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Special OPS (2020)
Kay Kay Menon shines in this JACK RYAN's Indian counterpart espionage thriller!
Special Ops, an espionage thriller TV Series (comprising 8 episodes) follows a relentless R&AW analyst Himmat Singh (played by Kay Kay Menon) in his mission to end the 19 year long manhunt of the terrorist mastermind, who he believes, is the 6th man behind the 2001 Parliament attack, 26/11 Mumbai attacks and another impending high-profile attack.
The unique narrative structure revolves around an internal audit enquiry in which Himmat Singh (Menon) is asked to explain how and why Rs.28 crores were spent as 'Miscellaneous' expenses by his Middle East desk in the last 11 years. The questions by the audit committee are answered through flashbacks, narrating the back-stories of his five agents deployed in five different middle east countries and all of them with one common mission: to find and kill the 6th invisible terrorist.
The show's central idea and the protagonist's (Menon's) motivations are heavily inspired from the acclaimed American spy thriller TV show: Tom Clancy's JACK RYAN (Season 1), where the titular CIA analyst finds his mission to stop an alleged terror attack on the U.S. soil by an unidentified terrorist mastermind called Suleiman. Besides, the work-life-balance aspect of the protagonist draws its roots from another superior Indian spy thriller THE FAMILY MAN (starring Manoj Bajpai).
Therefore, comparing Special Ops with both these shows is obligatory to review. And here I felt that the show's filmmaking aspects especially the (erratic) pacing, (hit-and-miss) writing, (bland) cinematography, (lackluster) editing and (the consequently compromised) entertainment quotient of Special Ops were relatively subpar. A notable exception was Kay Kay Menon's performance, which was almost at par with Manoj Bajpai's Srikanth Bajpai in 'The Family Man'' and certainly a few notches better than John Krasinski's Jack Ryan.
I also felt that the backstories of the five agents, except probably Farooq Ali's character (sincerely played by Karan Tacker), could have been more engaging. Despite getting enough screen time, their characters seemed half-baked, which adversely affected their performances. The hand-combat action scenes involving these agents, particularly an agent's wedding fight scene with the terrorist, were poorly choreographed and even inferior to Neeraj Pandey's own spy film BABY. Co-directed by Neeraj Pandey (A Wednesday, Special 26, Baby) and Shivam Nair (Baby's Spinoff 'Naam Shabana'), Special Ops fares somewhere between the cinematic elegance of BABY and the insipid mediocrity of NAAM SHABANA.
Moreover, considering the terrorist mastermind's identity being the show's basic premise and its intrinsic purpose, however, the final mystery revelation was a somewhat underwhelming experience for this reviewer. 'Jack Ryan' had similar premise where the antagonist's identity was very smartly revealed in the Pilot episode itself. In 'The Family Man', similar suspense unfolds in the 6th episode and the unexpected shock flabbergasted me. Despite being premature, both these plot twists had more impact than the climactic revelation of Special Ops.
Notwithstanding all these shortcomings, there are bona fide reasons to watch this show. First and foremost, it's the impressive act of Kay Kay Menon which alone makes Special Ops a watchable enterprise. He excels in practically every scene. His nuanced dialogue delivery in the superbly directed interrogation scene with Ajmal Kasab became my eventual favorite and shows why Kay Kay Menon is truly one of the most gifted actors in India.
Besides Kay Kay Menon, there were some strong supporting performances given by Vinay Pathak (as a Delhi Police Constable), Divya Dutta (as a suicide bomber), Sharad Kelkar (as Kay Kay Menon's senior), Parmeet Sethi & KP Mukherji (as R&AW audit committee members). Some of the most amusing lines of the show are shared between Kay Kay Menon and the two audit committee members. For instance, when KP Mukherji tells Parmeet Sethi "Mujhe aisa kyun lag raha hai ki yeh aadmi hum logon ko bahut torture karne waala hai" made me chuckle.
I was particularly impressed by Gautami Kapoor's (as Kay Kay Menon's wife) and Kay Kay Menon's onscreen chemistry as a regular middle-aged couple and their day-to-day camaraderie. They get some of the most endearing scenes together especially in the last episode where Kay Kay Menon thanks her for being the only one to have persistently trusted his gut feeling for 19 years.
Furthermore, the elaborate retelling and recreation of the 2001 Parliament Attack segment was masterfully executed. I also think naming each episode after a Hindi classic movie was innovative as the movie name gave us a clue about the plot of that episode.
Being a fan of both Kay Kay Menon & Neeraj Pandey and the genre, I really enjoyed binge watching Special Ops. The show is a royal treat for Kay Kay Menon fans but can't be appraised as Neeraj Pandey's best work. Even so, it will conveniently manage to keep you entertained and engaged all through.
Asur: Welcome to Your Dark Side (2020)
India Television finally gets its forensic investigation grammar right in this dark serial killer web-series
ASUR is an 8-part web-series that revolves around two brilliant but antithetical forensic CBI Officers, played by Arshad Warsi and Barun Sobti, who investigate seemingly unrelated murders by a genius but delusional serial killer (Asur - the antagonist played by "Just Kidding :D"). The show, streaming at Voot, is touted by the makers as a unique crime-thriller that pits the opposing worlds of forensic science and mysticism of Indian mythology. Read further to know whether it succeeds in doing so.
