Avrodh: The Siege Within

Avrodh: The Siege Within is an Indian Hindi-language military drama web-television series which premiered on SonyLIV on 31 July 2020.[1] The series, directed by Raj Acharya and produced by Applause Entertainment and Irada Entertainment, is a fictionalised retelling of the 2016 Uri attack and the following surgical strikes.[1][2] It is based on a chapter from the book India’s Most Fearless by Shiv Aroor and Rahul Singh.[2]

Avrodh: The Siege Within
Based on2016 Uri attack and Indian Line of Control strike
Written by
  • Harmanjeet Singha
  • Sudeep Nigam
  • Abhishek Chatterjee
  • Aadhar Khurana
Directed byRaj Acharya
Theme music composerNirmal Pandya
Country of originIndia
Original language(s)Hindi
Production
Production location(s)India
CinematographyShanu Singh Rajput
Running time23–25 minutes
Production company(s)Applause Entertainment, Irada Entertainment
Release
Original networkSonyLIV
Original release30 July 2020 (2020-07-30)

About

Avrodh is based on the chapter "We Don’t Really Know Fear" from Shiv Aroor and Rahul Singh's India's Most Fearless.[3] The first seven episodes of the nine part series delve into the planning of the strike, while the last two cover the strike itself.[4] Each episode has an effective runtime of 23-25 minutes.[5] While the planning continues at the highest levels of government in New Delhi, the mission is kept secret from even the senior most ministers.[5] The story covers the death of a militant leader, Bilawal Wani, and the aftermath,[6] the functioning of militant and terrorist groups in Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan's involvement in cross border attacks, international pressure, and even the domestic bureaucratic angle and how journalists fit into the picture.[4][5] The weaponry that was part of the cross border strikes is seen, including M4A1s, Galils and TAR-21s.[3] Note should be made, "Avrodh begins with a disclaimer that the story is fictionalised and creative liberties are taken."[7]

Promotion

Promotion of the web-series was done though a trailer showcasing battle scenes and important decisions being taken in the halls of power at Raisina Hill.[8] Extensive digital promotion took place, including a virtual press conference and social media promotion.[8] Along with promotion on The Kapil Sharma Show.[9][10]

Cast
  • Amit Sadh as Major Videep Singh[1]
  • Madhurima Tuli as Journalist Namrata Joshi[1]
  • Darshan Kumaar as Maj. Raunaq Gautam[11]
  • Ananth Narayan Mahadevan as Satish Mahadevan
  • Nikhil Sangha as Pankaj Kumar, Namrata's boss
  • Shehzad Sheikh as Sarthak Srivastav, Namrata's boyfriend
  • Anil George as Abu Hafeez, mastermind of the Uri attack
  • Umar Sharif as Wahab [1]
  • Pavail Gulati as Major Rishabh Sood [1]
  • Adarsh Balakrishna
  • Vikram Gokhale as Prime Minister[1]
  • Neeraj Kabi as NSA Shailesh Malviya[1]
  • Arif Zakaria as Ali Raza Khan [2]
  • Mir Sarwar as Journalist Fakhruddin
  • Meghana Kaushik as Niharika
  • Praveena Deshpande as Sunita Bharadwaj
  • Adil Pala as Adil (Terrorist 1)
  • Moin Imtiaz Ganai as Moin (Terrorist 2)
  • Sawar Raja as Sawar (Terrorist 3)

