MUKHBIR: THE STORY OF A SPY - V View Reviews #98

Mukhbir: The Story Of A Spy is adapted from Malay Krishna Dhar's novel Mission To Kashmir: An Intelligent Agent In Pakistan. As the name suggests the story revolves around an Indian secret agent in Pakistan with a special mission. It's a good tale of our unsung heroes. It is a fictionalized drama inspired by true events.

The plot is set in the 1960s after the Sino-Indian war. Pakistan was looking for the right opportunity to destabilize India. To evade any aggressive advances from Pakistan, India needed reliable intelligence. It is then the Intelligence Bureau team of India SKS Moorthy (Prakash Raj), Ram Kishore Negi( Adil Hussain) and Jay Deep Burman( Suneel Shanbag) recruit a boy Kamram Bakhsh( Zain Khan Durrani) as a spy and helps him enter Pakistan under a false identity of Harfan Bukhari. How he survives in a hostile environment and collects sensitive information is the plot. One needs to experience the feel by watching 8 episodes of 40 minutes each.

This series will remind the audience of Meghna Gulzar's Hindi movie Raazi. Though the core of the plot is the same, the presentation is handled altogether differently. Raazi had a political flavor but here the spy has devoted his life simply to the safety of the nation without being even known.  Spy is treated as a normal human being who makes mistakes..its realistic and not larger than life. The series focuses primarily on a mission than character development. The dialogues exchanged by the characters are relatable. The chasing sequence is sometimes so realistic that it misses the thrill. The cinematography is outstanding. It successfully manages to transport the audience to the desired era. The makeup and other details are also according to the 60s. The soundtrack blends with the theme. Music is sweet and soothing. The screenplay is good, the writing is effective. The acting team is also spectacular. Zain Khan Durrani as a spy was a perfect cast for this challenging role. He proved his worth with his sincere effort. This will be one of the noteworthy roles in his acting career. He was likable as a handsome, young, shrewd spy.  Prakash Raj as SKS Moorthy has molded into that character effortlessly. Adil Hussain as Ram Kishore Negi was good. But the man who stole the show was Harsh Chhaya as Major Agha Khan from ISI( Inter Service Intelligence). His body language, his looks, and his dialogue delivery were impressive. Atul Kumar was fantastic too as Brigadier Habibullah. Zoya Afroj shines and her chemistry with Zain Khan was endearing. Satyadeep Mishra, Barkha Bisht, Karan Oberoi, Bijou Thaangjam,  Dilip Shankar, Sushil Pandey, and Suneel Shanbag did justice to the characters they played.

Meticulous research, inspiring characters, impactful writing, and a realistic setting make it a decent watch with family. Few flaws can be ignored to enjoy this gripping espionage thriller. Directed by Shivam Nair and Jayprad Desai, Mukhbir: The story of a spy is streaming on Zee5.