Perfect timing for a quarantine movie. You would end up researching along the facts and events shared. + Neeraj Panday skills.
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sachinsabhlok18 March 2020
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mkmcreative17 March 2020Always been a fan of Kay Kay Menon talent. His talent, his style, dialogue delivery and the right pauses make him one of my favourite.
Kudos to whole team for making this exceptional series. Guys watch it and rate it highly, after quite a time we have a Gem from a underrated actor. -
rohithrsharma-4119417 March 2020Loved every frame of the show. Thank you Neeraj Pandey and team for writing such an amazing script. Thanks to hotstar for picking such a great original script.
People this is a must watch. If you liked Jack Ryan, family guy. You'll love this. -
No doubt that there are very few series in India that are so tight and nail biting as this one. Kay Kay Menon is just superb. So are many other actors in this but not all. Farooq is unconvincing. Other people in the team are good but their role is not very defined. One could live with all this but can't digest some story flaws and sub plots that have been (conveniently?) ignored.
1. Sonya calls Amjad Farooq. How is this possible? 2. What happened to that half brain Salim guy who has come to do fake firing on Himmat Singh? He is also seen at the venue but is still inconsequential?? 3. How did Himmat guess that somebody from the security team is also among conspirators? He remembered Farah with the pak security head only after he has already killed him. 4. When akhlaq's security guy tracks taxi through the cctv camera, why couldn't he just see Farook in the first place rather than tracking taxi down and then calling?
Main concern is Farooq. He is unconvincing and ideally should have been played by the person playing Bala.
Though I would confess that despite all these loopholes, the series is utterly watchable and I I went through some of the reviews, I didn't see anyone pointing these very obvious loopholes. -
nagamanojds17 March 2020Atleast this series have an ending ..........................................:)
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punetha-5231817 March 2020Amazing and extremely engaging series.. Highly recommended for people who love Suspense Thrillers. Outstanding performances by the actors and breathtaking storyline and screenplay! I binge watched it :-)
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ashishshakya-3285617 March 2020As expected house full .... unresistable watch n watch nonstop .....Great work guys
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harmeet-mehta18 March 2020This is the best show to come out of Hotstar Specials and certainly the first original from the platform. The writing of the show is taut and would credit the writers for creating an immensely entertaining story from events in recent Indian political history. The acting, with the exception of Kay Kay, could have been a tad better but the overall treatment is brilliant. Show's creator Neeraj Pandey along with Shivam Nair and writer Deepak Kingrani give you one of the best shows from India.. A must watch !
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psdeep-1497117 March 2020Awesome series...One might not believe but I burnt the midnight oil to complete the series in one go....Kept me hooked all through...Never felt getting bored at any point of the series...The ending has been thrilling too...Hats off to Neeraj Pandey and his team who have created such a unique series. This team has shown that the makers have upped their ante in the espionage series genre. Finally, I can add that this series is far better than 'The Family Man' !! The series doesn't justify terror attacks just because someone became a victim in some riot.
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prakarsh-airan18 March 2020Solid action packed thriller series. Superb acting by all. KK Menon & Vinay Pathak once again prove why theater artists are above the commercial stars. Tough competition to series like Homeland, Jack Ryan etc. Hopefully they build this series further and more seasons are made.
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mailshashankchopra17 March 2020Such an awesome and Gripping show. Very well written and screenplay is amazing! Well done to the whole team and am gonna recommend it to others for a binge watch.
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pranshumba9 April 2020Special Ops, an espionage thriller TV Series (comprising 8 episodes) follows a relentless R&AW analyst Himmat Singh (played by Kay Kay Menon) in his mission to end the 19 year long manhunt of the terrorist mastermind, who he believes, is the 6th man behind the 2001 Parliament attack, 26/11 Mumbai attacks and another impending high-profile attack.
The unique narrative structure revolves around an internal audit enquiry in which Himmat Singh (Menon) is asked to explain how and why Rs.28 crores were spent as 'Miscellaneous' expenses by his Middle East desk in the last 11 years. The questions by the audit committee are answered through flashbacks, narrating the back-stories of his five agents deployed in five different middle east countries and all of them with one common mission: to find and kill the 6th invisible terrorist.
