Spycraft & Shades of Grey

Is spycraft a dark art? Ends justify the means, lines blur between right and wrong, and there is nothing else but endless purpose and urgency. All in the name of a 'greater' cause. 

For most of us, Saare Jahan Se Accha might be just another spy thriller that you either watch or bypass, but there are some subtle messages hidden for you to find if you manage to peel off its nationalistic undertone.

A Premise We Know

Let's start with the premise - the act of India doing all what it takes to deter Pakistan from endangering its territorial integrity and security. Countless movies and TV shows have been made on this topic - geopolitics makes it marketable. 

But where SJSA differs is in its portrayal of the protagonist, Vishnu Shankar (Pratik Gandhi) - a RAW operative whose hands are full with ample self-conviction as well as a relentless internal conflict in pitting objectivity against morality.

Vishnu's Covert Battle  

Similar to its contemporary Salakaar, SJAS is set in early 70s with Vishnu sent to Pakistan on a covert mission to challenge and stop its PM Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's (Hemant Kher) nefarious designs on India. 

Standing in his way is his primary adversary Murtaza Malik (Sunny Hinduja), the unforgiving and ruthless ISI chief, although their faceoffs are more cat-and-mouse than you would imagine. 

Call it RAW's competence or a stroke of good luck - Vishnu is helped on his mission by a couple of moles well entrenched within both the Pakistani deep state and its civil society. 

Friends, Foes & Double Lives

Moving on to a few secondary characters, there's RN Kao (Rajat Kapoor) - the RAW chief and India's most prominent spymaster; you perhaps haven't heard of him yet because he chose to keep it that way. 

Withdrawn from public life and a close confidant of the then PM Indira Gandhi, Kao is direct and blunt in his approach of handling agents. He appears disconnected (maybe by choice) from the 'normie' life; for him marriage is a simple act of convenience meant to be used as a credible cover by a spy when in a hostile environment.

Sukhbir alias Rafiq (Suhail Nayyar) plays a disgruntled Indian spy who has his own cross to bear from his checkered past. Recruited by Vishnu and embedded as a corrupt businessman hobnobbing with Pak army officers for intel, he gets caught in a mire navigating long detachment from his family, accommodating real romance in a fake life, and the near constant orders and nudges from his bosses.

Mohini: The Forgotten Voice

Finally there's Mohini (Tillotama Shome) - Vishnu's not so subservient wife who ends up being taken for granted by him all along the way and pays the price for a husband she chose but a marital life she perhaps didn't. Stuck in Pakistan with a non-existent social circle and barely little else to do, she never gets the time or attention of Vishnu.

Interestingly (and perhaps a little stereotypically), she is shown to be a Bengali woman with cultural capital who's well read, doesn't shy away from voicing her opinion on matters, and is not afraid to don a saree with sindoor and roam around in public in Pakistan. 

She poses difficult questions to Vishnu that she doesn't get answers to, but chooses to stay patient and loyal nevertheless (was there an alternate option for women in that era?). 

Verdict & What Lies Ahead

There's not much to either complain or talk about the supporting cast of Anup Soni, Kritika Kamra and Ninad Kamat. Camerawork is decent, dialogues are not cringe. 

There is very little music though, except for the title track that curiously sounds like GoT.

Recommended as a one-time watch, the climax does signal a sequel in works in future. Hoping Pratik Gandhi turns it up  a notch whenever that comes out.