- Movie Name:Mukhbir- The Story of A Spy
- Critics Rating: 3 / 5
- Release Date: Nov 11, 2022
- Director: Shivam Nair; Jayprad Desai
- Genre: Spy thriller
Mukhbir Review: When speaking about Mukhbir- The Story of A Spy, Prakash Raj and Adil Hussain maintained that the web series is their tribute to the unsung heroes of India. While men and women at the borders are credited for their adulation and commitment to the country, not many take into account the ones to cross borders to safeguard lives in their native lands. Zee5's new show Mukhbir is just that.
At a time when OTT is a crowded space with genres and multiple releases, it is indeed difficult to pick and choose a title for the weekend. Mukhbir can easily be on your list. The story is straightforward, the soundtrack is fabulous and the actors have the capability to hold the audience through the eight episodes.
Zain Khan Durrani plays the role of Kamran, a young, shrewd, no-strings-attached kind of guy. He isn't darting for something extraordinary but is surrounded by people with great ambitions. He has been working for KSK Murthy (Prakash Raj) as a small-time spy in the city without realising the senior agent's plans. During the tense notes of the 1960s, Kamran is asked to cross borders, be in Pakistan and give intel on warring situations. Be it his imbecility or Murthy's pep talk, he decides to take the plunge and becomes Harfan.
In his head, he is a detached man void of emotional quotient, but when he has to live with a dysfunctional family, murder an innocent and watch gullible men die, his heart aches, his hands shake and he screams hard. Zain, makes Kamran/ Harfan empathetic. He brings out the naivety of his characters to the surface holding the charm. He carefully toes the line between brilliance and periodic lunacy.
The series, however, is constructed by the supporting actors. Atul Kumar is fantastic as a crude, unpalatable Brigadier Habibullah while Harsh Chhaya is ominous as ever as Major General Agha Khan. Prakash Raj and Adil Hussain are dependable as ever playing senior bureaucrats.
It's an obvious question to ask, how Mukhbir is different from Alia Bhatt's Raazi. Both the spy thrillers have been adopted from novels, Raazi from Calling Sehmat and Mukhbir from Mission to Kashmir: An Intelligent Agent in Pakistan. However, Harfan and Sehmat's are nowhere parallel. Their jobs might be the same, but their reasons differ. While Alia's character stemmed from convoluted politics, Harfan cannot justify why he wants to risk his life.
That is a significantly debatable facet of his character, he has no backing to justify why he wants to do what he does. Unlike other characters, he is neither patriotic nor greedy. He is a conman who believes he can spy but doesn't know how. He goes off-track, makes mistakes, thus humanising a spy more than ever.
Mukhbir benefits from its screenplay. The show is fast-paced and the story advances at such a subtle rate that you wouldn't want to skip episodes. More than the characters, the show focuses on the story. It doesn't want to delve into the psyche of the people you see on the screen until the climax. We simply see a man put to work. It is only in the last episode when the pandora's box opens and Zain screams out the mental trauma of a spy.
Shivam Nair and Jayprad Desai's directorial gets hold of its tonality. Despite flaws, it appears meaningful. The show can feel outlandish at times but with its unreserved insignia, it faithfully manages to present the times and nations hit hard by wars.
