The Forgotten Army - Azaadi ke liye

A story long overdue.. Sacrifices forgotten due to political reasons.. Ones worth remembering.. The true reason why India got Independence (yes, Red Fort trials and the subsequent Naval Mutiny were the reason the British left and the British PM Clement Attlee himself accepted this).. But a mediocre execution on part of the director as usual.. This could have been a muti season series based on all the adventures and battles of the INA spread over 3 years! But a 5 episode series simply fails to capture the entirety of the glory and valour that was the INA.. And I get that a love story isn't unusual given that the soldiers were humans themselves.. But what's with the blue bird nonsense? Is this a fantasy Disney show? And the side story of 90's Burma is absolutely pointless and even demeaning to the main story.. Had high expectations from this but alas, Bollywood.. 2 extra stars only for the sense to do a series on the INA..

The content of the mini series could be more focused on fact rather than the dramatisation. With the factual history available in the public domain, the legacy of INA can be made into seasons together, let aside a 5 episode mini series. The storyline and cinematography could be better, even as compared to current Indian productions. Overall, 7 starts would do good. However, 10 stars is for the effort for bringing out such a sensitive and important part of the forgotten history.

I liked the series in a way that it was really informative and gave us an insight about INA. But the execution was more like a bollywood movie. Kabir Khan should have kept it more grounded. The love story has been given a lot of emphasis, specially in the last episode.

Why worked:

• the production team; the series is beautifully shot, edited, sound and video mixing is fine. What stays out is the action team, the stunts, visual effects and overall war sequences. It's commendable and astonishing. The team were able to build a huge set design because of the adequate budget making the viewer experience more realistic.The series is based on a real story which makes it an especial series. Overall, it is an enjoyable watch especially the action scenes.

What did not work:

• love story; the love story somehow distracted the series instead of enhancing it. The movie which should have been focused on the agenda of the movie seem busy in trying to build a story out of the context, which would have been better if not highly valued in the narrative overall. Also, the love story failed to create the intimacy and relatability.
• glorified scenes: some scenes were overly dramatized and gloried for the sake of making it colorful. Many scenes with the themes of nationality and valor could have been cut down to get a crisp narrative.
• plot holes and flaws; what failed miserably is the screenplay of the series. Although they had a huge budget and great team, the screenplay somehow failed to connect with the viewers making it a mundane and cliche war movie with added flavor of romance and predictability. I think many would have not wanted the over glamorous present story, the chase scenes or the love story or the ending of the main character. I would say it's a weak writing and the narrative could have been made better with giving attention to the flow, the intend and the overall message of the movie, rather than gloried love story added on the real story. It's a missed opportunity, which could have been better.

Final verdict: not recommended if you have something better to do. Watch it for set design and action sequences, it's a treat.

Heared about INA so many times but know them First time.Thanks to all who make us to meet our unsung hero's. The series took us truely the sara of our freedom and once again remember us "Fighting for freedom but to maintain is much more harder"