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And now we enter a period of a downturn for us avid CIDians. This period is known as the OTT and YSPT era. It started approximately in late 2012, but really took to in 2013 and has continued since then.
For the uninitiated, OTT means over-the-top. It usually involves emotional drama when a CID officer is wounded or is accused of committing a crime. It also often involves overdone melodrama from the victim's family or from the CID team.
YSPT, on the other hand, means YEH SAB PLAN THA (this was all a plan). This usually involves an officer being arrested for a crime, everyone pretending to be angry at that officer, and then it would turn out to be a plan to catch the real criminal. Other times it would be a plan where an officer or two would go against CID and supposedly join hands with the criminal only to be a plan to catch the criminal. In fact there would be many other such ideas, but it usually involves an officer and everything in the entire episode being a plan.
Now you may wonder why we call this era a downturn. Well it's because these types of episodes take away from the real meaning of CID, have changed the characters, and have made investigative episodes into emotional dramas. Along with that this period has become one known for its disguises, which often have no need; the romantic track that FireWorks (FW) suddenly added into CID after 16 years; the frequent series, which often are nothing more than a series of episodes on the same topic; and countless movie promotions, which are always said to be well-integrated, but never turn out to be. All of these just add to the downturn of CID for avid CIDians. Not only that but these made CID the butt of jokes in very sarcastic conversations and in comedy shows on TV.
Today we bring to you a series of episodes that we feel firstly stand out for being awesome episodes from this era and also episodes that bring forth the OTT, YSPT, movie promotions, series, and romantic track in CID.
First up came the year opener for 2013 with ANJAAN LAASH AND BHOOT KA KHEL. While the cases were normal CID cases, the focus was on ACP Pradyuman who left CID after DCP Chitrole had suspected him in the previous year. While DCP Chitrole admitted his mistake, ACP Pradyuman refused to return as he felt that the current ACP, ACP Digvijay, had committed a crime. Throughout these 2 episodes, ACP Pradyuman is looking for an inside police man who killed a criminal turned informer. At the end of ANJAAN LAASH, ACP Pradyuman was attacked, but in the beginning of BHOOT KA KHEL, Abhijeet and Daya (proudly known as the duo) save him and promise to help him. The three together reach Digvijay as the inside police officer and DCP Chitrole promises an enquiry as well as rips ACP Pradyuman's resignation letter and says sorry to him.
Skipping over a couple of episodes, we now move directly to KHATARNAK VIRUS KA RAHASYA. A stellar episode to say the least, this episode was fast-paced, had good investigation, and the team was at their lively best. While following a dangerous virus, the team unveil a terrorist plot to attack India with a dangerous virus that was stolen from CID by an insider on the scientist's team. Over a nail-biting couple of hours, the team tracks down the mastermind behind the terrorist plots to find that an ex-army officer who had been claimed dead by the government was taking revenge for not being saved from the enemy camp. It not only sheds light on home grown terrorism, but also shows once again that CID officers are willing to give even their lives to save the country.
Now we move onto that case which changed CID from biweekly to TRI-WEEKLY. Now when CID was biweekly we would often get lovely, investigative episodes with a well-developed case and good team distribution. We're talking about February 1st 2013's DANCER KE RAHASHYAMAYI MAUT! While the case was well-developed and kept us hooked, it also introduced the era of bad episodes.
The next episode we bring to you is the two-part NAKLI CHEHRA. While many may think that the episode was simple and nothing else, the episode stands out for a certain couple of scenes between ACP Pradyuman and Dr. Salunkhe in the lab. They first appear together in the third scene when Dr. Salunkhe reveals that their suspect is indeed a murderer who is left-handed, but ACP Pradyuman proves with a surprise throw of a ball at the suspect that he's right-handed. Then the fight happened at the end of the first episode when Dr. Salunkhe claims that the murderer of another victim is a man, while Purvi says that they saw a woman kill the victim. Matters turn to worse and ACP Pradyuman tells Dr. Salunkhe to retire who accepts the challenge and says that if he's wrong he'll resign. In the second episode, however, ACP Pradyuman apologizes to Dr. Salunkhe when they find that the murderer is a woman with split personality disorder and becomes a man in his alter personality. At the end the murderer is revealed to be their original suspect who had been pretending to be sick and was simply dressing as a woman.