The show's central idea and the protagonist's (Menon's) motivations are heavily inspired from the acclaimed American spy thriller TV show: Tom Clancy's JACK RYAN (Season 1), where the titular CIA analyst finds his mission to stop an alleged terror attack on the U.S. soil by an unidentified terrorist mastermind called Suleiman. Besides, the work-life-balance aspect of the protagonist draws its roots from another superior Indian spy thriller THE FAMILY MAN (starring Manoj Bajpai).
Therefore, comparing Special Ops with both these shows is obligatory to review. And here I felt that the show's filmmaking aspects especially the (erratic) pacing, (hit-and-miss) writing, (bland) cinematography, (lackluster) editing and (the consequently compromised) entertainment quotient of Special Ops were relatively subpar. A notable exception was Kay Kay Menon's performance, which was almost at par with Manoj Bajpai's Srikanth Bajpai in 'The Family Man'' and certainly a few notches better than John Krasinski's Jack Ryan.
I also felt that the backstories of the five agents, except probably Farooq Ali's character (sincerely played by Karan Tacker), could have been more engaging. Despite getting enough screen time, their characters seemed half-baked, which adversely affected their performances. The hand-combat action scenes involving these agents, particularly an agent's wedding fight scene with the terrorist, were poorly choreographed and even inferior to Neeraj Pandey's own spy film BABY. Co-directed by Neeraj Pandey (A Wednesday, Special 26, Baby) and Shivam Nair (Baby's Spinoff 'Naam Shabana'), Special Ops fares somewhere between the cinematic elegance of BABY and the insipid mediocrity of NAAM SHABANA.
Moreover, considering the terrorist mastermind's identity being the show's basic premise and its intrinsic purpose, however, the final mystery revelation was a somewhat underwhelming experience for this reviewer. 'Jack Ryan' had similar premise where the antagonist's identity was very smartly revealed in the Pilot episode itself. In 'The Family Man', similar suspense unfolds in the 6th episode and the unexpected shock flabbergasted me. Despite being premature, both these plot twists had more impact than the climactic revelation of Special Ops.
Notwithstanding all these shortcomings, there are bona fide reasons to watch this show. First and foremost, it's the impressive act of Kay Kay Menon which alone makes Special Ops a watchable enterprise. He excels in practically every scene. His nuanced dialogue delivery in the superbly directed interrogation scene with Ajmal Kasab became my eventual favorite and shows why Kay Kay Menon is truly one of the most gifted actors in India.
Besides Kay Kay Menon, there were some strong supporting performances given by Vinay Pathak (as a Delhi Police Constable), Divya Dutta (as a suicide bomber), Sharad Kelkar (as Kay Kay Menon's senior), Parmeet Sethi & KP Mukherji (as R&AW audit committee members). Some of the most amusing lines of the show are shared between Kay Kay Menon and the two audit committee members. For instance, when KP Mukherji tells Parmeet Sethi "Mujhe aisa kyun lag raha hai ki yeh aadmi hum logon ko bahut torture karne waala hai" made me chuckle.
I was particularly impressed by Gautami Kapoor's (as Kay Kay Menon's wife) and Kay Kay Menon's onscreen chemistry as a regular middle-aged couple and their day-to-day camaraderie. They get some of the most endearing scenes together especially in the last episode where Kay Kay Menon thanks her for being the only one to have persistently trusted his gut feeling for 19 years.
Furthermore, the elaborate retelling and recreation of the 2001 Parliament Attack segment was masterfully executed. I also think naming each episode after a Hindi classic movie was innovative as the movie name gave us a clue about the plot of that episode.
Being a fan of both Kay Kay Menon & Neeraj Pandey and the genre, I really enjoyed binge watching Special Ops. The show is a royal treat for Kay Kay Menon fans but can't be appraised as Neeraj Pandey's best work. Even so, it will conveniently manage to keep you entertained and engaged all through. -
sheenathukral0720 November 2021A total waste of 8 hours.
