Special Ops 2: Seven days Served!

A threat to the nation, another emergency - internal and escalating and a very personal crisis in his family, Himmat Singh must handle all these three simultaneously!

When a scientist, holding the keys to all the strategic gateways, gets kidnapped and a R&AW agent killed, in different locations but around the same moment, the presence of a link between the two is quite evident to Himmat, but apprehending the criminal behind, seems a completely new ball game.

Add to this is the hunt for a fugitive banker, the man behind ruining several who believed, driving the believers now towards vengeance, caring less for further collateral damages that might follow!

Seven episodes.

Seven days to achieve his target.....

And his own problems to solve!

This can only be handled by Kay Kay Menon (as Himmat Singh) with a characteristic composure that assures but with the ruthless spontaneity of the character that frighteningly appeals. With his band of associates, both internal and foreign, Himmat Singh must fight the enemy at the gate and one outside with his own family, held at a crucial crossroad that threatens to destroy whatever preciously private he had always carefully tried to keep secured.

While Kay Kay Menon is natural in his role as Himmat Singh, so is Vinay Pathak as SI Abbas Sheikh of Delhi Police, the deceptively inconspicuous investigator in the force, radiating a supreme confidence in his enviable knack of sniffing out information from the coldest of trails. Both Pathak and Menon steal the scenes, wherever present by keeping the sequences intense while lacing them with humour, whenever the slightest of opportunities warrants. Added to this, is the chemistry, on the screen, crafted with measured elegance by Gautami Kapoor (as Saroj) with Menon, which adds drama and will surely warrant deserving credit.

With a script (Neeraj Pandey, Deepak Kingrani, Benazir Ali Fida) composed crisply for the correct touch of verbal requirement in a season, based on actions and subtle expressions primarily, the suspense is heightened by the haunting melody of Advait Nemlekar that sets the thrill triggered right from the very beginning.

However, there are a few flaws! The least of them is the not-so-surprising finale of so gripping string of episodes. Thus, the directors (Neeraj Pandey, Shivam Nair) peak their achievement in yet another brilliantly designed "Wednesday" (S2E6) but the zeal is lost in the action-primed climactic cliché of "Thursday" (S2E7) with the thrill subsiding. Again, there are instances where intuition prevails over intellect. Lacking in rationale, certain sequences might feel warily unconvincing and could disappoint the critical viewer.

But the major concern is the childish way the nuclear reactors of the country are shown to be vulnerable to threats. In a country, where nuclear power is not very well accepted by the masses owing to the fact of being unaware of the fundamentals, if a popular series like this, portrays the wrong facts, this may equally add to the deterrent views! A little insightful research could have revealed that Indian nuclear reactors are inherently safe and cannot be compromised by the imaginary way envisaged and the event of a core meltdown being thematically transformed to a catastrophic blast is a famous misconception that once again proves the inadequate awareness of the established safety practices and related technicalities that entail the restraints!

বেপরোয়া বিভীষণ

একদিকে আইসির মেয়ের বিয়ে সামনে, তাই তিনি ভীষণ ব্যস্ত!

অপরদিকে ওসিও নিজের নাতনির অন্নপ্রাশনের আয়োজন করতে বাড়িতে।

তাই বলাগড় থানাটা সেদিনের মতো চালানোর ভার পেল, এসআই বিধান সেন, যার বাড়িতে আবার স্ত্রী একলা থাকে এবং সে সন্তানসম্ভবা, তাই তারও মনে চিন্তা অনেক!

