It is not often that we see a series of action-drama films and television shows that are consistent in delivering and justifying the genre. The Commando series, starring Vidyut Jamwal, has created a fan base that is obsessed with pointing out how good these films are when it comes to unabashed action sequences, and it gives the audience exactly what they came to watch, just like the John Wick and Mission Impossible films in Hollywood. Taking from the series of films released in Hindi cinema over the years, Vipul Amrutlal Shah brings a four-part web series with the same title but a different story and a different cast, where the action is the core of it, while a lot of other things take a back seat, even though the tone of the show is very on the nose.
Spoilers Ahead
Kshitij Knows The Plan
Commando Season 1 begins in Sahiwal, where a team of Pakistani Nuclear scientists gathers at a remote lab to announce their procurement of a virus that could help in the mass killing of people in India without having to engage in conventional or nuclear warfare. The meeting is headed by ISI Colonel Jaffer, who is confident that this plan will work. This sets the tone of the show, and right from here, the viewers are sure the entire runtime of Commando will have characters from each side of the border wishing destruction on each other, and this scene is just a preview.
The hatred on the political level between the two countries is still high, and based on that, Colonel Jaffer is keen on going ahead with this plan. Kshitij, an Indian spy at the lab, was quick to inform his associates, who would inform the team in India to remain alert for the next 24 to 48 hours. Kshitij is just another soldier who wants to protect his country. He decides to stay back in Pakistan even though there is a high chance of him getting exposed, proving his mettle. Destroying the lab is the only thing that will cause the end of Jaffer and his associates. His farsightedness helps him be a man with a mission who is willing to take risks. Even though a lot of the scenes are exaggerated, one cannot deny that now there are soldiers in flesh and blood doing the exact job by endangering their lives.
Kshitij is unfortunately captured by Colonel Jaffer and his team, but not before he is successful in blocking access to the virus by shutting down the lab. It is not clear if Kshitij was a computer expert as well to be able to handle work of his nature, but keeping in mind the suspension of disbelief the writers expect of you, this could be a plausible scenario for what the viewers are looking at, which is a commercial action drama. In the nick of time, Kshitij was able to use the data on the thumb drive to unlock the lab and access the virus. He discreetly placed the storage device inside the pocket of his colleague because he knew of the torture awaiting him in the enemy prison. So far, the story is about him and his contribution to safeguarding national security, and it sets the actual plot in motion, where the actual protagonist will take it upon himself to rescue his fellow soldier.
Virat To The Rescue
Virat was able to neutralize and destroy the virus at the border, which unfortunately led to Kshitij getting exposed. The man was also able to injure and capture a terrorist who would provide more intelligence. His capture led to Commando Virat forming a mission to bring his friend back. Through several flashback sequences, we get to see Kshitij and Virat’s longstanding bond. The memory of their friendship led Virat to do the unthinkable, even though his boss initially was not in favor of his plan. Virat, just like Kshitij, is a true blue soldier. His resilience is what makes him who he is, and there is nothing that can hold him back when it comes to this rescue mission.
The larger-than-life hero’s introduction followed by a glorification of his abilities is a very common trope used in action films because it allows the viewer to see what the hero is capable of and that he will cross every hurdle. His fiancée, Smita, works with R&AW as well, which gives them the benefit of the doubt about the kinds of situations they have to face. Smita’s character was probably introduced with a purpose. There is so far no clarity on her goal, but there is hope that something about her past will be revealed in the show. Jaffer does have a man on the Indian side as well who is leaking information to him.
Does Virat’s Extraction Plan Work?
Virat’s rescue mission to safely extract Kshitij from the Sahiwal Prison is put into motion, and he safely enters Pakistan through the LOC. Every move made by the characters is fast-paced so far, and nobody in the show has the time to just sit and relax. With tensions between India and Pakistan rising, Virat must bring back his best friend before things go out of control, which could lead to his arrest as well. Keeping in mind the genre, the show has many action scenes in between the plot to let the viewers engage. At this juncture, Virat is joined by Bhavana, another fellow commando just as brutal as him.
In India, Smita heads to the hospital to use the truth serum on the captured terrorist, and things go south quickly as she is rendered unconscious and two other R&AW agents are killed by him. The terrorist is now at large. This ploy was bound to happen to prove that there is someone in the team sheltering him, which is why efforts to capture him fail. It also questions the methodology used by the Indian intelligence, as they were unable to track down the mole in their team while the neighboring country quickly captured Kshitij.
Bhavana was solely introduced by the makers to allow the viewers to broaden their minds about how female commandos are equally ruthless and that there is no disparity when getting them on board for a mission. Bhavana also provided some comic relief, for she is a Hyderabad girl. This could be nudging towards creating a stereotype about the people of that city. Nevertheless, the two of them are joined by Abbas and Balli, the Indian operatives in Pakistan who help Virat and Bhavana formulate and execute an elaborate plan to extract Kshitij from the impenetrable Sahiwal prison. The obstacle presented to the team allows the viewers to understand that action films always have an end goal to reach, and despite many life-threatening situations, the team or the solo one-man mission somehow finds a way to get there. They plan to distract Faheem, the jailer, and disconnect the electricity and the generator.
As this plan is put into action, there is so much at stake that Virat does not realize. Virat impersonates a warden and gets through the jail. The disconnection of the electricity unexpectedly started a brawl between all the jail inmates and the wardens. The chaos was the camouflage that Virat and the team needed. The fight sequence choreographed for the entire show is worth mentioning because it adds to the pacing leading to the climax. As Kshitij is brought out of jail in no time, they are stopped by Colonel Jaffer and Faheem, for they knew of the plan and were at the gate of the prison just in the nick of time. Colonel Jaffer managed to get hold of them because he spread a lie stating Kshitij would be moved to another jail, and he was sure the Indian operatives would attempt to rescue him. This scene only adds to the predictable nature of the entire narrative because logical mistakes have been made by the writers; one of them includes Kshitij walking out of prison without being recognized. The plot from here is further stretched to showcase Virat as a commando who can get rid of every high-profile terrorist locked behind bars, and he manages to do just that, much to Colonel Jaffer’s chagrin.
Meanwhile, Bhavana is taken away by Faheem, who attempts to molest her. Bhavana viciously injures Faheem and holds Colonel Jaffer at gunpoint so that her team can leave the prison with Kshitij safe and sound. There is a point where the viewers accept such scenarios for the sake of genre because nothing extraordinarily layered or complex in politics is expected from this action-packed series. It is beyond all logical thinking, but it is okay for people to watch only to be entertained.
Commando Season 1 ends with Colonel Jaffer being taken hostage by the team, and they drive away to the LOC so that they can walk across the border into their homeland, India. Kshitij is rescued. It is finally revealed that Smita was the Pakistani operative acting as an Indian R&AW agent. Her being the mole only makes sense because the deaths of the Indian intelligence officers happened when she was around them. The predictable nature of the show only justifies the cliched ending. With Virat and Smita’s engagement and upcoming wedding, a lot could unfold between the two people, and with the politics of the countries, a lot of information will be going back and forth. Commando is predictable and sticks to stereotypes, but it is a decent watch for a lazy weekend.