We bring our next episode in the form of SALUNKHE KI HATYA. While examining a bloated and badly damaged body, Dr. Salunkhe finds pre-mortem stitches and on opening them ends up setting off a timer of a bomb. Saving Dr. Tarika in the nick of time, Dr. Salunkhe is badly injured and hospitalized in critical condition. Keeping their emotions in check as best as they can, the team and Dr. Tarika start to look into which enemy of Dr. Salunkhe's is after him. Near the middle ACP Pradyuman is told that Dr. Salunkhe is out of danger and the relieved expressions on everyone's faces are noteworthy as is ACP Pradyuman's comment of "shaitaan zinda hai" in a light-hearted, relieved manner. The fact that they manage to share some light moments between the case tell viewers how close the entire team is. In the end, the murderer is caught by the team and Dr. Salunkhe who is recouping at home.
Mahabharat anyone? Before you think about we've gone mad that we're mentioning Mahabharat, don't worry it's all related to CID. On 23rd and 24th March 2013, CID had another 2 part episode named MAHABHARAT. The two episodes revolve around a theatre group that does the Mahabharat on stage and at weddings and other functions as the CID team feels that someone from the group is related to a crime. For this the duo (Abhijeet and Daya) and Tarika go undercover to play the roles of Arjun, Bheem, and Draupadi, respectively. Just watching these 3 and especially the duo enact scenes from the Mahabharat was enough to make this episode a big hit amongst CIDians. The strong investigation and the quick scene changes between the duo and the rest of the team added to the intrigue factor.
Now we come to the first movie promotion of this era. Vidyut Jamwal appeared in COMMANDO to promote his movie Commando on July 4th, 2013. One of the best integration episodes, Vidyut didn't play himself, but rather played the role of Vikram/Karan, Purvi's friend, and an undercover Commando officer. Throughout the episode he works to find a missing Purvi, first without CID's help as he cannot reveal his cover and then with their help when he gets caught. Together Vikram/Karan and CID reach Purvi, save her, and catch a huge drug racketeering gang. The only mention made to the movie is when Vikram introduces himself as a Commando officer to CID, otherwise you could almost say Vidyut Jamwal was just playing another character role in CID.
FW knows what makes an episode get TRPs and they used all those tactics well in KHATRE MEIN DAYA. Touted to be a maha-episode, the episode was, as suggested by the title, a Daya-centric episode. The episode opens with a badly wounded Daya and a small girl attempting to revive Daya. In flashback we are told the story leading to this scene of an attempt on Daya's life, which he narrowly escapes due to a child's drawing that forewarned him of the danger. In impossible style, Dr. Salunkhe reveals that the drawing was made by a 8-year-old girl and that the crane that had attempted to kill Daya was stolen and driven by a small-time crook, Ravi. The CID team quickly reaches the child, a mute girl named Anjali. As the team attempts to find Ravi, Anjali is kidnapped and Daya goes out alone to save her thus getting wounded. While the team struggles to find Daya, we come back to the present to see a wounded Daya and Anjali attempting to get out of the jungle alive. With several emotional scenes involving Abhijeet and Daya, the 2 finally meet and also reach the mastermind behind the entire plan. Of course, FW shows their stellar creative mind by making the motive a measly one in the form of a rusticated student who returned years later to take revenge from Daya as he blamed Daya for his mother's death who died because she couldn't take the shock of having a cheater son. Nonetheless the episode was appreciated as it showed the strong bond between the CID officers and especially between Daya and Abhijeet who are more than just friends.
Another thing FW loves playing with is Abhijeet's lost memory track. Whenever they feel that their TRPs are falling, FW will often bring in something to do with the trio's past and one of them is Abhijeet's memory, which he had lost several years back because of an attack on him. ABHIJEET KHATRE MEIN is no different. It begins with Abhijeet being found in an unconscious condition and being taken to the hospital. When he awakens he cannot remember anything and assumes the worst when he is told that CID has arrived. This does give us an angry cum emotional scene as ACP Pradyuman and Daya amongst the other officers become angst and tense on not finding Abhijeet. Abhijeet, on the other hand, finds out that he is a CID officer as well and that he killed a woman with his car from a stranger. To add to the unexplainable case, we see the first signs of a budding romantic story when Shreya steals a few moments to give an appreciative look at the least to Daya. Moving back to the case we find that the CID team is investigating the death of this woman and are seemingly finding out unbelievable things about Abhijeet like he visits a bar regularly and is in shady deals. While many of the officers believe all this to be true, you see true friendship and brotherhood again when Daya refuses to believe anything and even scolds Pankaj for believing all this rubbish. Just this is enough to tell you that it is a true YSPT episode, but to move on we then see Abhijeet return to the bureau with his memory intact only to be almost arrested. As he leaves Daya promises to help him and calls him bhai, which ACP Pradyuman hears and removes Daya from the case. Later we see that one by one each officer reaches Abhijeet's house and says that they support him only to lead to Dr. Tarika being shot. The climax is reached in the hospital when Abhijeet is seemingly killed by the criminal only to reveal that he's alive and then ACP Pradyuman reveals that everything was a plan (YSPT at its best)!
