Special Ops on Hotstar - Kay Kay Menon is truly special !

ASHOK’s FIVE brings to you a review of the new series Special Ops now streaming on Hotstar. It is an espionage action thriller, a genre that is becoming increasingly popular and refined in the Indian market. Furthermore, it is in absolutely safe hands with Neeraj Pandey teaming up with Shivam Nair (Naam Shabana) to deliver what he has practiced several times and almost perfected. Remember the common thread to A Wednesday, Baby, Special 26 – all thrillers roughly woven around one real life action made the life mission of the protagonist. Special Ops is the story of a 19-year-old chase of RAW operative Himmat Singh trying to capture the ‘sixth’ terrorist in an incident and this fellow could well be a figment of his imagination!

1    Special Ops is all about one man – Kay Kay Menon. At 53 years, he remains a fantastic asset for the small screen and one often wonders why these large gaps in assignments. He plays the resolute Himmat Singh, a senior RAW official under the cloud of an inquiry into inordinately high spends over the years in his journey to counter terrorism. The name is such a mis-fit into a character who is suave, endearing and completely in control. Only Menon can carry off a thriller, simply seated behind a desk with a laptop in front and the ubiquitous ear plugs. Only once in the eight-part series do you see him involved in a physical chase!

The veteran actor is delightful in every aspect of the character he portrays – smart, calculative, strategic intelligence officer at work and a loving family man, nervous father and a mischievous husband at home. His sense of comic timing as he taken on the interview panel and his dialogues especially in the scene with Kasab and the intensity when it comes to his purpose in life make for the best that you could ask for.

          The supporting cast with Gautami Kapoor playing Menon’s wife, Vinay Pathak as Abbas Sheikh the police officer, Karan Tacker as Farooq Ali and Divya Dutta in a neat cameo are brilliant. The ensemble cast that Menon puts together across the word including a housewife in Tehran, a cook in Istanbul and a sniper based out of Baku is well conceptualized. The first few episodes do not do justice though to detailing out these characters and the singular incidents that play out as flash back do not hold up well.

3    The series takes you across Delhi, Dubai, Istanbul, Teheran and Baku and the settings, cars and costumes look impressive. You do not feel let down on the ‘feel’ of an international espionage thriller at any point in time. What does let you down however is the background score, some slow-motion sequences and editing that tends to be patchy in parts.

4     The eight-part series is almost fascinating in terms of how the first four episodes belong in one place where time stands still, and the dialogues and comedy tend to hang heavy in the air; in sharp contrast the last four episodes are a high-octane adrenaline rush and keeps you hooked as the twists and turns start tumbling fast and strong. The sting in the tail is interesting and unexpected!

5       Special Ops is an intelligent plot and story-line and does raise the bar with its characters, story premise and lavish design. One can question the poor comic dialogues in the inquiry that runs through the series and the back and forth suspense and action as the story progresses. One almost begins to wonder if this is a case of the creators settling into familiar territory and finding comfort rather than going all in to extract the full potential of the premise. The good thing though is that the narrative does not ever slip into a Islamophobic rhetoric and spares us the good over evil moral bashing.

Do watch Special Ops if you are a Neeraj Pandey fan. Do watch it if you are Kay Kay Menon fan. On one level, it does promise more than it delivers. But on another level, you sign out saying this was an honest true blue attempt at excelling in a genre that is yet to find its mark in Indian entertainment!