Kay Kay Menon as Himmat Singh is truly a star in a well written and beautifully directed Special Ops 1.5

Special Ops 1.5: The Himmat Story talks about Himmat Singh (Kay Kay Menon) and his earlier years he spent in the Indian Research and Analytics Wing (RAW) agent. As Himmat is about to retire, D.K. Banerjee and Naresh are asked to vet his name and that is when we see Abbas, a colleague of Himmat, asked to tell more about Himmat so that he could receive his pension and increase the chances of the same. That's when we kickstart the story with what followed post the 2001 Parliament attacks and how he worked on another mission while he waited to catch hold of Ikhlaq Khan.

Performances

Menon is truly the start of this season and he owns every single frame that there is in the web series. There's no one who acts like he does and even when you hear about him, you are thinking about, courtesy Abbas's (Vinay Pathak) testimony of him. As someone kind of narrating the story, Vinay also does justice as Abbas and does keep the story together, beautifully so. Aftab Shivdasani's Vijay is also a great addition to this season of Special Ops and it is a treat to watch him. Aadil Khan as Maninder, 

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Gautami Kapoor as Himmat's wife, Aishwarya and Maria as honeytrappers are all good in their roles and know how to get the characters right. Last but not the least, K.P. Mukherjee and Parmeet Sethi act as the perfect catalysts in keeping the flow of the show intact as Banerjee and Chaddha, respectively.

The good

Specials Ops has been on eof the most widely loved series from Disney+ Hotstar and Neeraj Pandey has truly created a master pieces with this action thriller. It is a well written series thanks to writers Deepak Kindgrani and Benazir Ali Fida along with a master of direction courtesy of Shiva Nair. Since the season is short, it makes you want to give it a quick watch and also, binge it just enough, except for in parts where you hope it is a little more pacy than what you get.

The screenplay of the show is one to look out for as they have managed to beautifully present the entire story of Himmat Singh through it. With a story that balances both personal and professional aspects of Himmat's life, you know everything you want to know and it calls for an apt prequel for the original Special Ops. While we speak enough about Menon's performance above, he deserves a special mention once again for he plays his part with finesse and how.

The not so good

There's nothing that is bad or outright wrong (something that we tend to feel for a lot of shows and movies these days) but you kind of expect fewer letdowns with such shows. For a prequel and a sort of spin-off as well, it would've bene good to see more of people we've already seen in season 1 of the show. And though the series isn't a long one in general, it would have been great for certain parts to be a little more concise.

Verdict

Special Ops 1.5 deserves a watch for the thrilling experience that it offers along with a mind-blowing act by Kay Kay Menon. If you have seen the original and like to watch spy thrillers, then this will keep you hooked for all the right reasons.

Ratings: ***1/2 (3.5/5 stars)

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