Star Cast: Pratik Gandhi, Sunny Hinduja, Suhail Nayyar, Rajat Kapoor, Tillotama Shome, Kritika Kamra

Web Series Review: SAARE JAHAN SE ACCHA rests on bravura performances and nail-biting scenes

Director: Sumit Purohit

Synopsis:
SAARE JAHAN SE ACCHA is the story of a man on a dangerous mission. The year is 1972. Vishnu Shankar (Pratik Gandhi) works in R&AW. He’s carrying the guilt of not being able to save Vikram Sarabhai from a plane crash. He had confirmed intel that the life of the scientist is in danger, but before he could get permission to act, the plane had already taken off. He works under R N Kao (Rajat Kapoor) and the former tells the latter that he wishes to go to Pakistan after getting information that President Bhutto (Hemant Kher) is secretly trying to build a nuclear bomb. This is also the time when he gets married to Mohini (Tillotama Shome). Vishnu’s Pakistani trip gets confirmed and he and Mohini move to the neighbouring country. On paper, he has joined the Embassy of India; in reality, his job is to find out about Pakistan’s nuclear program and stop them at all costs. Vishnu has a network of trusted sources and undercover agents like Brigadier Naushad Ahmed (Anup Soni) of the Pakistan army, stockbroker Rafiq Ahmed aka Sukhbir (Suhail Nayyar), etc. Yet, there’s a lot of danger because of the hostile Pakistani administration. Moreover, Murtaza Malik (Sunny Hinduja) is a sharp Pakistani officer who has his eyes on Vishnu. What happens next forms the rest of the series.

Saare Jahan Se Accha Story Review:
Gaurav Shukla and Bhavesh Mandalia’s story is interesting, but also gets a bit clichéd as viewers have seen a few films in the same zone. Gaurav Shukla and Bhavesh Mandalia’s screenplay (additional screenplay by Shivam Shankar) also gets affected for the same reason. However, the writers have peppered the narrative with some tense moments. Gaurav Shukla and Bhavesh Mandalia’s dialogues (additional dialogues by Kushal Kushwah and Ishraq Shah; voiceover dialogues by Gaurav Sharma) are sharp.

Sumit Purohit’s direction is decent. He has fleshed out the principal characters very well. The setting is also a bit scary – one can feel that Vishnu has stepped into a dangerous territory. Murtaza’s character adds to the fear as he’s shown to be a ruthless person when it comes to traitors. A few scenes are memorable, like Vishnu meeting Murtaza for the first time, Naushad explaining why he chose to spy for India, Rafiq’s breakdown, Rafiq compelled to kill a man to hide his secret, etc. Fatima Khan’s (Kritika Kamra) track also enhances the drama.

On the flipside, though SAARE JAHAN SE ACCHA deals with an unknown chapter of India and Pakistan, it still reminds one of films like D-DAY [2013], RAAZI [2018], ROMEO AKBAR WALTER [2019], MISSION MAJNU [2023], etc. Just like these movies, the show is also about Indians spying in Pakistan in the 1970s. Secondly, the execution is a bit haphazard in some places. A few developments are convenient. The Gadani port is completely secured by the Pakistani forces. Yet, Vishnu and his associates sneak in; the makers never explain how they managed to do so. The action-packed climax doesn’t work as intended. In fact, the finale is very quick. Some major characters disappear after a point and one wonders what happened to them, especially after the way things unfold in the finale.

Saare Jahan Se Accha Performances:
Pratik Gandhi is in top form, as expected. He gets the act of a sharp and intelligent officer right and his dialogue delivery and voiceovers are spot-on. Sunny Hinduja is damn good as the antagonist. His mere presence enhances the tension and that’s quite praiseworthy. Suhail Nayyar gets to play a very well-written character and he rocks the show with his performance. Rajat Kapoor is impactful as always. Tillotama Shome shines, though the marital issue track is not convincingly depicted. Kritika Kamra has a late entry; she makes up for it with her performance. Anup Soni, Hemant Kher and Ninad Kamat (Adhikari) are dependable. Munir Khan (Atul Kumar), Rajesh Khera (Bilal) and Kapil Radha (Rizwan) leave a huge mark. Diksha Juneja (Naseem) has a fine screen presence and does well. Kunal Thakur (Vikram; spy in France) is okay and his character is half-baked. The others who do a decent job are Nakul Roshan Sahdev (Ghulam; who works with Murtaza), Avantika Akerkar (Indira Gandhi), Stephanie Schlesser (Marya; Mossad agent) and Shaurya Shah (Altamash; Naushad’s son).

Saare Jahan Se Accha music and other technical aspects:
SAARE JAHAN SE ACCHA is a song-less show. Ketan Sodha’s background score is in sync with the show’s mood. Dmytro Nedria, Debojeet Ray and Jay Patel’s cinematography is satisfactory. Sukanta Panigrahy’s production design and Veera Kapur Ee’s costumes are straight out of the bygone era. Sunil Rodrigues, Paramjeet Singh and Javed Karim’s action is not too gory. Aarif Sheikh’s editing is slick but too quick in some scenes.

Saare Jahan Se Accha Review Conclusion:
On the whole, SAARE JAHAN SE ACCHA rests on bravura performances and nail-biting scenes. But the overall impact is slightly diluted by a rushed climax and a sense of déjà vu from films like D-DAY, RAAZI, etc.

Rating: 3 stars

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