The weekend of 26th April 2013 was a special weekend, especially for all the women around the world, as CID showcased it's NARI RAKSHA SERIES! Even though we had had bad experiences with series, we sat down with bated breaths awaiting what we hoped would be a stellar series especially being women-centric. Finally the women cops would get to be in the limelight! Finally women would be shown to be strong! Yet the very first episode named NARI RAKSHA proved otherwise. Forget women-centric. The episode was about a murder, a laptop that magically stayed on even hours after the murder, and a woman who killed the victim. Then came NARI PAR ATTYACHAR. The title raises expectations that maybe this will touch on the sensitive issue of domestic violence or abuse, and it did. It touched on the issue of villagers often living in the past and not letting girls get education and move ahead in life. A well-directed episode, the investigation, the team distribution, and the sensitivity on such a topic were the highlights of the episode. The series ended with ATTYACHAR KA BADLA and as FW is famous for doing, the episode fell below standards. The episode touched upon the topic of domestic violence and society often turning a blind eye and ear to it, but apart from that much of the case didn't make sense. There was one thing that stuck in the mind which was how one person's DNA matched another person's DNA when DNA is unique across individuals and even in twins.
In 2013, CID introduced a spin-off named CID Chote Heroes. While the series did not run long, it introduced cases where kids went above and beyond and assisted CID in solving cases usually because they ended up in the right place at the right time. This next episode was not only an officer-centric episode, but also an amalgamation of CID and CID Chote Heroes. We're talking about Rajat-centric, APAHARAN NANHI COMEDIAN KA. The episode is about a young magician named Mishika whose life may be in danger. CID is called and Rajat is given the duty of protecting her as CID goes about solving the case. One thing leads to another and Mishika disappears from the safe house where Rajat was protecting her. Feeling guilty of letting the team and Mishika down, Rajat goes out to search for Mishika himself while the CID team also investigates. Soon though Rajat falls into the hands of the same goons who kidnapped Mishika and ends up with her. Meanwhile the CID team also discovers that Rajat has been kidnapped. Quickly but surely the CID team reaches Rajat and Mishika just as Rajat and Mishika are escaping. In the end it is discovered that the mastermind was using a man who was the same build as Rajat to make it look like Rajat was involved in everything. While the investigation, the case, and this body double thing may have made no sense, the episode was obviously much watched as it was something FW can do really well: OTT + officer in trouble.
If you think series are scarcely found in CID, think again. After the Nari Raksha series, FW came out with a 2-week long FORENSIC FILES SERIES. The supposed concentration of these 6 episodes (RAHASYA PAANCH LAASHON KA, RAAZ NA SADNEWALI LAASH KA, RAHASYA 26 KANKALON KA, KEEDEY KA RAHASYA, KATI UNGLI KA RAHASYA AND KHOONI LAASH) was going to be the forensics and Dr. Salunkhe and Dr. Tarika. While this was true, the episodes also didn't have much of concentration on the real natty gritty details of forensics rather just had many scenes of forensics. RAAZ NA SADNEWALI LAASH KA RAHASYA also touched slightly upon a new form of mummification known as Plastination. This episode also presented to us a rather interesting disguise moment by Abhijeet, Purvi, and Nikhil to catch the criminal. Nonetheless not all the episodes were sunshine. RAHASYA 26 KANKALON KA brought forth the idea of our ancestors (the Palien Man) still living in today's world. Also the second week of the Forensic Files had less and less forensic scenes turning into regular episodes rather than forensic specials. To top it off the last episode in this series, KHOONI LAASH, borrowed heavily from an old CID episode that aired in 2000, The Case of the Invisible Killer thus hugely criticized.
