The Freelancer

The show starts at the same pace like most Indian defence/ intelligence shows..but what you notice soon is unlike most Indian shows this one definitely has someone looking and validating the details.

From using foreign languages in dialogues, accurate uniforms of countries, real weapons(well mostly) and also creating a decent overall flow is pretty good. Also the story is fairly grounded,the general dialogue delivery is fairly crisp..none of the usual Bollywood drama.

Definitely a good watch and a pleasant change from the usual commercial shows being staged these days in the name of national pride.

The Freelancer/ ex Cop Avinash Kamath (Mohit Raina) is a mercenary who specialises in covert operations. He is bound by a promise made to his colleague and dear friend Inayat Khan (Sushant Singh) to watch out for his wife and daughter in case he dies in the call of duty.

Years later controversial suicide of Inayat Khan brings Avinash back home only to find that Inayat's suicide was a call for help to rescue his daughter Alia who's been forcefully taken to Syria by her husband and in-laws to join the ISIS.

It is now Avinash's mission to bring Alia home safely.

What I loved:

The Freelancer is gripping and you just cannot stop watching episode after episode. It keeps you on the edge. It's extremely well researched and the minutest details are paid attention to.

It's beautifully shot. There's a scene where Avinash is aboard a helicopter for a mission in Afghanistan, you can see Avinash and his team in the helicopter and also the shadow of the helicopter, falling on the ground, moving along with them; just signifies that these men also live in the shadows.

Superlative performance by Mohit Raina, he exudes the softness of a doting uncle and the brutal force of a rough tough cop so effortlessly. He balances indifference and concern in his performance so brilliantly.

Kashmira Pardesi as Alia portrays vulnerability beautifully and immediately makes you feel protective about her. Your heart breaks looking at her innocence. The scene I loved the most is when she's crying after being raped by her husband and as she wipes her tears away and you see determination and grit in those dove like eyes albeit fleetingly. She's sinf-e-aahan, woman of steel.

Balaji Gauri as Farhat Khala is absolutely brilliant. She totally creeps you out and makes you feel absolutely uncomfortable. Her eyes are so powerful you actually feel she can see through your mind.

Anupam Kher as Dr Khan, Freelancers handler is the calm that controls the storm.

Ayesha Raza and Manjiri Phadnis are endearing, especially as mothers. A few scenes are difficult to watch as a parent. They leave you numb.

What I absolutely hated was that after building the momentum and almost reaching the crescendo Disney Hotstar keeps you hanging for a season 2. A series like this deserves a season in its entirety as the time interval for the next season dilutes the impact. When the audience invest so much in a series, they deserve a closure too. It's unfair to both the audience and the makers.

The series boasts of an impressive cast featuring Mohit Raina, Kashmira Pardeshi, Sushant Singh, John Kokken, Navneet Malik, Gauri Balaji and Anupam Kher. The series has been adapted from the book A TICKET TO SYRIA. The titular protagonist is Avinash Kamath played by Mohit Raina who is seen as a former police officer who now works as a mercenary. He sets out on a mission to save a young bride called Aliya who gets embroiled in Syria where ISIS terrorism is on the rise.

As per the trends go, the series catches the essence of patriotism and suspense. As someone who has read the book, I am not disappointed with the series.

What a series it was- I did not get a single moment to miss any shots. What I am very happy is to see that now, we have made some series that actually looks world class. We now outside the usual India-Pak espionage type story. Its a must watch- different level of stroy, great screen play and scenes. Overall it felt like watching hollywood series. Eagerly waiting for next 3 episodes... Characters looked so world class and not usual bollywood type. Good to see collaboration with premium world Intelligence agenines Mossad, CIA, RAW, IB, ISI etc, I mean in story. Its a must watch, looking for similar more movies, series to come.

On par with special ops ... great story, cinematography, locations , no nonsense and way better than main stream Bollywood directors... Neeraj Pandy never disappoints...eagerly waiting for remaining episodes.

Great casting with no nonsense over acting and anupam kher is cherry on top Sound track could have been more aggressive but not bad at all.

Some situations are over dramatized compared to reality.. the story so far is well built keeping the audience well engaged and on the edge Would have been great if Neeraj pandey can create his character universe and utilize them like marvel Would be great to bring himmat singh :):)