A pulsating blow by blow narrative
“Let me not pray to the sheltered from dangers, but to be fearless in facing them. Let me not beg for the stifling of my pain, but for the heart to conquer it.” These words of Rabindranath Tagore were quoted by General Bipin Rawat (Now Chief of Defence Staff) in his foreword to the book India’s Most Fearless by Shiv Aroor and Rahul Singh is the basis for the web series Avrodh:The Siege Within, a SonyLiv original presented by Applause Entertainment and Irada Entertainment which is streaming now.
The story is not new and every Indian is aware of the Uri attack in 2016 which killed 17 soldiers followed by the operation of Special Forces that destroyed several terrorist launch pads and killing as many as 38 terrorists along LoC. In addition to the story known to all, the entire 9-episode series of Avrodh dwells on various elements involved in Uri attacks and portrays many intricacies that prompted the Government to initiate the retaliatory attack against terrorist camps.
After the attack on Uri, the cries for revenge from everywhere are very loud and clear. It’s up to the Indian Government to tread carefully in chalking out a foolproof plan to mitigate fears in the minds of people and reiterate our determination to fight against terrorism.
Along with keeping media at bay as there is a danger of information getting leaked due to some over-enthusiastic journalists, the identification of the appropriate Special Forces team to carry out the operation swiftly and smoothly is another bigger challenge faced by the strategists.
The team lead by Major Videep Singh played brilliantly by Amit Sadh is the D-day man with a capable team was successful in planning and executing the plan with clinical precision resulting in achieving the target without suffering casualties which is the most redeeming feature of this operation.
Anant Mahadevan as Satish Mahadevan, the Defence Secretary, and Neeraj Kabi as Shailesh Malviya, the National Security Advisor, and Vikram Gokhale as the Prime Minister has given out their best performances. Darshan Kumar as Major Gautam, Anil George as Abu Hafiz, and Madhurima Tuli as journalist Namrata Joshi are equally perfect in their roles.
The writers Harmanjeet Singha, Sudeep Nigam, Abhishek Chatterjee, and Aadhar Khurana have done a tremendous job by going into every minute detail about these attacks and dealt effectively with various elements involved in planning and execution of the operation including the precautions to be taken while attempting an operation of this magnitude.
The inside story behind the war room which may not be known or seen is presented authentically and director Raj Acharya need to be applauded for his spot-on presentation of various phases with great clarity without compromising on reality factor during the whole series.
The photography of Shanu Singh Rajput captures the locales of Kashmir and surrounding areas splendidly and music by Nirmal Pandya adds more pace to Avrodh taking it to the next level.
Need to add some more about Amit Sadh who is having back to back releases on various OTT platforms is impressive in a powerful Major character and the hard work put up by him is evident in every frame. His powerful performance in the character of Major Videep Singh will be remembered for a longer time than all his other performances.
A must watch for all those who want to know beyond Uri. The authentic portrayal of brainstorming battles that are fought behind closed doors of war room with some good action sequences make it thoroughly engaging. The honest portrayal of the sacrifices and courageous acts of our soldiers is another significant feature of Avrodh which make this series stand apart.
Rating:4/5
