Why Rani Mukerji's Mardaani 3 feel like a high-octane echo of Shefali Shah's Delhi Crime Season 3?
Delhi Crime S3 and Mardaani 3 face scrutiny for similar human trafficking plots, sparking debate over creative repetition and genre saturation in the Indian crime thriller genre.
Last Updated: 11.51 AM, Jan 13, 2026
There is a significant debate going on in the film industry right now over how to keep high-stakes murder stories fresh. Many have noticed structural and thematic similarities between Delhi Crime Season 3 (Netflix, 2025) and the upcoming Rani Mukerji starrer Mardaani 3 after the official trailer for the film was released on January 12, 2026.
What is the plot of Delhi Crime Season 3?
Both initiatives revolve around destroying complex human trafficking networks, marking a shift from the more localised or individualised crimes seen in their earlier installments. Investigating a transnational sex trafficking network is the focus of Delhi Crime Season 3, and it stars Shefali Shah as DCP Vartika Chaturvedi. Uncovering a huge syndicate run by a mysterious individual known as "Badi Didi" (Huma Qureshi) is the story's turning point, which begins with the finding of an abandoned kid.
Similarly, the trailer for Mardaani 3 shows that Shivani Shivaji Roy (Mukerji), who has now joined the National Investigation Agency (NIA), is assigned the mission of finding the 93 females who went missing three months ago. Her investigation takes her to a human trafficking and "beggar mafia" ring run by an ageing villain named "Amma" (Mallika Prasad).
How are the protagonists similar in Delhi Crime Season 3 and Mardaani 3?
Both series' core logic and character archetypes are compared. "Alpha" female police officers serve as the backbone of both franchises, navigating a bureaucracy that is both inflexible and frequently uncooperative.
It seems like Mardaani 3 is going for a more high-octane, cinematic approach, in contrast to Delhi Crime, which sticks to its trademark slow-burn procedural reality. But at its heart, it's still about a female police officer going up against a female criminal kingpin. Everyone is speculating about the implications of this "queen vs. queen" dynamic. It is believed by observers that there would be a tendency towards examining "the feminine side of organised crime" this year, as female-led syndicates will replace male-led ones (such as Tahir Raj Bhasin in Mardaani or the Kachcha-Baniyan gang in Delhi Crime S2).
How are the antagonists different in Delhi Crime Season 3 and Mardaani 3?
Some have dubbed Mardaani 3 "Delhi Crime in 70mm" because of the widespread online conjecture about the antagonists' motivations. Badi Didi ("Delhi Crime") embodied a cunning and evasive criminal lord who used psychological manipulation and political connections to build his crime empire. The violent and controlling boss of a beggar gang, Amma (Mardaani 3) is depicted as someone who supposedly "buys girls for Rs 10 lakh" and uses drugs to keep them subdued.
Both antagonists, in spite of their dissimilar tactics, serve to reflect the protagonist's power in the story. There are worries that the "super-cop" genre is becoming oversaturated since both storylines rely on the "missing girls" theme as their main investigation tool.
Is Mardaani 3 shifting towards realism?
The participation of writer Aayush Gupta in Mardaani 3—who was involved with the realistic YRF series The Railway Men—indicates a shift towards the grimy realism that Delhi Crime popularised. Social media has praised the "grey-coded" cinematography and emphasis on systemic failure in response to the Mardaani 3 trailer. These aspects have been distinctive of the Delhi Crime series since its 2019 debut.
While critics have praised the ambitious scope of Mardaani 3 (which releases on January 30, 2026), some have pointed out that the story beats—the race against the clock, the rescue of children, and the discovery of a deep-seated social evil—feel like a continuation of the material already covered by Netflix two months earlier.
Where does Indian crime thriller genre stand right now?
These parallels make one wonder where the genre of Indian crime thrillers is heading creatively. Using "ripped from the headlines" as their basis, both Delhi Crime and Mardaani 3 supposedly go beyond the urban Indian beggar-trafficking networks.
Everyone is waiting to see if Mardaani 3 can stand out with its "national security" slant based on the National Investigation Agency (NIA) or if it will just be considered a stage adaptation of subjects that have been explored on OTT. Many in the trade are still arguing that Mardaani 3 is little more than a "genre staple" or a "theatrical copy" in anticipation of its imminent release.
Mardaani 3 FAQs:
Q: What is the release date for Mardaani 3?
A: Mardaani 3, starring Rani Mukerji, is scheduled to release in theatres on January 30, 2026.
Q: Is Mardaani 3 based on Delhi Crime Season 3?
A" While both projects explore human trafficking and a "queen vs. queen" dynamic, Mardaani 3 is an independent theatrical sequel.
Q: Who is the villain in Mardaani 3?
A: The antagonist in Mardaani 3 is a character named "Amma," played by National Award-winning actor and theatre veteran Mallika Prasad. Amma is portrayed as the brutal mastermind behind a "beggar mafia" and human trafficking racket, serving as a dark mirror to Rani Mukerji’s Shivani Shivaji Roy.