The Patriotism Pipeline

Then Bollywood. Now OTT. Love affair of movies and TV shows with I/R day influenced deshbhakti is a trend hard to miss. 

What helps the cause is India inheriting 200+ years of colonial history, duly succeeded by two hostile neighbors on either sides of the border.   

A Tribute of Misses

I guess the creator behind Salakaar might have started out putting together a living tribute to Ajit Doval, the current NSA and one of the finest spymasters to exist in post-1947 India, alongside RN Kao. 

But the end product is a telltale affair of poor storytelling, frivolous acting and lastly, a not so convincing attempt at monetising 'patriotism' or 'nationalism' - whatever your preferred lens is. 

Why You Might Still Watch It

Salakaar has been panned left, right and center by critics who review for a living day-in-day-out, so I will try making a case for why you may watch this show. 

Firstly, it's a 5 episode series with a run time of 30-35 mins per episode. Secondly, Naveen Kasturia, if you look beyond his typecasting as a Govt. official post his success with Aspirants. Finally, if you have a new found interest in knowing about Pakistan and its troubled history post Op Sindoor.  

Plot: Espionage Across Eras

The plot is a near juxtaposition of two eras in Indo-Pak espionage - one back in 1978 where Adhir Dayal (Naveen Kasturia) is sent on a covert operation behind enemy lines to gather intelligence and sabotage a clandestine pet project of a friendly neighbourhood dictator. 

The other subplot runs in 2025 with Srishti Chaturvedi codenamed Mariam (Mouni Roy, rare appearance outside IG) as an undercover spy side-chicking for a married Col. Ashfaqullah (Surya Sharma) of the enemy army - both share a common history with Adhir (there's the masala you needed eh!).   

As Adhir gradually settles into his new life of a 'bureaucrat' planted in the Indian embassy, we see him juggling disguises to maneuver his way around Pakistan and get on with his job at hand - back in those days nations relied heavily on HUMINT, a fact that would have likely costed a lot of agents their lives. 

The script also introduces in the angle of interpersonal relationships - aren't spies humans after all like you and me? 

HUMINT, Power, and Identity

Pak army's abuse of power and undue influence on Pakistan's society is one of the world's worst kept secrets. 

If you could move past that, some needless melodrama and the painfully slow action sequences, some key highlights of the story would be the complex decision-making process of bureaucrat led Indian intelligence, inherent lovelessness of an arranged marriage in 'high societies' across borders, impact of a morally corrupt upbringing on the mental makeup of a child, and finally the stigma of homosexuality that continues even to this day and the vulnerability that comes along with it.  

Cameos and Final Thoughts

Salakaar does try to bring in several historic characters from both India and Pakistan, namely a rather tall Gen. Zia-ul-Haq (Mukesh Rishi), Morarji Desai (Shapoor Irani), AQ Khan (Homiyar Sachinwala) and APJ Abdul Kalam (Salim Husen Mulla). 

Barring the rather obvious character names, each of them have tried enacting their roles watered down by weak dialogues and some not so great camerawork. 

Zia is shown to be especially reactionary, dramatic and mercurial, which appears comical at times, but from whatever little I've read of him, he was cold, calculated and vicious in real life.  

I won't get into the inconsistencies - there's far too many of them to make this read like just another review. 

However, this show is not well made enough for you to go back to the history books. Although the ending points towards the possibility of a sequel, I won't be holding my breath for it.