From one series to the next, we now move onto the GANGA SERIES as it was called. A 6-episode series, the Ganga series episodes were named RISHIKESH MEIN APRADH I, RISHIKESH MEIN APRADH II, RISHIKESH MEIN APRADH III, HARIDWAR MEIN KHOON, HARIDWAR MEIN KHOON II, & CID MEIN GADAAR. The episodes were somewhat interesting with a strong emphasis on Ganga River. There were also several high octane scenes as the CID team search for 3 missing men who all disappeared while river rafting in the Ganga in Rishikesh. This series lasted 3 days and at the end it introduced a new issue when ACP Pradyuman heard DCP Chitrole discussing murdering 3 people on a spy camera he gifted Dhenchu, an informer, without Dhenchu's knowledge. This takes them to Haridwar where DCP Chitrole supposedly kills someone. Meanwhile a murder in Mumbai also has ties to Haridwar, which leads to 2 investigations running side-by side in the first episode. In the second episode as Daya and Purvi go searching for Dhenchu, who has been kidnapped, they chance upon a family whose daughter has gone missing, which becomes the second story while the search for Dhenchu and the investigation into DCP Chitrole is on. After several disturbing suicide attacks in Haridwar, some tense moments as CID goes about attempting to solve the case, and some more suspicion on DCP Chitrole, the case slowly gets resolved in the final episode of CID MEIN GADAAR. This last episode also gives a glimpse into the dangers the actors take when Aditya Srivastava (playing Abhijeet) and Dayanand Shetty (playing Daya) climb down a dangerous cliff to get to a body. The ending to catch the criminals involves a rather interesting disguise scene of Daya as a pathan, Purvi and Shreya as Kashmiri girls, and Abhijeet as a Punjabi photographer. Just before the epic Daya slap, Abhijeet takes a photo of Daya and the criminal, Rohit, where for some godforsaken reason Mr. Rohit decides to smile. When Rohit is taken away after his confession, DCP Chitrole asks if ACP Pradyuman ever gave an order to kill him on sight to which Daya and Abhijeet reply no and Pankaj, Purvi, and Shreya smartly show off "I love Chitrole" tattoos. As an emotional Chitrole leaves, the entire team breaks out into bhangra giving a lovely glimpse into the team's enjoyable moments.
Just because it sounds like we're talking about good episodes, we've decided to bring to you the 2-part episode JUNGLE KA DARINDA to prove where FW goes wrong. The case is about a girl who goes missing in a jungle where 3 people have already died, but it is proven that no wild animal is doing anything. But anyways, let's count the things that went wrong in the episode. First there was the appearance of the romantic story again when Shreya disappears and Daya seems angry on him and promises that he won't forgive himself if something happens to her. To top it off somehow some chemical makes humans into animals. This chemical is used on 2 CID officers (Shreya and Dr. Tarika) and they become cat-like and attack the CID officers with inhumane power. Thirdly we see the childish flirting romance between Dr. Tarika and Abhijeet when Dr. Tarika is unable to reach Abhijeet. While it may not be childish flirting, this simple scene was enough to set off memories of that flirting. To add insult to injury, when Dr. Tarika is kidnapped, the CID team happen to reach the same house where Dr. Tarika is lying bound and gagged and yet make no attempt to search the rest of the house though in many episodes they often end up searching the whole house for a single clue. In the end it turns out that a scientist who had initially started making this chemical that made humans into animals turned mental and started using it for destructive purposes and to rule over the world. Nonetheless, the episode was slightly appreciated for the acting and the concern and care the officers showed for each other.
It seems like 2013 was the year of 2-part episodes. After the above 2-part episode, we bring to you MAUT KA TELEPHONE, which was another 2-part episode. The story may not have made all the sense in the world, yet the episodes were rather enjoyable and delightful to watch. Firstly it was another officer-centric episode, except this time it revolved around a man attempting to kill 3 CID officers and defame all of CID. Daya, Sachin, and Shreya are in Kikkar for a seminar when all 3 receive calls about attacks on different people. As they look into who called their hotel numbers, they also go undercover into the houses of the 3 places where the attacks may happen. We see some interesting disguise sequences as Sachin does a SRK from Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi type disguise and Shreya takes on the Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin look. Of course there is a slight mention to Shreya's assumed love for Daya here as well. Meanwhile the rest of the team is also investigating the same case in Mumbai though at this point it's a bit hard to pinpoint what the case exactly is. As Daya, Sachin, and Shreya attempt to save the 3 people who are going to be attacked they are unfortunately kidnapped and this leads into the second episode. While the 3 manage to free themselves from their ropes, they are unable to get out of the place they are hidden and Daya calls Rajat for assistance. To save the 3 officers, Rajat, Freddy, and Purvi take on the role of street performers who are out to talk about the state of girls in India. Not only does this scene show the concern that the officers have for each other, but FW also touches on sensitive issues like infanticide and uneducated girls. When Rajat, Freddy, and Purvi reach the place where Daya, Sachin, and Shreya are being kept they break in, take out the guards, and save the 3 officers. Then all the officers join together and ultimately reach the man who had thought that he could take CID out.
