"Let's tell them that we aren't just the land of Mahatma Gandhi, we are also the nation of Subhash Chandra Bose," National Security Advisor (Neeraj Kabi) tells Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (Vikram Gokhale) in a wilful, frustrated tone.
After eight months of the Pathankot attack, which killed 7 Indian security personnel, the Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists infiltrated the Indian Army headquarters in Uri and killed 19 soldiers of the Indian Army, making it the deadliest attack on the Indian security forces in a decade - till then. This was September 18, 2016. The 2019 attack on the CRPF jawans in Pulwama was still a few years away.
Since the Partition in 1947, India has faced many terrorist attacks, retaliation of which would majorly be limited to political dialogues. But the assault on Indian soldiers on our own soil in Uri did the job of awakening the beast from its eternal slumber. It's payback time, and India's Special Forces (SF) will leave no stone unturned to execute the cleanest operation of crossing the Line Of Control (LoC) and killing over 38 terrorists, residing in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. All of this, without any casualties.
We all have read about the way Indian soldiers undertook the heroic 2016 Uri Surgical Strike. Most of us have seen the entire operation in Vicky Kaushal-starrer Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019). But how many of us know the back story? What led to the surgical strike?
How the Army and India's ruling party joined hands to execute the daredevil plan deftly and swiftly is what forms the crux of Sony Liv's new show, Avrodh: The Siege Within. The series turns these pages of history for us. Avrodh is based on the first chapter ('We Don't Really Know Fear') of the book India's Most Fearless 1, by Shiv Aroor and Rahul Singh, which lists first-hand accounts of military heroes who braved the most dangerous circumstances. The makers have, however, taken ample creative liberties.
From the uproar in the Valley after the killing of militant leader Burhan Wani to Jaish-e-Mohammed's training camps and their suicide bombers, Avrodh lists all the incidents that lead to the Uri Surgical Strike. In fact, we get to see the soldiers execute the strike in only the last two episodes. The first 7 episodes of this 9-episode series shows us how the whole operation was built and the planning that went in.
Amit Sadh is seen playing the role of Major Videep Singh, who has spent a decade of his 13 service years in Jammu and Kashmir and has been part of 20 successful anti-terror operations. He knows the topography of the region well, and thus is put in charge to chalk out the plan for the surgical strike and choose his men for the task ahead.
Amit beefed up for his role of Major Videep Singh. We see he has prepared well for his character. But that's where the problem lies: he tries a little too hard and it is starkly visible on the camera. Darshan Kumar as Major Gautam is promising. Neeraj Kabi, however, is the star of the show. He remains effortless and is the most watchable actor in the whole series.
Performances aren't the problem in Avrodh; its uneven narrative is. The segment introducing the character of journalist Namrata Joshi (Madhurima Tuli) is jarring. Media plays an important role in delicate circumstances like these, but the subject needed some more depth.
The truly daunting task for the Indian soldiers was the return from behind the enemy lines after the successful execution of the strike. They had to tread an uphill track with their backs facing fire from the Pakistani forces. In the book, the Major Mike Tango mentioned, "... the one thing bothering me was the de-induction - the return. That's where I knew I could lose guys." This part is also handled loosely in the series. Right after crossing LoC, Amit stands in front of the National Flag for a good minute. In real life, the soldiers were facing heavy barrage from our angry neighbour and trying to make it back safe.
Apart from these few glitches, Avrodh emerges as a well-rounded series. It delves deep into the functioning of terrorist groups like Jaish-e-Mohammed, Hizbul Mujahideen, how they employ terrorists and the backing they get from Pakistan Intelligence agency ISI. It also takes into account the international pressure from the US and United Nations that the ruling parties had to go through while delivering such fearless operations.
The guns and the glory, it's all there in Avrodh, and director Raj Acharya presents it as mere facts, without the series coming off as hyper-nationalistic.
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