Saare Jahan Se Accha: The Silent Guardians (2025) – Ridiculous

Genre: Spy Thriller – “based on” true Story

Time:  6 episodes x average 45 minutes

Platform: Netflix

Director: Sumit Purohit

Cast:  Pratik Gandhi (Vishnu Shankar). Sunny Hinduja (Ali Murtaza Malik). Suhail Nayyar (Rafiq/Sukhbir). Anup Soni (Brigadier Naushad Javed Ahmed). Rajat Kapoor (R.N.Kao).

Plot:  Vishnu Shankar is fifteen minutes late with some critical information that could have prevented Dr. Homi Bhabha  from taking a flight, which was sabotaged , and resulted in India’s premier nuclear scientist’s death , in an air crash. After the Indian victory in the 1971 war, ZA Bhutto and Indira Gandhi sign the Shimla agreement, in 1972. At Shimla, Bhutto tells his subordinates that the next round won’t be so easy as Pakistan must acquire nuclear weapons. RN Kao, R&AW’s head, briefs the bachelor Vishnu Shankar, to go to Islamabad Indian Mission and set up a spy network to find out Pakistan’s nuclear ambitions. Shankar marries the Bengali Mohini (Tillotama Shome) and reaches Islamabad to set up his network. Meanwhile ISI head Ali Murtaza Malik is taking down one Indian spy after the other and his net is closing around the main Indian Spy, Army officer Naushad. Shankar is harassed and watched round the clock but he still manages to contact Sukhbir who has a cover as a stock broker and fixer in the Pakistani establishment. The race is on to find out the locations of the nuclear weapons sites…

The series started well. There was a semblance of realism , especially in the way that some of the spycraft was shown . And then it goes totally downhill, episode after episode, leaving one wondering what high grade meth was being smoked and delivered as a story and screenplay. Starting with a “George Smiley” style view, the series totally becomes Bonded , with car chases, foot chases, shootings galore and that final Bondian explosion where everyone except the hero is vaporized.

Imagine this .

• The head of the ISI goes around discovering Indian spies and then shooting them. Which idiot taught him spycraft? Wouldn’t it be better if the Indian spies were left alive and then followed to find out who else they contacted? This is like a General going into the war front, taking a gun and shooting at the enemy , instead of sitting back at the HQ and devising ways and means of crushing the enemy.
• Oh yes – Malik, is also a very sensitive guy. He cries when he shoots dead Naushad, after torturing him for days. Duh – why not torture him some more so that he can  discover what Vishnu is doing ?
• Handler Vishnu and spy talk to each other directly – by phone. Of yes – it a special phone which you don’t have to dial ; just lift it up and you are directly connected. Handler Vishnu is in the Indian Mission and spy Sukhbir aka Rafiq is in the field. Kao had warned him that Vishnu would be followed day and night and his phones would be tapped. Yet – Vishnu and Sukhbir talk to each other.
• His Bengali wife goes around mumble mumble all the time. We wonder why that character was even written – oh , that’s easy. To show how dedicated Vishnu and his team are, thus not getting any time for “family life”.  Malik even visits Vishnu’s home and gifts them a stuffed toy which Vishnu immediately rips apart , only to discover a note from Malik inside the stuffed toy. Duh – that Malik ; why didn’t he show his sensitive side to Mohini , instead of scaring her to death?
• That nasty Bhutto goes so far as to go shopping to all Islamic countries begging money for a nuclear reactor and thanks to Libyan dictator Gaddafi, Pakistan gets planeloads of hard cash. Oh That happened AFTER India’s “peaceful” nuclear explosion in 1974.
• A female Pakistani journalist is suborned by Vishnu so that she can keep a bug in the key Pakistani nuclear scientist’s office. James Bond – where are thou?

There were multiple writers for the six episodes. And it shows.

This is just high grade weed passing off as a thriller. This is a totally boring idiotic TV series that will challenge and test your intelligence again and again , and your brain will scream “suspension of disbelief is not possible”.

Silent Guardians? They should have stayed silent than arrive onscreen and waste your six precious hours!

History/ Historical Background – 1 out of 5

Script – 1 out of 5

Direction – 3 out of 5

Photography – 4 out of 5

 Total – 2.2 out of 5