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Review: 'Bard of Blood' (Spoiler-Free)

The Gauri Khan produced espionage thriller will be available on Netflix.

From the constantly stereotyped serial kisser to an undercover Indian spy, Emraan Hashmi has certainly come a long way. Netflix’s latest Indian original, Bard of Blood (adapted by the novel of the same name by Bilal Siddiqi) will be available for streaming on the platform on 27th September 2019. Having had the opportunity to watch all the episodes before-hand, here is what I think about the same.

The Plot

An ex-RAW agent Kabir Anand (Emraan Hashmi) code name: Adnois has hung up his boots owing to a personal tragedy that continues to haunt him. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, the man is forced to go undercover yet again with two allies in an attempt to rescue three Indian spies that are held hostage in Balochistan. The two spies include Isha (Sobhita Dhulipala) and Veer (Viineet Kumar), where the former is an off-field senior analyst at the ISA and craves to be on-field but isn’t allowed to until now; and the latter is an Indian undercover agent who has spent the last seven years in Afghanistan. What awaits is a chase that involves unprecedented surprises and some real jaw-dropping shockers.

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The Writing

The writing by Mayank Tewari (largely) and Bilal Siddiqi is so succinct that while their screenplay is meant to create a constant urgency, they do not miss out on the key moments that may be small but impactful.

The Photography

Director of Photography, Chirantan Das makes sure that not for once, do you end up feeling that the series is actually shot in India even though set in Balochistan and Afghanistan. The wide-angle shots of deserted fields to the cluttered narrow lanes, everything is captured in a way that you will end up having a sense of claustrophobia and home-sickness, which works wonders for the show.

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The Music Department

The music department hasn’t quite had to do too much in terms of giving original score given the nature of the series but the background score and sound designing by Gilas Benamram and Pritam Das respectively keeps you hooked on with their tunes, especially when there is a cliffhanger.

The Action Choreography

What makes an action thriller show authentic? The action sequences, of course. There is an action-packed sequence in pretty much every 5 to 10 minutes but somehow, Ryan Struz, Mr. Kecha Khamphakdee, Riyaz Nasir Shaikh and Habib Haji Sayed manage to not get you fatigued by the same. The scenes are fantastically choreographed and the actors perform them even better.

3

The Shakespearean Touch & Other Topics

The show manages to deal with several issues in the world it has created. Apart from the obvious practice of terrorism, it talks about how young boys are subjected to sex-slavery orchestrated by the older Muslim men in terrorist organizations. Subtle hints of feminism related to the characters of Isha and Jannat (Kirti Kulhari), the sheer brilliance of hidden Shakespearean references and of course, nationalism – even though the show is dealing with too much, it seems appropriately justified.

The Acting

And now coming to the acting performances. Every actor present – be it in the shortest appearance of a few seconds or the leading trio has done a phenomenal job in their own special way. When it comes to the leading faces, Viineet Kumar’s acting prowess is no secret but he proves yet again that he deserves to be in the forefront of any possible proceeding. Be it the vulnerability or the strength and power of his character, he portrays it with ease. I wonder if there is any actor out there, who can manage to get as fluent in the language of Pashto as he was. The way he switched from speaking fluent Pashto to Punjabi-flavored Hindi was fantastic.

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In the rest of the cast, Jaideep Ahlawat as Tanvir Shehzad is pretty much the main antagonist and once again, his prowess is second to none. Kirti Kulhari as Jannat Marri has a short but extremely impactful appearance and she makes sure that you remember Jannat all the way. Other notable stints that deserve special mention are Sohum Shah as Vikramjeet, Rajit Kapur as Sadiq Sheikh and the actress, Abida (Sahiba Bali).

5

Leading man Emraan Hashmi shines as Kabir Anand in every scene from the beginning to end. The actor effortlessly embodies himself into the character where he is required to showcase his emotional side dealing with a personal tragedy and still exhibit his intelligence and strength as he is on a mission. I have said it several times before, Hashmi is one of the most underrated actors in the Indian entertainment industry and if you give him good material to work with, you will see his true talent. This is another example of just that.

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And ultimately, the direction by Ribhu Dasgupta is what stands out in its entirety. From the sheer authenticity of the characters to the setting for the actors to perform, Dasgupta makes sure you’re invested in the series throughout its runtime.

The One-Layered Character of Isha

Make no mistake. Sobhita Dhulipala’s acting chops were at full display when she starred in Made In Heaven a few months ago and even here, when it comes to her performance, she doesn’t disappoint. Whatever source material she is provided with, Dhulipala does a commendable job. The main issue, however, lies with the character. It is one-layered throughout the whole series and doesn’t have any arc to be invested in. Even though, we see a couple of scenes of Isha with her mother, she never gets to exhibit anything else apart from being a part of the ‘team.’ In stark contrast, even though Kulhari’s character of Jannat Marri has less than half the screentime that Isha has, the former creates a massive impact because of the several layers she is provided with. While Dhulipala does her job well, the character of Isha is a disappointment.

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The Verdict

The real test of a series that consists of several episodes is making the viewers come back if they are willing to stop after watching a particular episode and probably binge-watch the entire thing in one go. I assure you, if you buy into this world in the first episode and the brilliant cliffhanger it provides, you will not be wanting to quit watching Bard of Blood. The series is yet another benchmark for Indian shows on streaming platforms to look forward to.

Rating - **** (4/5)

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Shah Rukh Khan Thumbnail

Shah Rukh Khan

Emraan Hashmi Thumbnail

Emraan Hashmi

Gauri Khan Thumbnail

Gauri Khan

Kirti Kulhari Thumbnail

Kirti Kulhari

Jaideep Ahlawat Thumbnail

Jaideep Ahlawat

Rajit Kapoor Thumbnail

Rajit Kapoor

Sohum Shah Thumbnail

Sohum Shah

Vineet Kumar Singh Thumbnail

Vineet Kumar Singh

Sobhita Dhulipala Thumbnail

Sobhita Dhulipala

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Netflix

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