কিন্তু তা বললে চলবে কেন? চোরডাকাত তো আর বসে থাকবে না! তাই সেদিন দুপুরের দিকে কাছের জঙ্গল থেকে একটা অচেনা লাশ উদ্ধার হলেও খুব একটা বিশেষ রকমের অস্বাভাবিক কিছু লাগেনি কারুর। কিন্তু মুশকিলটা শুরু হল তারপর পুলিশের প্রায় নাকের ডগা দিয়ে যখন সেই লাশের মাথাটা কেউ হাপিস করে দিল। এতেই অবশ্য ব্যাপারটা থামল না! এই লাশের মাথা খুঁজতে বেড়িয়ে বেরোল আরেকটা লাশ, তবে এবার মাথা সমেত! বিধান সেনের এই অবস্থায় নিজের মাথা, মানের নিজের চাকরীটা সামলানোই দায় হয়ে পড়ল। একে জোড়া খুন, তার উপর চুরির কেস তো থানায় লেগেই আছে! সাথে মাথা হারানোর সম্পূর্ণ দায়। আইসি হাত তুলে দিয়েছেন, ওসি অবশ্য সাহায্য করে যাচ্ছেন সাধ্যমতো, আর সাহায্যের ব্যাপারে সাথে আছে সহকর্মীরা, যাদের অবশ্য জিজ্ঞাসাবাদ করার ক্ষমতাটা মোটামুটি গুছিয়ে থার্ড ডিগ্রি প্রয়োগের মধ্যেই সীমাবদ্ধ। এ হেন পুলিশের দল নিয়ে বিধান কি পারবে অপরাধী ধরতে? বলতেই পারতাম যে জানার জন্য দেখতেই হবে.....ইত্যাদি, ইত্যাদি। কিন্ত না, তাহলে বোধহয় খানিকটা ভুলই বলতাম।

মজাটা হল, গল্পটা থ্রিলারধর্মী মনে হলেও, তার আসল রূপটা হলো মনস্তাত্ত্বিক। আর এখানেই পরিচালক, রাজা চন্দের মুন্সিয়ানা, যেখানে অপরাধীকে ধরার থেকে তার মনটার হদিশ পাওয়া ও তারপর তার দখল নেওয়াটা গুরুত্বপূর্ণ হয়ে উঠেছে। একদম প্রথম থেকেই যার মায়াবী মুর্চ্ছনা ধরা পড়েছে রথীজিৎ ভট্টাচার্য রচিত অসাধারণ এক ওপেনিং স্কোরের মাধ্যমে। সুবীর মান্নার পরিমিত মেকআপ ও শর্বরী চক্রবর্তীর সামঞ্জস্যপূর্ণ পোষাক চয়ন, দৃশ্যগুলোকে অস্বাভাবিকরকম স্বাভাবিক করে তুলতে পেরেছে।

অভিনয়ে সোহম মজুমদার ঠিকই আছে, তবে কথাটা খানিক কম চিবিয়ে বললে আর ক্ষেত্র নির্বিশেষে চলনবলনটা আরেকটু কম নরম করলে চরিত্রটা প্রয়োজনীয় পুষ্টি পেত! অবশ্য দেখার মতো অভিনয় করেছেন দেবপ্রিয় মুখার্জ্জী ও অমিত সাহা। চরিত্রের মধ্যে সম্পূর্ণ ঢুকে গিয়েও কি সাবলীল অভিনয় দেখানো যায়, আমার উত্তরোত্তর পছন্দের শিল্পী, এই দেবপ্রিয় মুখার্জ্জী, তাই যেন প্রমাণ করছেন বারবার। অমিত সাহাও লা জবাব! স্রেফ যেন অভিব্যক্তি দিয়েই মাত করে দিলেন।

তাই বলছি, সিরিজটা দেখা দরকার। ভুলত্রুটি হয়তো অল্পবিস্তর হলেও আছে, কিন্তু তারই মাঝে ভাবনার কিছু সূক্ষ্ম খোরাকও যে বিছিয়ে রাখা আছে।

Deceptive Dupahiya!

The only thing that might go against the series is if the viewers had already watched Panchayat seasons 1 and 2!

The populace that inhabits the sprightly rural India, with her simple charms and inherent ills, is portrayed yet again in a drama that unfolds the merry ride of life.

In the village of Dhadakpur, apparently famous for being the only crime-free village in Bihar, a sudden theft shakes the balance. A bike, bought as a dowry by Banwari Jha, for the marriage of his daughter, Roshni, gets stolen just eight days prior to the scheduled wedding! This not only puts the marriage at stake, but a lot of other problems crops up as well! The pride of the village being crime-free for 24 years, is threatened as do the promise of the grant of fresh water, for holding the record for just another year. Roshni's dream of settling in the city, far away from the coarsely interfering rustic ambience, is checked as does his father's wish of becoming the permanent principal of the local school, a promise that the wedding grants!

