Special Ops 2 (Special Ops Season 2)
Introduction
The best way to sum up the much awaited second season of Special Ops is ‘the curse of the second half’. This is usually an unusual teem for a webshow that essentially doesn’t divide the drama like its cinematic counterpart. There isn’t a sequence used to elevate the halfway point of the drama, unlike Indian films that have specific interval blocks integrated in the narrative. And yet, I did get a similar kind of a feeling watching the show here – it remained supremely absorbing in the first half of the show, but inexplicably ran out of steam when the idea was to join the dots at the end. This is the reason why the show ends up being middling for me, also at times unfocused with what it is going for with multiple threads in play, a case point that wasn’t always true for its terrific predecessor. But that said, the show does have quite a few intriguing set-pieces to boast of, something that starts off from the wonderful cold open involving a scientist Dr Bhargava (Arif Zakaria) who is kidnapped by masked assailants, with a parallel plotpoint involving a Special Ops agent Shekhawat (Tota Roy Choudhury) being murdered. And this remains the central hook even as it is left upto Himmat Singh (a terrific Kay Kay Menon) and his team to essentially join the dots!
Story & Screenplay
One of the best facets of Special Ops historically and even now, remains the character of Himmat Singh. Over the course of the first season, and a breezy prequel (in the form of Special Ops 1.5), we have been a part of his journey that ranged from a fiery field agent to the master puppet of the organization. Here too when he is called upon to figure out the geo-political turnaround, it automatically creates an ambience of intrigue even as you witness a whiff of intensity arising from his walks of urgency, or managing three ‘flip’ cell-phones. It is quite evident that Himmat Singh remains the kingpin here, calling the shots and coordinating movements, that formulates some of the best moments of the drama. But this boon is also accompanied by a bane!
Since Himmat Singh is restricted to the four walls of his office, often interacting with only bureaucrats and ministers, you needed another field hero in the mix to carry forward the intensity. You also needed a power antagonist to pit that ‘hero’ against his vily ambitions. But neither of it is true from a characterization point of view. You are reintroduced to Farooq (Karan Tacker), an agent kidnapped but ultimately rescued from Nepal, Avinash (Muzammil Ibrahim), an agent tasked with the onfield tracking of the kidnapped scientist (in the first half of the show), and Juhi (Saiyami Kher) and Ruhani (Shikha Talsania; replacing Meher Vij from season 1) who are cogs at crucial points in the drama. But I couldn’t quite overlook the broad strokes that these characters are brushed with. It almost felt like I did not know any of these characters outside their fieldwork, and their sole duty remained to fulfill the calls of Himmat. What was their identity?
The same criticism holds for the antagonist of the show too. Sudhir (Tahir Raj Bhasin) is described to be this intimidating personality (which he is to begin with), who is also termed as ‘The Collector’ for going after and ‘collecting’ things (or people) who often catch his fancy. This is a good start but the writers do not necessarily build on this sentiment, only restricting him to a man of few words and meandering kills that do not quite hit the sweet spot, as far as characterization is concerned. This criticism also holds true for characters on the fringes – Virendra Bakshi (Dalip Tahil) as the bureaucrat, Chadha (Parmeet Sethi) and Banerjee (Kali Prasad Mukherjee) are mostly sidelined, and rarely have a flair of individuality in the mix. Hence, a late twist involving these characters doesn’t take you aback at all.
I liked how the writers focused on the geo-politics around the drama, a hot topic of discussion that isn’t always discussed on prime time news. You could see glimpses of real life incidents coated with a fictional paint and presented in the drama, that actually added a rich value and texture to the drama that is intercut with exhilarating action set-pieces, particularly in the first hour. The intensity is there even as Himmat Singh is shown to be multi-tasking – coordinating activities with the help of Sahil (Ashutosh Shukla), or also calmly managing his shifting situation at home with his wife Saroj (Gautami Kapoor) who holds onto a secret that is oblivious to her daughter (and if you have watched Special Ops 1.5 then you will know exactly what the secret is), or even indulge in a parallel extraction case involving his veteran teacher Subramaniam (Prakash Raj).
One of the issues that I had was with the unfocused track of Subramaniam. It draws a direct inspiration from Neeraj Pandey’s A Wednesday (2008), but hardly exudes of the same kind of tension. And one major reason for the same remains that it is unfocused, almost a plot-point from another discarded season. The tension that you feel in the main kidnapping track of Dr Bhargava, is just not there is the simplistic and straight forward track of Subramaniam. This track would still have worked had there been a plausible conclusion in the form of an expośe involving the political giants on the show. But it is tactfully curated and very safe, never really challenging the authorities to peep into their own flawed system. And that remains a part of the problem in the second half of the show.
