Jio Cinema’s Ranneeti: Balakot & Beyond retells the story of the haunting Pulwama attack that terrified the entire country on February 14, 2019. This attack was carried out by the Pakistani terrorist group, Jaish-e-Mohammad, on the Indian army. In response to this terrible event, Kashyap Sinha forms a team of trusted people. Together, they plan and execute the Balakot airstrike. During this mission, an Indian pilot gets captured by the Pakistanis. This incident sparks a lot of news and discussion. Some news channels in Pakistan started spreading stories that portray Pakistan as a kind and generous nation because they released the Indian pilot. But is that the whole truth? The series by Director Santosh Singh will give you a perspective on showing political drama and how media plays a role in shaping public opinion, making it an engaging watch. The incredible performances by Jimmy Sheirgill as Kashyap, the suspended R&AW agent, Lara Dutta as Manisha, a media communications officer, and Ashutosh Rana as Raqib, the cunning Pakistani politician, make the series even more interesting to watch. With movies like Fighter already exploring the Pulwama attack incident, Ranneeti: Balakot & Beyond stands out with its unique storytelling. Without further ado, let’s dive into the recap and explainer of the series.
Spoilers Ahead
How Did Kashyap Plan To Fight against Jaish-e-Mohammad?
At the beginning of Ranneeti: Balakot & Beyond, we meet Kashyap, an ex-RAW agent who got suspended because of a failed mission in Serbia. He couldn’t capture a notorious Pakistani terrorist named Hafiz Rehman. Even though it wasn’t his fault and there was a traitor in their team, the incident led to the loss of all his agents. Somehow, Kashyap managed to escape, but it left him with PTSD. 8 years later, Kashyap got to know that Jaish-e-Mohammad, a terrorist organization, had attacked Pulwama on February 14, 2019. Their plan? They believe that if America pulls out of Afghanistan, the Taliban will need more weapons. Pakistan would provide these weapons, strengthening the Taliban, which would then attack India even more. Realizing the gravity of the situation and determined to prevent further attacks in India by Pakistan, Kashyap arranged a meeting with India’s National Security Advisor, Madhusudan Dutta. They must stand against this CRPF attack by Pakistani terrorists and retaliate as soon as possible to prevent further attacks on India. So, what do they do? Kashyap formed a team to work closely with him. The team includes Sara, a tech officer from ITR; Victor, a special agent from the military intelligence unit; and Suri, the deputy director of RAW Zone. Together, they plan an airstrike on Jaish terrorist areas in the Balakot region of Pakistan. To keep the real location of the airstrike a secret, they work with Manisha, the media communications officer. They decide to spread propaganda news that the airstrike will target Bahawalpur, but in reality, it’s aimed at Balakot. Their plan is to surprise the Pakistani army without any prior warning.
How did Avimanyu get captured by the Pakistan Army?
During Air Marshal Haridh Kumar’s farewell party, Manisha uses social media and news outlets to make it seem like they are celebrating. In reality, they are planning the attack in Balakot. The Pakistani army gets confused seeing the celebration pictures, but soon they realize it’s false. By then, the Balakot airstrike has already taken place, and the mission is successful. In retaliation, the Pakistani army, with Raqib’s plan, decides to attack the Indian Nowshera. This attack is also a surprise and is an airstrike by Pakistan on India. To defend against this, they ask for help from Srinagar’s air base . However, their planes are M21 models, which are 50 years old. As they try to counter Pakistan’s attack, an Indian Air Force soldier named Avimanyu engages with Pakistan’s SX-16 model aircraft. The surprising part? Using this 50-year-old model, Avimanyu manages to defeat the Pakistanis’ advanced aircraft. Sadly, in the process, Avimanyu gets captured by the Pakistani army, but he is successful in defeating the Pakistani pilot named Ahmed and his aircraft.
What happened to Avimanyu?
As Avimanyu got captured, the Pakistanis thought it was a good idea to show that they were really nice people, contrary to what India portrays them to be. They showcased on the news how well Avimanyu was treated and claimed there was another Indian pilot in their territory who had been shot down. However, Kashyap and his team soon realized that the captured pilot wasn’t Indian but a Pakistani named Ahmed. He was in the hospital, and there was no news on whether he was dead or alive. If it got out that the Indian soldier defeated the Pakistani soldier, it would be big news. But for now, they needed to get their soldier back home. In the meantime, with Manisha’s help, public rallies and Twitter campaigns started demanding Avimanyu’s return to India. So, Kashyap and the team decided to threaten Pakistan, saying they would attack the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) if they didn’t return Avimanyu. Beijing’s ambassador intervened, promising to convince Pakistan to return Avimanyu to India to avoid an attack on CPEC. Raqib thought returning Avimanyu would show Pakistan as a generous country that safely sends soldiers home as a gesture of peace. However, behind this facade of generosity, Pakistan hid the fact that Ahmed was dead, and the Indian air force had defeated their SX16 model. Also, using this aircraft went against American defense policy.
What happened to Raquib?
Kashyap and his team needed solid proof against Pakistan. So, Manisha posed as Rubina, Ahmed’s sister, to find out if he was dead or alive. She took the help of a Pakistani journalist, Mir Gul, to contact Haider, a Pakistani pilot who had witnessed the attack. Haider confirmed Ahmed’s death and was willing to reveal it in a press conference organized by Mir Gul. However, Raqib found out about this and had Mir Gul killed. He also threatened Haider to keep quiet. But the truth does not go unnoticed, right? Secret agent Kabir, also known as Iqbal, provided Kashyap with information about Pakistani terrorism, attacks, and the inner workings of Jaish-e-Mohammad. On the day of the FATC meeting between India and Pakistan, Kashyap and Madhusudan Dutta presented all the evidence. They showed how the Pakistani army has been terrorizing India for a long time, training young boys as terrorists, some as young as 16 or 17 years old. Despite Raqib’s attempts to prove them wrong, Kashyap’s solid evidence was enough to prove that two Pakistani young boys from Jaish-e-Mohammad were involved in the Pulwama attacks, as confirmed by their families. They also revealed that Pakistan used the SX16 against policy but got defeated and hid the truth. Raqib was exposed, and justice was served as he was sent to prison.
In Ranneeti: Balakot & Beyond‘s ending, we see the Indian army win, and Kashyap this time successfully finishes his mission. He also finds out who betrayed them during their Serbian mission and gets his revenge by shooting the traitor. In the end, the series suggests there might be more attacks near the Indian-China border. Therefore, the ending implies that the next season of the series is going to revolve around India and China skirmishes that took place in the early 2020s near the Ladakh border. The fictional series might add a few fictional elements to adapt the conflict to the screen.