I don't know on what basis Indian public has given this 8 stars. Season 1 could have been easily made into 3 episodes but for some reasons the story writers decided to drag a cliched and boring story to 8 episodes. Weak storyline, average actors ( except KK Menon & Vinay Pathak), unnecessarily lengthy, unimpressive dialogues, basically a typical bollywood masala to feed the equally deserving Indian public. It is surprising that the person who created the movie ' A Wednesday' could direct such shoddy series. Just to add up to excitement, suspense, thrill, there is unnecessary background music in almost every scene, creators have tried very hard to create hype /build up / thrill in the scenes which is too artificial and obvious after a point of time. Also, more than required people were cast in the series and many were not given any proper storyline.. such as Vinay Pathak, Meher vij. Even the character of KK Menon wasn't developed properly and was not that impressive. Actors such as sana khan,karan tacker (Farooq) were merely cast as eye Candies and did very average acting.
This series doesn't deserve more than 1 star and certainly doesn't deserve the time of Indian minds used to good storyline, character development, and with better standards. -
sgrsachitsngh17 March 2020As expected it is just piece of excellence in all aspects. Amazing acting by each and every character especially Kay Kay Menon sir. Just go watch
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tsgajb18 March 2020ONE OF THE BEST SERIES WATCHED SO FAR...... AMAZING CAST, SUPER THRILLER, GREAT ACTION AND A GREAT STORY LINE AND ABOVE ALL A VERY WELL DIRECTED PIECE OF ART.
BIG CONGRATULATIONS TO THE ENTIRE TEAM FOR DELIVERING A SUPER COMBO OF ENTERTAINMENT.
GOOD LUCK AND STAY BLESSED... -
nimishk-5724117 March 2020Interesting plot and always keep audiance at their toes with thrilling storytelling. Amazing acting by all. Good addition of Humor in small amount. Never let audiance feel bore or streched..
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bsp-8434818 March 2020Good direction. Story is a hero. Kay kay menon rocks.
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abhishar-8176218 March 2020K k menon is one of the best actors in the world.
He proved it.
Watch it and try to deny it. -
illumiinati20 March 2020Well written, directed and brilliantly performed web series.
The story follows a RAW analyst and his team of operatives tracking down the mastermind of some key terror attacks in India.While staying a step ahead of his nefarious plans and foiling them.
Thanks to brilliant writing, direction and sharp editing this show completely keeps you glued to the screen. Performances - it's such a joy to watch Kay Kay Menon on screen. What a performer. Carries the show on his able shoulders. Each line he says , even his pauses and silences speaks volumes. Undoubtedly one of his best performance. Vinay Pathak is brilliant. He's amazing in a brief role. He's so good, you miss him and just cherish his wonderful presence whenever he's on screen. Just superb!
All actors essaying the role of on field agents are fantastic.
Cons - Proceedings feel a bit rushed during the final 2 episodes. You can't ignore the fact that a brilliant actor like Divya Dutta is so under utilized. There are a few places, where you would feel the makers take a bit of creative liberty. But these are minor blemishes in otherwise a fantastic series.
Don't miss this well made thriller!! -
So It was suspensful, well-acted, briskly paced, and very sophisticated as far as real world events are concerned. The writers apparently scored a big stroyline, as they demonstrate the intelligence of a chronology of events. I mean everything is just so evenly poised and align with real world. Characters do things without any efforts to made it look so easy. Himmat's character just magically materializes whenever the plot needs it. the writers managed to turn Himmat into an charismatic Hero. I give it 10 stars because Storyline, Characters, Direction, Frames and locations.
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skale-5809617 March 2020Excellent story writing with perfect direction...neeraj pandey team rocks. good to see you sir after long time with great content.
