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Cast: Pratik Gandhi, Sunny Hinduja, Suhail Nayyar, Tillotama Shome, Anup Soni and others
Creator: Gaurav Shukla
Director: Sumit Purohit
Streaming On: Netflix
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 6 episodes of 40 minutes each
“Hazaaron useless cheezon mein se kya dhoondhna hai, ye sirf hamari instinct hamari bata sakti hai,” says Pratik Gandhi’s Vishnu Shankar, a R&AW Agent, who turns a hero on a mission that changed the course of Indian history and India’s standing in World History! Saare Jahan Se Accha is an ode to all those unsung heroes, who were on a relentless mission but all of them were heroes who did not find a place in the world of Spy Universes that celebrate Tigers and Pathaans and Kabirs but cannot celebrate the real heroes because they do not exist, neither on paper, nor in reality but they can be remembered only in tales to tell!
The web series helmed by Sumit Purohit starts right on point, without wasting any time with Pratik Gandhi’s Vishnu Shankar leading you with a walkthrough as he says, “Hamara kaam koyle ki khaan mein se heera dhoondhne waale se bhi zyada mushkil hota hai. Kyunki heera dhoondhne wale ko pata to hota hai ki wo dhoondh kya raha hai. For us, that precious diamond is intel.”
Saare Jahan Se Accha Review: What’s It About:
In no time, Saare Jahan Se Accha sets the premise straight! Pakistan is all set to create a nuclear bomb that could change the entire dynamics and balance of world politics. Russia, China, and other countries are also in the picture, and Indian spies creep into Pakistan to stop this global mishap. I saw this story last week in Salakaar, led by Naveen Kasturia, but Netflix definitely does it better without making Pakistan look like an Idiot!
Saare Jahan Se Accha is not your regular Spy thriller, which is now saturated with fast-racing cars and loud explosions on screen. However, Netflix cuts the blueprint and brings a Spy Drama instead, which is well researched and stands apart with its quiet intelligence, exploring complex equations of nationalism, truth, and moral compasses.
Saare Jahan Se Accha Review: What Works:
The story dives straight into Vishnu Shankar, who is posted as a diplomat in Islamabad, but he works as an undercover agent. He gets married to Tillotama Shome and takes her along because it would act as a better cover for his supposed identity in Pakistan. But the real mission is to stop Pakistan from making the nuclear bomb! Vishnu is accompanied by Suhail Nayyar’s who has been acting as a Spy for so long in Pakistan that is struggles with his identity while he falls in love with a Pakistani girl!
Pratik and Suhail fight two Pakistani officers, displaying their best work on screen as Rafiq, played by Sunny Hinduja, and Anup Soni, playing a Pakistani Army General! The writing of these characters is so powerful that you understand that at the end everyone is putting the love for their country at the foremost and everyone is human at all levels but when it comes to the nation, everyone will keep their piece of land on priority!
Saare Jahan Se Accha Review: Star Performance:
The sheer power of this show lies in its performances. Every actor, from the lead to the supporting cast, delivers a performance that elevates the entire series into a different league. Pratik Gandhi is the soul of the show, and his portrayal is not of a loud, chest-thumping hero, but of a man burdened by the truth, and a man who makes mistakes at moments when he is not allowed to make mistakes at all!
We all know Anup Soni from Crime Patrol, but here, as a high-ranking Army Officer in Pakistan, he projects an authority, a man whose patriotism is ruthless but is blurred with his moral duties as a father as well!
Sunny Hinduja is equally phenomenal as the ISI Agent with a raw and captivating energy. His slyness fights Pratik Gandhi’s brilliance, and you will love his character. He is complex, forming the magnetic core of the show. Suhail Nayyar also takes a piece of cake with his portrayal as another undercover agent who fights for his identity with himself more than his professional dilemmas!
The female cast including Kritika Kamra and Tillotama Shome however, feel underused. It is not every day that you see Tillotama doing nothing but trying to figure out her space in the show!
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Saare Jahan Se Accha Review: What Doesn’t Work:
While the show is nearly flawless, its deliberate yet the slow pace might not be a treat for everyone. But as I warned this is not a thriller but a well researched Spy drama. In fact consider it as an elaborate Raazi with a better structural progression, less drama and lesser thrill. Since the show does not offer much thrill, it might be called safely structured series, making it predictable.
Saare Jahan Se Accha Review: Last Words:
Saare Jahan Se Accha is one gem that isn’t just another spy thriller; it’s a cold, calculated spy drama that asks profound questions about patriotism, power, and the price of truth. It talks about the heroes, who we do not know, heroes who do not exist, but still heroes who make sure to fight till the end and make us win as a country! Heroes who do not scream Bharat Mata Ki Jai, but heroes who just keep humming, ‘Aye watan, watan mere aabad rahe tu!’
While Pratik Gandhi’s brilliance fights Sunny Hinduja‘s slyness to stop Pakistan from making the nuclear bomb, all I can feel is the power and emotion when Iqbal wrote, “Yunan-Misr-Roma sab mit gaye jahan se, Ab bhi magar hai baaki naam-o-nishaan hamara. Kuch baat hai ki hasti mit-ti nahi hamari, sadiyon raha hai dushman, Daur-e-Zaman hamara! Saare Jahan Se Accha Hindustan Hamara!”
3.5 stars.
For more such reviews of web shows, stay tuned to Koimoi.
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