Village politics dutifully comes to play with the scheming opposition trying to expose the crime against the head, seeking to hush the theft for the sake of the record and the people! Added tot this is the lazy but smart inspector of police with a personal grievance against Banwari and the aspiring reporter, seeking for a scoop to apply for a position of a journalist, who add further hurdles to face!

So, all seems to depend on the local kleptomaniac and Roshni's reel-obsessed brother to find a solution and attempt at a replacement.

With twists, prickly and hilarious, the plot becomes increasingly enjoyable as the events unfold and characters are revealed. The simplicity of the rural province is treated with humility while the inherent woes and pains are laced with humour that gives the series a flavour that appeals. With a message, not too subtle against the social evil of dowry and the irrational stigma against the dark-complexioned, the series serves as a stark reminder of who we actually are and what we need to be!

Directed very ably as guided by Sonam Nair, all the performers acted just perfectly and none can be said to be better than the other. A display of classic acting, all who portrayed the characters, even those with a wee bit of screen presence, all marked their presence with superb professionalism! Created and scripted by Avinash Dwivedi, Chirag Garg, Salona Bains Joshi and Subh Shivdasani, the series is highly recommended for both old and young!

Primarily Paatal Lok

There is a word called 'unputdownable', for books. I don't know any equivalent term for TV shows. But if there had been any, Paatal Lok, Season 2, would fit the bill precisely!

If the Season 1 was great, the 2^nd serving will be felt tremendous! With a surprise pace and a gripping tale, the twists are just too many to be comprehensively penned. But leaving the thrill inherent, what wins the heart is the hope that survives and the honesty that satisfies!

The decapitated remains of a Naga leader in his own restroom at the Nagaland Sadan in Delhi threatens the fate of a political summit bitterly. Obvious ripples are felt in Nagaland where the political situation becomes tense. The Delhi cops are alerted and ACP Imran Ansari is assigned the case. Meanwhile, Inspector Hathiram Chaudhary of the Outer Jamuna Paar PS is on a case to find a trumpeteer of a local band party who was reported to have not come home for days at a stretch. Curiously enough, this apparently ordinary case seemed to hold a significant key to the assassination case. The point was brought to notice by Chaudhary, the man with the eidetic memory, a personal asset that came in handy more than once while both the cases proceeded. However, the authorities were initially reluctant in involving Chaudhary, a mere inspector, in the investigation of a murder, labelled to be immensely sensitive in the political regime. But ACP Ansari, the once junior to Chaudhary while in his 1^st appointment, recommended for his revered mentor and the team of two set sail to crack the case just like old times. But the latest mission seemed to be pitted against varied levels of hurdles with the atmosphere of Nagaland turning increasingly hostile, a feeling of mistrust flowing through the ranks, each of their steps being minutely surveilled upon and to top it all, a lone sniper on the loose, apparently on a killing schedule, erasing witnesses at the slightest of opportunities!

So, the stage is set, the suspense is created but what remains is the flurry of twists that creates all the difference!

A season, rivetingly directed (Avinash Arun), well surpasses the predecessor (directed by Avinash Arun and Prosit Roy) both in thrill and pace! Created by Sudip Sharma, the themes are fabulous and twists, though a few tragic, but are unprecedented. Then there is Jaideep Ahlawat as the indomitable Inspector Hathiram Chaudhary whom you'll just love from the word go! With an appearance as gruff as can be, and gait, visibly clumsy particulary while on a chase, the character will inspire awe with the determination that he showcases. Jaideep Ahlawat is simply magnificent with all the naturalness that he portrays and the naive desperation that he projects. The utter helplessness of the salaried, yet the sense of duty that prevails, the character of Hathiram couldn't be more sincerely portrayed. Gul Panag reprises her role as Renu Chaudhary but surpasses her acting with a presence that commands sympathy and respect. Ishwak Singh as ACP Imran Ansari supports ably in a major way while Nikita Grover also refreshes with her wee bit of presence as Constable Manju Verma. Infact, the season seems to be trimmed to perfection, mainly due to all the artists apparently performing, all too precisely without overdoing anything!

The series, designed to be just a thriller, actually becomes appealing not for the rush of adrenaline but for the maturity of remaining practical, while the underlying theme resonates with the dilemma of choosing the priority when protocol of the assigned job comes in conflict with the moral duty that the responsible heart desires.