– No Spoilers –
Hotstar’s newest release, starring Gurmeet Choudhary in the titular role, is an espionage spy-thriller series with 20 episodes. We are basing this review on the first five episodes – each with a runtime of around 22 minutes. The TV show is based on the book series by Amit Khan.
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Commander Karan Saxena Director
Jatin Wagle
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Commander Karan Saxena Cast
Gurmeet Chaudhary, Hruta Durgule, Iqbal Khan
When a looming threat threatens to destroy the very soul of the country, Karan Saxena, a gritty RAW agent, decides to do whatever it takes to put an end to ISI’s plans and save Mumbai from their clutches.
The series, starring Chaudhary in the lead role, is what you’d expect for a TV show with this name. From its first episode, it’s made clear that Commander Karan Saxena is an action show with the tried and tested India v Pakistan story and Saxena must save the country or a state from Pakistan’s bombing attacks. There’s nothing more and nothing less in the show which might bring comfort to those who want an uncomplicated thriller without too many frills.
The series delivers exactly that – showing us Chaudhary’s abs before showing us his face and setting the tone for the rest of the show that it manages to hold on to. Swifts cuts from one scene to another and the slick cinematography makes this bearable and the breath-taking pace makes things easy to sit through. Plus, at only 25 minutes, it’s not the worst thing out there. That being said, the series is extremely repetitive and cliched, with nothing new to add to the spy thriller genre and only regurgitating things that we have seen a thousand times in other media.
The acting, other than the principal cast, leaves much to be desired but Gurmeet Chaudhary looks the part and is believable in this role. The dialogues are extremely cringy though and will make you roll your eyes more than once. Hruta Durgule and Iqbal Khan play Chaudhary’s sidekick and nemesis respectively and both are quite good, although their characters only allow for so much since they are neither innovative nor memorable. There’s a romance plot there somewhere, but I don’t know why.
Commander Karan Saxena Review: Final Thoughts
This series is an amalgamation of different thrillers that we have seen over the years, bringing nothing new or innovative to the table. Sure, it’s entertaining if you’re looking for something forgettable and comforting (at least, in the action genre) that you can put on in the background. There are entertaining moments in some places, but it’s thoroughly forgettable in the grand scheme of things.
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As its a old novel so I guess lot has already been seen in previous shows etc but that doesn’t mean the one which is actually based on the novel is not bearable. Come on…. as a neutral view, it’s atleast one time watch. That wat I’ll recommend.