Saare Jahan Se Accha review: A talented ensemble builds a bingeable spy thriller!

Netflix adds yet another series to its spy thriller universe and while it has its misses, it serves us a balanced story to watch!

Saare Jahan Se Accha review: Spy thrillers have always been a genre of peak interest for me. How a person agrees to put him or herself in an unfamiliar territory and act like they belong there, all in the name of their country with no guarantee of returning will always be a fascinating phenomenon for me. Hearing about near death experiences from real life spies feels no less than a movie. So when movies or TV shows are actually made out of stories that feel unreal in the first place, you have my attention! Alia Bhatt’s Raazi is probably the biggest example in recent times of how the genre can have us on the edge of our seats while watching. When Sehmat was making her way through Pakistani culture whilst keeping India in her heart, we all felt her pain.

Similarly in Saare Jahan Se Accha, the show revolves around India wanting to collect evidence and stopping Pakistan from making their first nuclear bomb, back in the 70s. In the middle of it all is Vishnu Shankar (Pratik Gandhi), a R&AW agent who is desperate to save India from the next big calamity ever since Dr. Homi Bhabha’s death lingers on his mind. He is sent to Pakistan with the cover that he is working at the Indian Embassy there, he builds his strong connection with spies who do the work for him. Be it Naushad(Anup Soni), a Pakistani army general who is betraying his own country by selling information or Rafiq(Suhail Nayyar), an Indian spy who built his way up as the top broker in Pakistan. But on the other end, we have Murtaza, the head of ISI, who is equally sharp minded and turns every suspicion of his into reality. The two agents battle it out as one tries to get information in secret and the other tries to uncover every unreliable source that comes his way. 

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What I like here is that Saare Jahan Se Accha doesn’t just have one but two protagonists at the same time. Sunny Hinduja as Murtaza gets just as much screen time as Pratik Gandhi’sVishnu so that we see how two different agents use various different tactics for the loyalty they have towards their respective countries. The story is also balanced in a way that it shows how high the stakes are from both sides, making it an even more intriguing watch. Everyone’s trying to win but no one is winning at the same time. There’s always a price to pay. The backstories of all of these characters are also weaved well enough for us to feel invested and root for them. Rafiq’s entire storyline is one that I rooted for, given his frustration of being home for the longest time but also giving love a chance in the middle of it all! 

While this is a bingeable series, it also leaves certain things unanswered. Even though Vishnu lives in Pakistan as an employee of the Indian Embassy, how does Murtaza not bother arresting him after the constant breach in security in his inner circle? How did Vishnu always remain untouched when things were going haywire? It all felt a little too good to believe! Having said that, the constant betrayal that the Pakistani characters felt whenever they found out about a spy were not only moments that stood out in the series, they also reminded me of Raazi yet again! 

We’ve had other Indian spy series before and Saare Jahan Se Accha is definitely up there in comparison to them because of its production value and storytelling. Every year, Independence Day goes hand in hand with patriotic content and while the recent few releases have been rather questionable, Saare Jahan Se Accha peaks your interest in what the real life stories of these characters were like! 

Saare Jahan Se Accha is currently streaming on Netflix!

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