P.O.W – Bandi Yuddh Ke: Why it scores over Homeland

‘P.O.W. - Bandi Yuddh Ke’ started with a high curiosity factor, being an adaptation of acclaimed Israeli series ‘Hatufim’. While many in India might not have seen ‘Hatufim’, its American adaptation, ‘Homeland’ has found many fans in India. 

What’s not to like about the series – a pair of Indian soldiers who were held in captivity in Pakistan for 17 years escape and return to their homeland. In these intervening 17 years, a lot has changed – people have moved on, adjusted to a new way of living. And suddenly, re-enter two people who were thought to be dead. 

While their families are happy to get back their lost sons and husbands, government officials want to know what transpired in the lives of the two soldiers in the 17 years of captivity. While in ‘Homeland’, the POW US Marine Nicholas Brody is shown to be turned by Al Qaeda while in captivity, have the two Indian soldiers also been turned to the other side while in captivity? The question is intriguing. 

The show’s director, Nikkhil Advani is no stranger to spy thrillers, having made ‘D-Day’, where RAW agents are shown carrying out an operation on Pakistani soil to clandestinely extradite a wanted don and terrorist (modelled on Dawood Ibrahim) to India. It’s another matter that the well-made film didn’t achieve much commercial success. 

Coming back to ‘P.O.W. - Bandi Yuddh Ke’, it’s not your average Hindi TV serial with gaudy sets, over-the-top storylines and ear-splitting music. The emotions, the sets, the acting are raw, real and the characters are people one could relate to. What leads to more empathy with the two soldiers is the current situation of strife between India and Pakistan, and the Indian soldiers giving up their lives in the service of the nation. The series seems more current, with the times. 

Advani brushes the series with a filmmaker’s finesse, so it never seems like we are watching a TV show. In reminds one of another fast-paced political thriller ‘24’, starring Anil Kapoor, and in a way the psychological thriller ‘Yudh’, which had starred Amitabh Bachchan. 

Giving strong support to Advani in his first television venture are accomplished actors like Purab Kohli, Sandhya Mridul, Amrita Puri, Satyadeep Misra and Manish Chaudhari. The female protagonists of ‘P.O.W.’ reflect the new brand thought of Star Plus, Nayi Soch. They break free of stereotypical female characterisation, question norms wherever required and face the situation with grit and make choices not because of their circumstances, but despite it. 

Cast:

Amrita Puri as Harleen Kaur

Sandhya Mridul as Nazneen Khan

Purab Kohli as Subedar Sartaaj Singh

Satyadeep Mishra as Squadron Leader Imaan Khan

Manish Chaudhary as Vikram Singh

Arun Bali as Harpal Singh

Suhas Ahuja as Salim Khan

Ghazal Thakur as Shaira Khan

Krish Pathak as Ayan Khan

Ravinder Bakshi as Satpal Singh

Production:

Emmay Entertainment

Producers: Monisha Advani, Madhu G Bhowani

Genre: Drama, Thriller

Channel:Star Plus