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Hussain-AL-Naseer2 April 2020Special OPS created by Neeraj Pandey who has some reputation regarding espionage thrillers and over the time has created his own Niche and now has come with a web series with same genre. Let's start with what's "GOOD". The veteran cast, Kay Kay Menon as Himmat Singh leading a team at RAW has done a fabulous job as he always does with his intense and composed acting style. As Father, As Husband, As Leading Agent he has nailed all the aspects of his character and undoubtedly leading the series from the front. Vinay Pathak and Divya Dutta yet again are impressive with their brief and supporting roles showing their versatility, proving again that why they are acclaimed actors. Now the underwhelming aspects and gosh there are few, starting with visual experience, this web series is grand in scale showing multiple international locations possesses the cinematic experience rather the web-series experience which may be due to Pandey's inexperience with this particular medium.This inexperience may be the reason series looked stretchy which could've been concluded in 6 episodes. The thriller and espionage genre has changed over the times as Antagonist's are now one step ahead to their counterparts giving tough time and sometimes outclassing the Protagonist at many occasions but here sadly none of it happened rather it was monotonous and lousy acting by Sajjad Delafrooz playing the main Antagonist "Hafiz Ali". Sadly the field agents were also not so impressive especially Karan Tacker as Farooq Ali, who has to do all the heavy liftings, lacked the charm and charisma of a Field Agent and failed to impress in all the intense and thrilling scenes".
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Spy thrillers have clearly become escapist cinema in Bollywood. Not much is known about life of spies because that is how they are supposed to be - secret. So filmmakers make their own fanciful versions of spy stories. There are full-blown masala varieties like 'Tiger Zinda Hai' where the protagonist is an advanced version of James Bond and can do anything. Very few spy films have the sensitivity to explore the human and vulnerable side of a spy like Raazi (perhaps it is the only one). And then there is 'Special Ops' that tries to be somewhere in between trying to have a realistic and gritty approach yet making its spies larger-than-life heroes who can do anything. And this is where it falters because it falls in no man's land!
The story is of an Indian intelligence officer trying to search for an Islamic terrorist mastermind who, the show claims, was behind almost every terror strike in India from the - Parliament attack to 26/11. And of couse the R&W also has to uncover and stop the latest terrorist attack planned by the same guy in Delhi. A very standard trope for a spy thriller.
The storytelling is filled with plot-holes at every juncture and resorts to convenience. Creator Neeraj Pandey has been credited with the overrated spy-thriller 'Baby' and terribly boring spy films 'Naam Shabana' and 'Aiyaary'. His earlier films 'A Wednesday' and 'Special Chabbis' were much more interesting and entertaining. But he choses to continue his spy legacy and this time in a web-series format. And even if you were to suspend your disbelief and watch it as a pure thriller, 'Special Ops' isn't gratifying. There was immense potential to make it a taut thriller but this one is lax in storytelling, suspense buildup, editing and other essentials of the genre.
One major irritating factor of the show is the prolonged shots of characters walking in corridors, climbing up stairs, cars speeding on highways, et al with these shots adding no value to the storytelling or depth to the characters. Just because you have got to explore it in web-series format doesn't mean you will keep extending shots for no rhyme or rhythm. More so with the forward button readily available on OTT, this gimmick makes absolutely no sense. The pace not only falls because of this but the energy of the thriller also falls flat every now and then.
The Special Ops team has some 5 spies on mission in different countries. But other than Karan Tacker's character, none of the others have any backstory for us to root for them and they hardly get scope other than in the climax. There is no emotional connect with these characters and you don't care for them much.
Comparisons are inevitable with 'The Family Man' which was a series in similar genre. While TFM had its own set of loopholes and conveniences, it still was more riveting as a thriller with twists and turns at every juncture and had much more layers to its storytelling. Over here the story is one-dimensional with not many subplots or side tracks to explore.
Unlike most other web-series, this one, more or less, has a conclusive end but the climax never reaches the crescendo that the genre demands and the finale is plain average.
With all its inconsistencies, it is left up to Kay Kay Menon to save the ship. He does a good job though not something that we haven't seen him do before. Despite not being part of most of the ground activities of a spy, he still grabs your attention with his solid screen presence. Others are purely functional. -
vrashikul23 March 2020Must Watch Thriller !! Kay kay Menon Again Performed Spectacular.. a gem to watch. Thank you neeraj Pandey and team for this Show
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raghvendrasharma-9509817 March 2020After huge success of special 26 neeraj pandey came up with another thriller excitement I.e. special ops. K.k. menon you are mind blowing.