Reception

Critical reception

Deepa Alexander of The Hindu gave Avrodh a positive review, saying that there are ample reasons to watch the web-series.[3] Arushi Jain, writing for the Indian Express, described it as "a retelling, sans any jingoistic and provocative dialogues or scenes", of how the Uri attack was avenged, which makes it "an interesting watch" unspoiled by patriotic excesses.[12] India Today's review calls Avrodh "a well-rounded series", with both the "guns and the glory" as well as the "facts".[4] Without being "hyper-nationalistic", Avrodh manages to showcase the complexities that went into the planning of the strike, including how terrorist groups function, the backing from ISI, international pressure and a plethora of other aspects.[4] Sreeparna Sengupta wrote in her Times of India review that "the planning, execution and training for the mission are shown with meticulous detailing". Sengupta also wrote that the cast pulls of a strong performance and while the narrative is predictable, "there are enough twists and turns in Avrodh that make it a gripping watch".[13] Shreya Paul in the Firstpost wrote that Avrodh is a retelling of India's retaliation to the Uri attack, without "unnecessary excesses".[6] Nandini Ramnath wrote in Scroll.in that "the script is straight out of a government dossier".[2] AdGully wrote that Avrodh "is this story behind how India shrugged off its indecisiveness".[8] Film Companion wrote that life in Kashmir is depicted well, however the show "feels like propaganda", "confuses love for India with indifference for human life" and questions what the show would mean for Kashmiris without 4G internet.[14] Koimoi feels that more could have been done with Avrodh, and as far as it being propaganda or not, "decide for yourself".[7] Thandora Times says the series is a must watch,[15] whereas a Mashable review calls Avrodh a "piece of crap" and an "abysmally bad piece of propaganda".[16]

gollark: Just don't use it?
gollark: ... why is that *bad*?
gollark: And... why?
gollark: Please explain the video in a text format.
gollark: Are you *sure* that's not, I don't know, BSD?

References
  1. Jain, Arushi (2020-07-31). "Avrodh The Siege Within review: An interesting web series on 2016 surgical strike". The Indian Express. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
  2. Ramnath, Nandini (31 July 2020). "'Avrodh' review: Show about 2016 surgical strike goes beyond Line of Control in more ways than one". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
  3. Alexander, Deepa (2020-07-31). "'Avrodh' review: An ensemble cast takes on terrorism in this military drama on Uri". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  4. Maru, Vibha (31 July 2020). "Avrodh The Siege Within Review: Neeraj Kabi, Amit Sadh go back to Uri 2016 in new series". India Today. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  5. Vats, Rohit (31 July 2020). "Avrodh The Siege Within Review: Setting the Record Straight Across the LOC". News18. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  6. Paul, Shreya (2020-07-30). "Avrodh: The Siege Within review — SonyLIV series presents a riveting portrayal of 2016 Uri attack sans hyper-nationalism". Firstpost. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  7. Kulkarni, Shubham (2020-07-29). "Avrodh: The Siege Within Review: Amit Sadh-Darshan Kumaar Starrer Is A Half Baked Rehash Of Uri: The Surgical Strike". Koimoi. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  8. Shukla, Nehal. "Review – 'Avrodh: The Siege Within' narrates a captivating story". ADgully. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  9. "The Kapil Sharma Show: Avrodh cast to grace the stage". The Indian Express. 2020-08-09. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  10. न्यूज़, एबीपी (2020-08-08). "वेब सीरीज 'अवरोध' के लिए ऐसे की थी अमित साध ने तैयारी, कपिल के शो में दिए सीरीज से जुड़े सवालों के जवाब". www.abplive.com (in Hindi). Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  11. Jain, Arushi (2020-07-31). "Avrodh The Siege Within review: An interesting web series on 2016 surgical strike". The Indian Express. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
  12. Jain, Arushi (2020-07-31). "Avrodh The Siege Within review: An interesting web series on 2016 surgical strike". The Indian Express. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  13. Sengupta, Sreeparna (31 July 2020). "Avrodh The Siege Within Season 1 Review : This Series Makes For A Gripping Watch". The Times of India: Entertainment Times. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  14. Parasuraman, Prathyush (2020-07-31). "Avrodh The Siege Within On SonyLIV Review: Based On the Uri Surgical Strikes, This Feels Like Propaganda". Film Companion. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  15. "Avrodh The Siege Within Web Series Review Thandoratimes.com". Thandoratimes.com. 31 July 2020. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  16. Chatterjee, Pramit (2020-07-28). "'Avrodh: The Siege Within' Review - At Least 'Uri: The Surgical Strike' Was Well-Polished Propaganda". Mashable India. Retrieved 2020-08-07.

Further reading
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