Special OPS

Special Ops (stylized as SPECIAL OPS)[2] is an Indian espionage thriller series created by Neeraj Pandey for Disney+ Hotstar's label Hotstar Specials with Kay Kay Menon leading the cast. Neeraj Pandey along with Shivam Nair directed the series along with Pandey's Friday Storytellers attached as a production house.[3] The series premiered on 17 March 2020.[4]

Special Ops
Promotional poster
GenreAction
Espionage
Thriller
Created by
Written by
  • Neeraj Pandey
  • Deepak Kingrani
  • Benazir Ali Fida[1]
Directed by
Starring
Composer(s)Advait Nemlekar
Country of originIndia
Original language(s)Hindi
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes8 (list of episodes)
Production
Producer(s)Shital Bhatia
Production location(s)
Cinematography
  • Sudheer Palsane
  • Kavita Sachdeva Wani
Editor(s)Praveen Kathikuloth
Running time44-55 min
Production company(s)Friday Storytellers
DistributorStar India
Release
Original networkDisney+Hotstar
Picture formatHDTV 1080i
Original releaseMarch 17, 2020 (2020-03-17)

Premise

The series follows Himmat Singh (Menon) of Research and Analysis Wing who draws similar patterns in terrorist attacks and is convinced a single person is behind all the attacks. His task force team of five agents living in various parts of the world aim to catch the mastermind.[5] Overall the story is based on the inspiration taken from Nineteen Years of nationally significant events. The story is inspired by several espionage missions undertaken by India in the last two decades.[6]

Cast

Episodes
No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
1"Kaagaz Ke Phool"Shivam NairNeeraj Pandey, Deepak Kingrani & Benazir Ali FidaMarch 17, 2020 (2020-03-17)
In 2001, five terrorists in a house were getting things ready to attack the parliament and all of them die in the process of the attack. In the present day, Himmat Singh (Menon) is attending the R&AW audit meeting, to explain where did he spend 28 crores in the last 11 years on Middle East desk, which are all mentioned to be miscellaneous? He explains that he had planted agents in five countries and those funds were utilized for their needs but he refuses to reveal their identities. Later his superiors ask him about his theory on 2001 Parliament attack in which he was a part of the investigations. Himmat finds the shop name in the dry fruits packets the terrorists were carrying and asks Abbas (Vinay Pathak) to investigate, from which he finds out that the sixth guy who bought the dry fruits was living near a mosque. Himmat and Abbas reach to the place and start searching, they notice smoke coming out of the window as the sixth guy burns all his things and escapes. As they reach the house Himmat finds his Pakistani passport which was half burnt with no details. Farooq (Karan) calls Himmat and informs that he found Ikhlaq Khan in UAE.
2"Guide"Neeraj PandeyNeeraj Pandey, Deepak Kingrani & Benazir Ali FidaMarch 17, 2020 (2020-03-17)
3"Mughal-E-Azam"Shivam NairNeeraj Pandey, Deepak Kingrani & Benazir Ali FidaMarch 17, 2020 (2020-03-17)
4"Hum Kisi Se Kam Nahi"Neeraj PandeyNeeraj Pandey, Deepak Kingrani & Benazir Ali FidaMarch 17, 2020 (2020-03-17)
5"Chaudvin Ka Chand"Shivam NairNeeraj Pandey, Deepak Kingrani & Benazir Ali FidaMarch 17, 2020 (2020-03-17)
6"Qurbani"Neeraj PandeyNeeraj Pandey, Deepak Kingrani & Benazir Ali FidaMarch 17, 2020 (2020-03-17)
7"Shatranj Ke Khiladi"Shivam NairNeeraj Pandey, Deepak Kingrani & Benazir Ali FidaMarch 17, 2020 (2020-03-17)
8"Sholay"Neeraj PandeyNeeraj Pandey, Deepak Kingrani & Benazir Ali FidaMarch 17, 2020 (2020-03-17)

Production

Development

Hotstar in January 2019 announced its aspirations to enter into original content produced exclusively for the service. STAR India, the parent company of Hotstar tapped many Indian filmmakers including Neeraj Pandey[11] for creating these shows called Hotstar Specials.[12] Pandey had started a new division Friday Storytellers as a digital arm of his production company through which he had produced the series.[13] The series is developed as an eight-hour story which is inspired by nineteen years worth events of national significance by Pandey along with Deepak Kingrani and Benazir Ali Fida.

Casting

The casting on the project started with Kay Kay Menon.[14] In August 2019. By mid-August, they finished casting the major roles with prominent actors such as Kali Prasad Mukherjee, and Pawan Chopra.[15]

Filming

The principal photography started in August 2019.[16] Shivam Nair attached to direct the portions of the show taking place in India[17] and Pandey directing the rest. The show has recreated Parliament of India for filming 2001 Indian Parliament attack portions which were dealt for the first time in film history.[18] Apart from India the show is filmed in Turkey, Jordan and Azerbaijan.[19]

Release

The series was premiered on Hotstar on March 17, 2020 in seven Indian languages.[20]

Promotion

A promotional video featuring between the scenes footage of filming was released on 23 February 2020.[7] The teaser poster was released on 25 February 2020.[21] The trailer was dropped on the same day at a press conference held, which was attended by cast and crew.[22]

Critical Reception

Indian Express called the show "Impressive performances and a compelling tale"[23] and "An intriguing manhunt"[24], while also putting out a word to the public that "Special Ops Deserves a watch"[25], while NDTV called the show "A sprawling espionage actioner"[26] and “A burning espionage thriller..”[27]

The Network18 based Indian general news and opinion website, Quint relays it out to the public that Special Ops has “Enough drama to keep us hooked!”[28]

An independent digital news website, scroll.in calls the show a "Crafty performance that balances mischief with method"[29]

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gollark: I dislike cloud, which is why I run everything on a highly dubious-quality 11-year-old HP tower.
gollark: If the idea is to use IPNS in place of DNS, people will not enjoy typing in random hex strings in place of bees.com or something.
gollark: IPFS. APPARENTLY it can replace DNS.