The issue in the second half is also to do with connecting the dots, a feature that was so well done in the first season. The simplicity with which the agents zero in on the ultimate antagonist, felt abrupt and kind of baffling in many ways. It just felt a convenient way to go from Point A to Point B, particularly because the setup was intriguing and hinting towards a big event. Remember how there was a major event towards the second season of Asur, around which most of the drama did unfold. No such event is highlighted here, with a major distraction being the extraction of a businessman that itself felt so laughable rather than thrilling. And that marked a rather tepid end to a season that threatened to take-off only to nosedive at the backend of the drama. A missed opportunity, I must add!
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are crisp and definitely add to the urgency of the drama, a trait that makes the drama watchable for most parts of the runtime. The BGM although slightly generic does have a tendency of holding onto your attention, and maintaining a sense of grip on the narrative through the buildup of tension around the drama that is staged. There is an overt reliance on the cinematography to maintain a grip on the drama, be it the frames following the ‘walking’ characters in the hallways, or even wide-angle shots to allow the action choreography to be engaging! It isn’t always that the choreography itself is engaging, in fact it is sloppy. But the frames are used to hide this flaw in the narrative, through some ultra-crisp editing pattern that is designed to hold your attention. Directors Neeraj Pandey and Shivam Nair shine but only in parts. Both these directors are competent in their own rights, but it all boils down to the style of presentation, a trait that drastically divides the show into two parts. You can figure that Neeraj’s style is more pronounced (in the first 4 episodes) but Shivam’s style is understated (in the last 3 episodes). Hence, this creates a turmoil of sorts where the presentation evidently sticks out, thereby dividing the show into two unequal halves. And that remained the major flaw from the direction POV.
Performances
The performances are really good although not all characters have an arc to play with. Rama Krishna sets the ball rolling in that terrific cold open sequence, wherein he manages to impress despite a limited screentime. Arif Zakariya as Dr Bhargava has a certain sense of dignity with his act, and he maintains his poise really well through and through. Saiyami Kher as Juhi and Shikha Talsania as Ruhani have their moments to shine although their characters have a sweeping one-note trait to them. Karan Tacker as Farooq, Vikas Manaktala as Abhay and Muzammil Ibrahim as Avinash excel in combat sequences and they definitely leave a lasting impression. Tota Roy Choudhury as Shekhawat is such a terrific actor and he maintains the intensity of his character wonderfully well. Dalip Tahil as Virendra Bakshi, Parmeet Sethi as Chadha, Kali Prasad Mukherjee as Banerjee and Vinay Pathak as Aasif all have their moments to shine although I really felt that they could have been utilized a lot better in the narrative.
The one actor who distinctly stands out in the crowd is Kamakshi Bhat who is wonder as Dr Harminder. This is true because the written material of her character is slightly underpar, wherein she has to be rescued in the first half while being a chief coordinator in the second. But her immaculate screen presence drives this notion, wherein she rises above the written material and manages to supremely impress. Ashutosh Shukla as Sahil, Revathi Pillai and Gautami Kapoor as Saroj are competent and quite good to witness. Hitesh Dave as the businessman is quite over the top here, and that trait eases the tension around his character (and not in a good way). Harish Khatri as the defence minister and Behzaad Khan as Altaf lend able support, as do Darren Scott, Jasom Tham, Miklos Szentvary-Lukacs and Lili Sara Racs who impress in a couple of combat sequences.
Tahir Raj Bhasin as Sudhir (hardly an intimidating name) is good but the one-note of his character kills his characterization. It never really allows the actor be at his menacing best, although the effort is definitely there with respect to his body language and expressions. Prakash Raj plays an extension of himself on twitter (in a good way) as Subramaniam. I just wished that his track remained unfocused with a braver conclusion that would have elevated the impact of the show! But he still manages to do a solid job here despite his wobbly track.
But the star of the show is undoubtedly Kay Kay Menon who shines as Himmat Singh. There is a sense of ease in his minimalistic approach that stands out even in the most tense sequences. It is synonynous to the body language of our ‘Captain Cool’ MS Dhoni, who hardly expresses in an animated fashion while often finishing off in style. Kay Kay also commands your attention with his immaculate screen presence, almost holding the proceedings together and making a wobbly show seem watchable. This is a trait of a great actor who still remains underrated but continues to put his head down and give it his all. Kay Kay Menon is a beast, he is a legend! Period!
Conclusion
The second season of Special Ops aka Special Ops 2 is an absorbing spy thriller that inexplicably runs out of steam after the halfway mark, making it only a decent watch overall. I would have to term this as a missed opportunity, particularly with the way its premise was set up! Available on JioHotstar.