Web-Series Review: Special Ops 1.5: Quite Bollywood-ish! ***½

1975th BLOG POST 

Special Ops 1.0 and The Family Man are the two series which are my most favourite and every time I watch anything, I can’t stop myself from comparing it with both these series. I remember watching Special Ops 1.0 and totally falling in love with its content and execution. I have been waiting for its Part 2 since then. I got little disappointed when I saw the trailer of Special Ops 1.5 as it wasn’t speaking about what happens after catching the terrorist they wanted to but speaks about Himmat Singh’s past. I was still expecting a complete full-on series where I got upset again when I realized it has only 4 episodes – one of them being as short as 30 minutes only.

 

Now that I have completed streaming it on Hotstar, I can say that it is not as good as 1.0 but it’s still a fine watch. I felt this one little more Bollywood-ish in its attempt and less dark unlike other OTT contents hence felt little underwhelmed. The first two episodes are interesting as you get to learn a lot about how Himmat Singh started his tenure and the kind of decisions he made. His younger version is very audacious and does most of the tough and difficult things himself rather than assigning it to another agents. Hence, this becomes exciting to watch as to how he will fight against the person who was once his colleague but now a villain who’s working against the country.

 

The dialogues are nicely written and keeps you engaged. The funny and witty lines do the magic of making you smile as and when the makers wanted. The serious ones are also enough to make you understand the intensity of the situation. The background music goes well with the whole drama happening on the screen. The only shortcoming here is that this looks more like a TV serial in terms of cinematography. The screen is too bright and doesn’t allow you to get into the world of Himmat Singh. There’s always a gap maintained between his world and us – as an audience.

 

Acting-wise, KK Menon keeps the momentum going through his body language and poker face. The makeup of his younger look doesn’t go well but still he manages to keep us entertained. The script fails him at times – such as in the events where such trained people are firing bullets but are unable to connect with the target. All these look and sound so filmy that you are unable to accept most segments of the show. KK Menon, in the last episode, where he performs an emotional scene tells you why he is seen and respected as one of the geniuses in Bollywood. Vinay Pathak does great this time as he is an important character in this season. I am loving how he is trying to carve new opportunities at this stage of his career.

 

Aftab Shivdasani is okay. It is good to see him after such a long gap but he couldn’t do much in his role as script doesn’t allow him. Aishwarya Sushmita keeps you engaged with her dangerous looks and expressions – saying this in a good way. Haha! Shiv Jyoti, who plays Himmat Singh’s love interest looks so adorable and beautiful that you will not be able to stop yourself from crushing over her. Aadil Khan, as Maninder Singh, does a fine job but not a memorable one. Gautami Kapoor enlightens the screen whenever she is involved in the storyline.

 

Overall, I am glad that the makers didn’t stretch this further and completed this within 4 episodes itself but the climax has really made me excited about the next season – as it brings our favourite character back. I am looking forward to it desperately. I give this one 3.5 stars out of 5. I wish I could have given it more, but I am sure Neeraj Pandey will not give us chance to complain in the next instalment.

 

Thanks.

 

WRITING BUDDHA