And we're back with another movie promotion! Sonakshi Sinha appeared for the second time and Imran Khan appeared for the first time in CID to promote Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Dobara in the episode SONAKSHI IN DANGER. Now this is the type of episode we had mentioned earlier when we said that supposedly movie promotions are well-integrated. This was supposedly a well-integrated episode, yet it was quite obvious that the only reason Sonakshi Sinha and Imran Khan appeared in the episode is to promote their episode. Also the title of the episode is quite misleading. The only scene the 2 actors appear in is the first one and the only danger Sonakshi is ever in is that from a thief who is stealing from a purse who later turns out to be an undercover cop who was searching for a chip that was apparently hidden at the OUATIMD sets. An absolute joke of a well-integrated movie promotion, this episode was all and all forgettable and unwatchable.
17 years is a feat in itself, but when the 1000th episode is reached, it is another feat that must be celebrated. And that is exactly what happened on 13th September, 2013 when CID reached its 1000th episode. In lieu of reaching the 1000th episode, FW presented to viewers a stellar episode in the form of THE MOUSE TRAP I & II. An episode that will surely go down in the history of CID as being one of the greatest episodes ever, THE MOUSE TRAP I introduced a tapori Pakiya (Abhijeet in disguise) who was living in a basti undercover and became a bodyguard for Dilawar's (an underworld kingpin of sorts) mistress, Sonal. In the process he ends up having to shoot Sachin with much reluctance though he is careful to only graze Sachin's shoulder showing off his great marksmanship. In flashback we see how CID learned of Sonal and how they would use her to get to Dilawar. The flashback also has 2 disguise scenes: the first is of Rajat as a washing powder salesman and the second is that of Purvi as a fish-seller. Back in the present, Abhijeet's phone is taken away by Dilawar and replaced with another phone. To keep an eye on Abhijeet, Purvi becomes a tapori, Nikhil a press-wallah, Freddy a roadside beggar, and Daya a cranky old man who has apparently reached his expiry date yet still drives a bike. Daya as Dadaji and Abhijeet as Pakiya give viewers a rather hilarious scene where both end up fighting and showing off their strength to each other in front of all the basti-wale. In another scene when Abhijeet as Pakiya and Sonal are at the doctor's, Shreya visits as a pregnant lady to get any info that Abhijeet can give them. The first episode ends with a scene where the entire team is under disguise in a Ganesh Utsav before Sonal attempts to escape. As the episode continues in the second part there is another hilarious interaction between Dadaji and Pakiya as Daya and Abhijeet exchange information with relation to the case. As the episode moves on, we see investigation galore and then, ultimately, Dilawar is finally caught and so is Sonal who is revealed to have been involved in everything.
After such an outstanding and brilliant 1000th episode, the brilliant streak continued with FORENSIC RAHASYA, which aired over 2 days. A murder is solved and 3 supposed murderers are caught, yet Daya feels something is amiss. To add to it Dr. Salunkhe suddenly decides to go on vacation, states that he has an abnormal ECG report, and is accompanied by a mysterious nurse who seems to be controlling Dr. Salunkhe. Of course the episodes have their downfalls in the form of a character change suddenly for ACP Pradyuman who starts yelling more and almost for no reason. Back to the case, Dr. Tarika tells Abhijeet and Daya that Dr. Salunkhe did not investigate the murder case properly. As the 3 start investigating they find several problems in Dr. Salunkhe's investigation which they share with ACP Pradyuman thus re-opening the case. When the team visits Dr. Salunkhe they seem to have an argument as the nurse is there, though through body language and unseen sign language they try to communicate the truth. To continue the investigation, ACP Pradyuman also tells Dr. Tarika to conduct the post-mortem on the 2 murder victims again and this is when we're introduced to Dr. Sameer, a professional forensic doctor from Delhi who is taking Dr. Salunkhe's place while he is on vacation. As the case continues to the second episode, Dr. Salunkhe's mistakes or cover-ups come to light and the team starts wondering and suspecting Dr. Salunkhe. Yet they know that Dr. Salunkhe can't do anything wrong and soon realize that quietly he's been helping them and he's stuck. They quickly solve the case (though much of the investigation makes no sense) and realize that Dr. Salunkhe had made mistakes as he had been threatened that if he didn't do this then the CID team would die. At the end we see a small scene of Dr. Salunkhe's return to the bureau and the team's interaction with him.
*CONTINUED TO NEXT POST* 
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