Neeraj Pandey created a stamp of his type of storytelling right from his debut ‘A Wednesday’. Going by his repertoire, titles like Special 26, Baby, Rustom, Naam Shabana, Aiyaary, Special OPS, Khakee: The Bihar Chapter, people who binge on thrillers would not think twice to binge watch ‘The Freelancer’. The action-thriller series is based on the bestselling 2017 book ‘A Ticket to Syria’ by Shirish Thorat.
The Freelancer Plot
‘The Freelancer’ is set in an hostile climate set apart by misdirection and treachery. It follows the rescue operation of a young girl Aliya, held against her will in war-torn Syria. It is her journey as she endeavours to escape from challenging conditions.
The story begins with Aliya (Kashmira Pardeshi) running in the bylanes of Syria, trying to escape, but gets hit by a car. The story takes the audience back and forth in time to set the premise. Who is Aliya, where was she trying to escape from, who has abducted her, et al. The story also introduces us to one Inayat Khan (Sushant Singh), who commits a ‘strangely plotted’ suicide near the American consulate. He was an ex-policeman. While we try understand the goings on, we are introduced to Dr. Arif Khan (Anupam Kher) and Avinash Kamath (Mohit Raina), who seem to be knowing Inayat Khan.
Avinash is also an ex-policeman turned into a mercenary working for several Governments’ tasks. He is guided by Dr. Khan. Soon, it is revealed that probably Inayat Khan’s actions were result of his daughter Aliya’s marriage (to Mohsin Fazal, played by Navneet Malik). Now Aliya along with Mohsin’s entire family are untraceable. They are radicalised by one Farhat Khala (Balaji Gauri) and backpacked to Syria through Istanbul.
Performances
The performances of most of the actors looks natural but while Aliya and Avinash steal the show, it is Balaji Gauri’s character Farhat Khala that sends shivers down the spine the moment she is in the frame. Anupam Kher who is seen in most Neeraj Pandey film is a natural actor, slips into an authoritative character with ease. The rest of the cast fits the narrative and helps make the story look believable.
The Setting
The big-budget ‘mammoth production’, reportedly shot in Morocco, standing in for Syria, during the pandemic, with a team of actors and technicians from around the world. The production values are decent in recreating Syria in Morocco.
Action-Thriller
Most Neeraj Pandey films have a fast paced narrative that keeps the audience on the edge of the seat. ‘The Freelancer’ is a slow burner. It takes its own sweet time and concentrates more on establishing the issue at hand and gets into technical details in terms of how both the worlds operate against each other simultaneously. What stands out in the 4 episodes of season 1 are the technical explanation of various things that common man might not be aware of and feels astonished.
Overall, though ‘The Freelancer’ is made as an entertainment content, it brings to fore the global politics around threats looming large around religion and religious fanatics and the radicalisation of common man who get caught in the crossfire.
Web Series: The Freelancer
Created by: Neeraj Pandey
Based on: A Ticket To Syria (2017)
Directed by: Bhav Dhulia
Cast: Mohit Raina, Anupam Kher, Kashmira Pardeshi, Ayesha Raza Mishra, Manjari Fadnis, Sarah-Jane Dias, Sushant Singh, Navneet Malik, Balaji Gauri, John Kokken
