The Talwars: Behind Closed Doors

I don't know why, but this one didn't draw me in like most true crime docs. Maybe because I had just finished 'Who Killed Garret Phillips' and that one was gripping start to finish. There have been a ton of high quality true crime docs that have raised the bar on expectations. But this one was a bit of a mess. Not only in the police work surrounding the crime, but in the presentation by the doc team.

The Reporter working on this documentary Arshad shareef was brutally killed. He was working upon the story for a very long time, than after the government of shareef brother is established in Pakistan he has to ran away from the country. But that was in vain. He was chased and was killed brutally in Kenya. His murder is still mystery, His wife is still walking through the courts for justice but she is still not served with the justice yet. Hopefully she will get the justice one day and the Culprit will be punished if not here in next life they will surely be punished. I don't know about other people working on this but Arshad shareef was a great journalist. May he rest in peace.

Two previous movies on the subject feel pale in comparison to this riveting and well documented mini series.

"Behind Close Doors: the Talwars" (2019 release; 2 parts; 170 min.) is a documentary about the Talwars. As Part 1 opens, it is "October 16, 2017", and we see the Talwar husband and wife are being released from jail. We then go to "December 2010", when the couple is interviewed on TV: "we have no idea what happened on that night." We then go to "Naida, India" (near Delkhi), and we get to know young Aarushi, the daughter of the Talwars, an upper-middle class family with several housemaids and servants. The documentary then shifts to "Day 1 , May 16, 2008", as it appears then 14 yr. old Aarushi has been brutally murdered, as well as one of the servants... At this point we are 15 min. into the documentary...

Couple of comments: this documentary is from Singapore-based HBO Asia, and brings in gripping details the account of the double murder that caused a media sensation in India a decade ago. So much information is crammed into this documentary that it makes the head spin, and at times it all felt a bit overwhelming. Also contributing to this feeling is the outright chaos by the media (in particular TV media) as they roam the relevant places, including in the Talwar residency (you have to see it to believe it). The Indian authorities don't do themselves a favor either, with the mind-blowing ineptitude among the Naida police corps. But the best comes in Part 2 of the documentary, with yet more twists that will bewilder you. And how does it all end? I'm not going to tell you. Just watch!

"Behind Closed Doors" premiered on HBO earlier this week over 2 evenings (and is now also on HBO On Demand). I love me a good true crime documentary, and this one certainly delivers. I readily suggest you check this out, be it on VOD or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.

The whole documentary is directed in such a way that you cant move yours eyes off the screen. I have wathed the movie talwar.That movie is biased and do not show any side of hemraj who was also murdered.This series do not present any kind of judgement of their own.it just presents the true facts of the case.definately a must watch.