Special OPS (2020) - Hindi WEB Series Review
Special OPS (2020) - A Hotstar Original Review
Meticulously crafted, this sleek and crisp looking spy espionage thriller that spans over 2 decades is every bit ambitious, engaging and articulate.
Produced by Hotstar and Friday Prod'n, Neeraj Pandey is back-to-form after the disappointment that was 'Aiyaary', this auteur is truly been hard at work and it shows the amount of effort put in behind the lens. Kay Kay Menon shines as the RAW team's intelligence head who spends majority of life chasing a terrorist-figurehead who remains unseen through the series and is only known by his name and is shown neck-below.
At times, it feels like this is HotStar's answer to PrimeVideo's Family Man and Netflix's Bard of Blood. Any of the Neeraj Pandey admirer will easily recognize the director traits; Wide shots of landscape and at least a foot-chase in the first few mins of pilot episode and also depicting the Slow churning of the Indian wheel of bureaucracy.
The plot is pretty straight-forward, Himmat Singh aka Menon spends a major chunk of his life chasing a figure-head he believes is responsible for causing multiple attacks over the course of 20 years and the story is told as a re-collection of transactions made over the said period. It also takes great care in showcasing how sleeper agents work, atleast it mimics the realism, at times you wouldn't be wrong to call it a mix of True Detective and The Americans. It's all about the how multiple story lines all converge towards the nexus i.e the shadowy figurehead. The personal life of Himmat Singh brings a balance of humor and much needed emphatic appeal to the show.
THEMATICALLY, it explores multiple genres and hits various notes effectively, as in the cost of being a spy, literally and figuratively. The toll it takes on a man who bears the brunt of intelligence and the consequences in case of its failure. Although, Neeraj at times plays too much on the Islamic tropes and it quickly grows old on you. It also hits the notes on restraint, loyalty and responsibilities and last but not the least the wheel of bureaucracy and how politics is an impediment rather than a boon.
OUTCOME:
Re- watch-ability: (1.4/2)
Element of Surprise: (1.5/2)
Enjoyment : (2/2)
Plot line : (2/2)
Memorability : (1.7/2)
OVERALL: : 8.6 out of 10
Produced by Hotstar and Friday Prod'n, Neeraj Pandey is back-to-form after the disappointment that was 'Aiyaary', this auteur is truly been hard at work and it shows the amount of effort put in behind the lens. Kay Kay Menon shines as the RAW team's intelligence head who spends majority of life chasing a terrorist-figurehead who remains unseen through the series and is only known by his name and is shown neck-below.
At times, it feels like this is HotStar's answer to PrimeVideo's Family Man and Netflix's Bard of Blood. Any of the Neeraj Pandey admirer will easily recognize the director traits; Wide shots of landscape and at least a foot-chase in the first few mins of pilot episode and also depicting the Slow churning of the Indian wheel of bureaucracy.
The plot is pretty straight-forward, Himmat Singh aka Menon spends a major chunk of his life chasing a figure-head he believes is responsible for causing multiple attacks over the course of 20 years and the story is told as a re-collection of transactions made over the said period. It also takes great care in showcasing how sleeper agents work, atleast it mimics the realism, at times you wouldn't be wrong to call it a mix of True Detective and The Americans. It's all about the how multiple story lines all converge towards the nexus i.e the shadowy figurehead. The personal life of Himmat Singh brings a balance of humor and much needed emphatic appeal to the show.
THEMATICALLY, it explores multiple genres and hits various notes effectively, as in the cost of being a spy, literally and figuratively. The toll it takes on a man who bears the brunt of intelligence and the consequences in case of its failure. Although, Neeraj at times plays too much on the Islamic tropes and it quickly grows old on you. It also hits the notes on restraint, loyalty and responsibilities and last but not the least the wheel of bureaucracy and how politics is an impediment rather than a boon.
OUTCOME:
Re- watch-ability: (1.4/2)
Element of Surprise: (1.5/2)
Enjoyment : (2/2)
Plot line : (2/2)
Memorability : (1.7/2)
OVERALL: : 8.6 out of 10
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