'Avrodh: The Siege Within' review: High intensity drama falls short of adrenaline

Avrodh is a new SonyLIV web series based on 2016's surgical strike by India. Although the story has been told to the audience in the form of 2019's Uri: The Surgical Strike, Avrodh hopes to show the step by step process with which the attack was planned by the defence. Titled as Avrodh: The Siege Within here is a review of the web series. 

• Director: Raj Acharya
• Cast: Amit Sadh, Neeraj Kabi, Darshan Kumaar, Madhurima Tulli, Pavail Gulati, Anil George
• Producer: Irada Entertainment
• Where to watch: SonyLIV

Avrodh: The Siege Within plot

Image credit: Amit Sadh Instagram

Avrodh: The Siege Within begins with the Bilawal Wani (based on Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani). His death creates new tensions in the already charged up political environment of Kashmir. Rival Jaish-e-Mohammed commander Abu Hafeez also wishes to demonstrate his military power and plans a series of terror attacks. A lapse of security in the Uri base camp makes them a target of Hafeez as tragedy strikes and 17 Indian soldiers are killed. 

Soon India's defence headed by the Prime Minister plans to retaliate and avenge the souls lost in the Uri attack. The Prime Minister as the commander-in-chief makes patriotic and inspiring statements to boost the morale and courage of his men. The famous line "ghar mein ghuskar marenge" is often used in the course of the plot to signify the plan of action. 

Watch the trailer of Avrodh: The Siege Within trailer here:

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Avrodh: The Siege Within review

Avrodh: The Siege Within is based on a chapter of India’s Most Fearless by Shiv Aroor and Rahul Singh. The web series is made up of nine episodes with 30 minutes each. Delivering mostly on the lines of Uri: The Surgical Strike, Avrodh; The Siege Within is a more detailed description of the events leading to the surgical strike. 

What works?

The series feels refreshing with a host of new faces in the cast. They also seem to have delivered an impressive performance and make their presence felt. Everyone's performance, whether it is the teeth-gnashing Amit Sadh or the maverick played Neeraj Kabi, and also Vikram Gokhale as an unnamed leader (looking very similar to Prime Minister Narendra Modi), can capture the attention of the audience.

Avrodh: The Siege Within also has some beautiful scenes to its credit. For one, the scene where the Indian soldiers spend the night under a starlit sky till morning approaches just for their target is a scene that will not leave the mind soon. Another noteworthy aspect of the film is Darshan Kumar's soldier avatar who wishes to contribute in any way while he mourns the loss of his friend in the Uri attack - showing the conviction of both the director and actor in the character.

What doesn't? 

However, the greatest problem lies in the fact that Avrodh: The Siege Within delivers low on adrenaline rush despite the high-intensity drama. Moreover, one has already seen the events in Uri: The Surgical Strike and the web series seems like only an extended version of the same. The show also seems to fall a bit short on emotional content as Amit Sadh's character does not even let his mother divert his attention from his duty towards his country. 

Praveena Deshpande as the on-screen counterpart of Sushma Swaraj makes a powerful attempt to convince, fails to impress. She is more serious and tight-lipped, a complete contrast to the vivacious former Minister of External Affairs. Another character who is mildly off is Madhurima Tuli as a journalist. She seems like the most dedicated and the best there is in the country, the only one to guess that a covert mission is being planned. She also manages to jeopardise the entire operation while hunting for her scoops.

Reviewer Rating: 3/5

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