Each episode of the show starts off with compelling flashbacks of an autistic child's backstory (impeccably played by child actor Vishesh Bansal) and delves into how his misplaced ideology transforms him into the present-day Asur, responsible for brutal killings of innocent, righteous people. While the present-day story unfolds as an inventive cat-and-mouse whodunnit contest between the serial killer and CBI investigators.
Although the show's writers have incorporated admirable and authentic attention to detail on the forensic investigation front (not Dexter level detailing), which is never seen before in Indian television, however, inconsistent writing is also perhaps its biggest weakness. Some glaring plotholes like: non-analysis of finger cutting of victims, the vague explanation for the Barun Sobti's character receiving dead bodies' coordinates are results of hurried writing in that context. Besides, unwanted tampering with the story's timeline in the initial episodes (last-minute editing I suppose) did not impress this reviewer as it acted as a deterrent to an otherwise seamless narrative.
But thankfully the positives outweigh the negatives. Most of the writing is first-rate barring a few shortcomings. The lead performances of CBI officers Arshad Warsi and Barun Sobti were almost flawlessly delivered by these underrated actors. Arshad Warsi has proven his mettle time and again with critically acclaimed performances in the Munnabhai Series, Sehar, Ishqiya and Jolly LLB. Bollywood has nevertheless grossly underutilized his acting chops. The child actor Vishesh Bansal gives a spine-chilling performance as a cold-blooded psychopath. But the performance which warrants special mention was that of Sharib Hashmi (of Filmistan and The Family Man fame), who plays the onscreen junior of Arshad Warsi. He is a terrific actor who deserves meatier roles. But the unusual choice for Asur's (adult) role is debatable. Perhaps it was a conscious casting decision and the role was intentionally underplayed to protect the mystery. Or maybe they learned from the silly casting blunder (Kareena Kapoor) in Aamir Khan's supernatural mystery thriller: Talaash.
Cinematography is another filmmaking aspect in this show that is commendable, especially the portions shot in Varanasi. The background score beautifully complements the dark script and the brutally shot murders.
Asur's biggest letdown for many viewers would probably be its climax. Although I really loved the way the writers have smartly teased the viewers with subtle hints about the killer's identity, the final mystery revelation after an intriguing build-up may be mildly disappointing for most viewers. The unimaginable sacrifice made by one of the lead actors did not seem as convincing as the way it was executed in David Fincher's SEVEN (starring Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman). But David Fincher is David Fincher.
What I did not like was that it ended in a cliffhanger, paving way for an inevitable season 2, which I would be eagerly looking forward to. Because finally the Indian viewers have been gifted with an audacious content (after the fantastic Andhadhun) that does not underestimate its intellect and does not present the suspense in a platter. Do watch it as another game-changer in Indian Television despite just falling short to match the brilliance of the likes of Mirzapur, Delhi Crime, Criminal Justice, Sacred Games (Season 1), The Family Man and the more recent Special Ops. Recommended.
Taken (2008)
A tutorial on how action-thrillers should be made!
In case you are a movie buff: when you watch any movie, within the first 10-15 minutes you will most likely get a feeling about the level of satisfaction it is going to provide you thereafter. After watching this movie I thought of it as an adrenalin-fueled revenge flick from French Director Pierre Morel which is even better than all James Bond and Bourne film series put together in terms of pure entertainment value.
TAKEN could easily have become a cliché film like so many we have seen before. However, Liam Neeson plays his character of 'an ex-CIA agent who is determined to find his daughter at all costs' with such finesse and elegance that you will find an unbelievable freshness in the way the movie unfolds and in its execution. After watching him play the role of Oscar Schindler in SCHINDLER'S LIST, it's simply incredible to imagine him playing the role of a retired CIA-agent and that too with perfection. I still have Goosebumps when I see the part in which he talks with the kidnapper and says: "I don't know who you are, but if you don't let my daughter go, I will find you and then I will kill you
..GOODLUCK"- I just LOVE it.
I strongly recommend TAKEN to everyone even if you have little interest in action-thrillers or Neeson. So fasten your seat belts and get ready for the fastest 93 minutes ride of your life. You are going to enjoy every second of it. 9/10 without any doubt!
The Last House on the Left (2009)
Probably the most HARD-HITTING Movie Ever!
Its rare that you come across movies that leave an impact even hours after you watch them . "The last house on the Left(TLHOTL)" falls under this category. There are not many movies whose remake is miles ahead of its original counter-part. My head was filled with the brutal scenes from the movie until I went to sleep. I enjoyed 'Dawn Of the Dead' more than the original and so did TLHOTL. The way the director builds up atmospheric tension in this movie right from the beginning till the last scene-its really incredible and a treat to watch. TLHOTL is a revenge thriller and remains true to its genre & is better than most of its counterparts- in terms of look, thrill,entertainment value,acting,direction-everything just falls in its right place. The only drawback of this movie is that its not meant for audience below the age of 18(at least I don't recommend it). When I finished watching it, my 13 year old bro(who is a big movie buff like me) asked if he could watch it-I told him the same thing. The way the rape scene and the scenes thereafter were handled-its too terrifying and hard-hitting for young audience. Watch this movie if you like tense atmospheric,suspenseful thrillers like SAW,DEATH SENTENCE,MISERY etc- it will be going to take you to a different world altogether. You will be so engrossed that you will forget watz happening around you. I give it a solid 8/10 for its flawlessness. GO FOR IT!