Sukanya reviews two films, Kesari that celebrates the valour of 21 Sikhs who bravely fought with 1000 Pathans, and attained martyrdom in the Battle of Saragarhi. She critiques the Season 2 of Quantico, a thriller, that showcases real-life politics. An exclusive for Different Truths.

Kesari (2019): Action, Drama, History

Director: Anurag Singh

Writers: Girish Kohli, Anurag Singh

Stars: Akshay Kumar, Parineeti Chopra, Suvinder Vicky

Kesari (2019) is based on the true story of Battle of Saragarhi in which an army of 21 Sikhs fought against 10,000 Afghans, in 1897.

Hardly has it ever happened that I watched an Akshay Kumar movie and didn’t like it but this was exceptionally brilliant! No Indian can ever deny feeling emotional and patriotic about how 21 valiant Sikhs fought with 10000 Pathans and sacrificed their lives in this movie – especially during the last 20 minutes.

I wouldn’t be wrong to say it was one of Akshay Kumar’s best performances till date; he lived the character throughout the movie in a very natural manner. Parineeti Chopra had very minor role but she too did her best.

I wouldn’t be wrong to say it was one of Akshay Kumar’s best performances till date; he lived the character throughout the movie in a very natural manner. Parineeti Chopra had very minor role but she too did her best. I was so engrossed in the movie that while watching it I felt every bit of pain, every bit of pride and every bit of human emotions that the Sikh regiment underwent. I pray for them. I praise them. And so, does most other viewers. Such was the effect of ‘Kesari’ and of course its powerful songs!

***

Quantico (TV Serial: Season 2): Action, Drama, Thriller

Creator: Joshua Safran

Stars: Priyanka Chopra, Jake McLaughlin, Johanna Braddy

The TV series begin with a look at the lives of young FBI recruits training at the Quantico base in Virginia when one of them is suspected of being a sleeper terrorist.

The TV series begin with a look at the lives of young FBI recruits training at the Quantico base in Virginia when one of them is suspected of being a sleeper terrorist. Told using dual timelines, the tale switches between the present, where Parrish runs from detention to prove her innocence, and the past, which shows her preparation at the academy with her fellow workforces as details about their lives and associations with one another are revealed.

Well spoiler alert, but I have to mention that Simon, dies in the end, despite the back story of the character, he risked his life. He didn’t perish because he was bad, or because he was evil. It was because he risked his life for his country, and although that is incredibly noble, it still hurts to know that he is gone from the series.

I also liked how the plot twist made Rayan and Parrish fall in love. And the chemistry surely hit it off in Season 2.

Season 2 consists of twenty-two episodes; it follows Alex Parrish (Priyanka Chopra), who has been working undercover for the FBI as a CIA recruit to uncover a rogue faction called the AIC. The narrative is told through twofold timelines until the thirteenth episode

Season 2 consists of twenty-two episodes; it follows Alex Parrish (Priyanka Chopra), who has been working undercover for the FBI as a CIA recruit to uncover a rogue faction called the AIC. The narrative is told through twofold timelines until the thirteenth episode; it switches in the middle of the present — where Parrish must confront a terrorist-instigated captive crisis at the G-20 summit in New York City —and the past, where she is training at the CIA’s shadowy training facility “The Farm” with other apprentices, revealing links between the two incidents. The narrative switches to a single timeline from the fourteenth episode.

In the last season, after three years, of a peaceful, anonymous life in Italy with Andrea (Andrea Bosca) and Isabella Alex (Priyanka Chopra) must abandon her idyllic existence when she is found and her new family is in danger. When she goes to find her escape documents, Ryan (Jake McLaughlin) finds her and persuades her to help him rescue Shelby (Johanna Braddy), who is now his wife, from an international arms dealer, The Widow (Jayne Houdyshell), by giving her the conscience code, who has recruited Will Olsen (Jay Armstrong Johnson) to help her. Yes, that’s right. In the three years since we saw Alex and Ryan fly off into the sunset together, she ditched him and he ended up trading vows with Shelby. They get the team together for the rescue – Owen (Blair Underwood), Harry (Russell Tovey), Jocelyn (Marlee Matlin) and new trainees, Jagdeep (Vandit Bhatt) and Celine (Amber Skye Noyes)

After three seasons on ABC, the Priyanka Chopra-starring FBI thriller Quantico has come to an end, and left little on the table. Action-packed series finale “Who Are You?

My favourite character other than Priyanka Chopra (obviously she’s my favourite and I might be baised here), but the rest are as follows:

Tate Ellington, who plays Simon Asher has an interesting story line and he has given 100 % of his acting.

Jake McLaughlin, plays Ryan Booth. He has done decent acting, but his story line is pretty good. His #Parishfirst thing makes viewers (including me) to have soft corner for him.

Owen Hall is a former CIA officer and currently, FBI Deputy Director, who is introduced in Season 2. He is portrayed by Blair Underwood.

Owen Hall is a former CIA officer and currently, FBI Deputy Director, who is introduced in Season 2. He is portrayed by Blair Underwood. Owen Hall is the charming and intelligent CIA officer every operative wishes he or she could learn from. He and Jocelyn fall in love and have a peaceful happy life together.

The episodes were written in the simplest possible way.  Things were repetitive; there was almost a pattern about every big fat attack. There was a pattern of behavior for all characters. Apart from that, every episode shows their training at Quantico to prepare for their role in the future in that very same episode. So, it just looks like filler content for the episode. The writing is very linear and could’ve been worked upon. Most of the training scenes are purely fillers and have hardly any significance for the story in Season 1. Same with Shelby’s honey traps.  Also, the Shelby plus Rayan thing never really saw that coming. Was too abrupt but if the logic was to make audience feel a mix of emotions. That did happen! I personally grew attachment for the two characters (as a couple) and my heart sank when I got to know Rayan married Alex’s best friend.

But what I liked about the series is that it focused aptly on the personal lives of the agents, their struggle and hidden emptiness, which is otherwise overlooked in other series/ films of such genre. The human emotions of cops usually get suppressed by the action scenes, but that wasn’t the case with Quantico. Great attempt yet, could’ve been brief and a lot more comprehensive overall!

Photos sourced by the author from the Internet