact in different ways in the story. Most noteworthy is Rahul Bhat as DS Rajesh Tomar, whose no-nonsense and corrupt practices can’t be seen as either black or white. That’s true for almost everything in the series and they leave you questioning right and wrong and how much of life truly falls in one or the other category.
Final Thoughts
Black Warrant on Netflix is an interesting series that is thoroughly engaging in every way. Its heart aching stories will leave you emotionally spent by the end of it and the helplessness is so omnipresent that it stays with you long after the series comes to an end. All in all, this one is absolutely worth the watch.
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