References
  1. "Hotstar Specials and Neeraj Pandey come together for 'Special Ops'". The Hans India.
  2. "Neeraj Pandey to Helm Spy Thriller Web Series 'Special Ops'". www.news18.com.
  3. "Karan Tacker to make a comeback with Neeraj Pandey's web series Special Ops". India Today.
  4. "Special Ops trailer: The Hotstar original promises thrills galore". The Indian Express. 25 February 2020.
  5. "'Special Ops' trailer: Kay Kay Menon plays a RAW agent on the trail of a terrorist mastermind". Scroll.in.
  6. Pandey, Nikhil. "NEERAJ PANDEY TO MAKE HOTSTAR SHOW?". Republic World.
  7. VIP, Hotstar [@HotstarVIP] (22 February 2020). "Action. Thrill. Neeraj Pandey. Here's the first look of Hotstar Specials presents #SpecialOps. Trailer launches on 25th February. Stay Tuned! @FFW_Official @neerajpofficial @kaykaymenon02 @karantacker @kokodiaries @SaiyamiKher @pathakvinay @divyadutta25pic.twitter.com/oejUTrgwZU" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. "Hotstar VIP on Instagram: "Action. Thrill. Neeraj Pandey. Here's the first look of Hotstar Specials presents #SpecialOps. Trailer launches on 25th February. Stay…"". Instagram.
  9. "Trailer Touchdown: A raw, action-packed look is what Hotstar's Special Ops is all about". Lets OTT. 25 February 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  10. "Watch the First Trailer for Neeraj Pandey's Special Ops, Coming to Hotstar in 2020". NDTV Gadgets 360.
  11. "Hotstar announces original content under Hotstar Specials; to be out in March". Exchange4Media. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  12. "We are not building Hindi shows but Indian content: Gaurav Banerjee, Star India". Indian Advertising Media & Marketing News – exchange4media.
  13. Pandey, Neeraj [@neerajpofficial] (25 February 2020). "Proudly presenting FRIDAY STORYTELLERS, the digital arm of FRIDAY FILMWORKS. Also happy to share with you the trailer of our first series SPECIAL OPS. Coming soon on Hotstar. Click on the link below to see the trailer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GF0H5DZAE2g …pic.twitter.com/t0Jh3MUE6C" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. "Kay Kay Menon roped in for Hotstar Specials series Special OPS". IMWBuzz. 6 August 2019. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  15. "Sharad Kelkar joins the cast of Hotstar Specials series". IMW Buzz. 16 August 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  16. Kher, Saiyami [@SaiyamiKher] (18 February 2020). "Up next - SPECIAL OPS! Directed by the amazing @neerajpofficial :) He was always on my wish list after I watched A Wednesday! Glad I could be a part of this project. Coming soon.. stay tuned for more updates! @HotstarVIP @ShitalBhatiaFFW @FridayFilmworks @mid_day @MoharBasupic.twitter.com/fScL4uxFTH" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  17. "Neeraj Pandey at trailer launch of Special Ops web series | Hotstar Specials | Gaurav Banerjee" – via www.youtube.com.
  18. "Special Ops trailer: 2001 Parliament attack leads to a 19-year manhunt in Neeraj Pandey's Hotstar original. Watch video". hindustantimes.com.
  19. "Special Ops – The Story Of A 19-Year Hunt For The Terrorist Behind The Biggest Attacks On India". Urban Asian. 26 February 2020.
  20. "Special Ops | India's Longest Manhunt | Official Trailer" – via www.youtube.com.
  21. VIP, Hotstar [@HotstarVIP] (24 February 2020). "The story of India's longest manhunt unfolds at 5 p.m. Stay tuned! #SpecialOps @FFW_Official @neerajpofficial @kaykaymenon02 @karantacker @kokodiaries @SaiyamiKher @pathakvinay @divyadutta25 @sanaak21pic.twitter.com/Q7RcahEJrs" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  22. "Kay Kay Menon, Divya Dutta, Sana Khaan and others launch Special Ops trailer". .The Indian Express. 26 February 2020.
  23. "Special Ops first impression: An intriguing manhunt". The Indian Express. 17 March 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  24. "Special Ops first impression: An intriguing manhunt". The Indian Express. 17 March 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  25. "Special Ops first impression: An intriguing manhunt". The Indian Express. 17 March 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  26. "Special Ops Review: Burning Espionage Thriller Never Loses The Plot". NDTV.com. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  27. "Special Ops Review: Burning Espionage Thriller Never Loses The Plot". NDTV.com. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  28. Ghosh, Stutee (18 March 2020). "Review: 'Special Ops' Keeps Us Hooked Despite Its Uneven Pace". TheQuint. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  29. Jhunjhunwala, Udita. "'Special Ops' review: Web series about a 19-year chase takes forever to get to the point". Scroll.in. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
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