Genre: Thriller – True Story
Time: 7 episodes x average 45 minutes
Platform: Sony Liv
Director: Nagesh Kukunoor
Cast: Amit Sial (D.R. Kaarthikeyan). Sahil Vaid (Amit Verma). Danish Iqbal (Amod Kanth). Bagavathi Perumal (K. Ragothaman). Shafeeq Mustafa (Sivarasan). Gouri Padmakumar (Shubha).
Plot/Fact: In 1991, India had a coalition Government. A mid-term election seemed certain. Rajiv Gandhi, the ex-Prime Minister was on an all India election tour. He went to Tamil Nadu to attend a rally and was assassinated by a LTTE suicide bomber. A Special Investigation Team(SIT) was assembled and relentlessly tracked the suspects, most of when were either supporters or members of the LTTE, which was fighting for an independent Tamil homeland in Northern Sri Lanka. Captain Ravindran of the NSG, the premier anti terrorist unit, is called in, to be the strike arm, as and when the Lankan Tigers are cornered. The SIT relentlessly pursued the leads and soon they were on the footsteps of the main planner, the one eyed Sivarasan. Sivaraan and his team were finally corned in a small house in Karnataka. The assault on the house was inordinately delayed. The assembled crowds, the media circus (in those pre-live TV days) and constant movements alerted the LTTE Team and they chose to bite their suicide capsules.
That, as they say, is the true story.
The story has been told at least twice.
Mission Ninety Days (2007) showed the story from the point of the NSG Team headed by Major Shivaraman (Malayalam Superstar Mamootty). The real life Captain Ravindran retired as a Major and as Major Ravi, directed this film. Naturally all the police and bureaucrats are fools while the NSG Major did not only the investigations, but the final assault.
Madras Café (2013) was a conspiracy thriller that showed a ‘foreign + domestic + spy‘ hand in the assassination. While both were good in their own way, they did not have that in-depth gravitas that was required for the subject .
This BRILLIANT TV series is a perfect mix of police procedural, investigative thriller, a dramatic thriller, a showcase for Indian Law Enforcement can-do and an equal case study in how Indian bureaucracy can result in a possible major victory ending up as a total defeat (as Sivarasan and his team weren’t captured alive). This was a classic case o snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. There is nothing strident or loud. Everything is matter of fact and low key; the strident slogans are reserved for the Lankan Tamils, to show their fanaticism.
Since we do not know how Sivarasan and his team behaved and spoke, their segments can be deemed to be the most fictional ones, though well within the overall real story line. Attention is paid to the odd Lankan Tamil syntax ; the difference between “Lankan Tamil” and “Indian Tamil” is clear for those who pay close attention to the Tamil dialogues. The production design is excellent and gives an overall 1991 atmosphere (barring the vehicles which have a modern registration number like TNxx 9999 instead of TN9999; it’s a minor error and can be ignored in the larger scheme of things).
Though we know the historical outcome, the tension is relentless as we want the SIT to capture all the culprits and the Tiger teams. The hardcore brainwashing of the Tigers, Karthikeyan’s cool leadership, the bureaucratic interference (one character says “everyone wants to be the hero who caught Sivarasan), the mixture of Hindi, Indian Tamil and Lankan Tamil, Kannada, English – all these (and more) lend a totally authentic feel to the serial. This is one of the BEST thrillers released on OTT in a long time and is from ANY angle, a far superior thrillers that supposedly are “based on true stories”.
History/ Historical Background – 4 out of 5
Script – 5 out of 5
Direction – 5 out of 5
Photography – 5 out of 5
Total – 4.8 out of 5
KV…
Fir a change, I (binge) watched The Hunt before your review.
You’ve done full justice, reviewing the slow burn, riveting series.
The acting by all – small or big roles – were all superb.
Thanks. Glad we feel the same :)
Hi
As always a well written and unbiased review. Even I had binge watched this before I came across your review. I already held a grievance. Not with the casting or performance. In these kinds of investigations, you always get to hear one side of the story. For example, there is very brief reference to the planning, and nothing at all about the debates that would have surely happened between Prabhakaran and his key lieutenants while they selected the target or planned this audacious assassination. Similarly there is nothing on how did it affected the relationship between India and Sri Lanka. What were the reactions of the key players in India (notably Tamil Nadu) The elected DMK dispensation was dismissed within a month by using the ‘LTTE sympathiser’ tag. AIADMK, a Congress ally came to power riding a massive sympathy wave. The assassination was a significant moment in modern Indian history and the first time the horrors of suicide bombers was witnessed by shocked Indian citizens. A lot of the screen time was spent in navel gazing. This series would have been a perfect opportunity to do a small 360, starting with the motivations, execution, investigation and ramifications. Not necessarily in that sequence.
Apologies for the late reply. That “small 360” would have soon got out of hand and opened a can of worms which no one would want to look at. Just google LTTE roamed free in India and you will get all your answers. One of those open secrets.