60 hours ordeal of Thrill and horror: My quick take on Amazon Primes “Mumbai Diaries”
Some incidents are so firmly imprinted in our memory that even retelling the story over and over again does not dull their luster. Especially when it comes to stories of bravery in the face of unexpected attacks. 26/11 is one of the terrible subjects in our recent history that jolted our great nation out of its slumber.
We have seen few movies and web series in past on this subject (Of which Dev Patel’s Hotel Mumbai was impressive), they all were from the perspective of attack on Taj and NSG commando operation thereafter. While these Mumbai diaries 26/11 is a fictional tale of 60 hours ordeal which took place at Cama Hospital (name changed here to Bombay General hospital) which was also under attack by terrorists. This is a tale of the courage of our front-line soldiers (doctors and medical staff) and a handful of ill-equipped police staff who successfully thwart the attack.
After a while, I have witnessed masterpiece web series in Hindi. This can be compared with any good series like Fauda or Hostage. Take a bow Nikhil Advani, the director. I think Nikhil Advani, the Director is far better than Nikhil Advani the producer because of his recent production on Babur (The Empire) I am trying my best to complete since one fortnight, but in vain. This 8-episode series is Binge watch-worthy, I did it in one sitting.
The best thing about the plot is its setting in a typical Municipal hospital, the production designer has painstakingly created a typical Municipal hospital with all its ‘Sarkari flaws. Second would be its top nautch ensemble of cast, with Mohit Raina leading the pack and ably supported by veterans like Prakash Belvadi and Konkona Sen Sharma. The next best thing would be the writing and dialogs and the character development. Cinematography is of top nautch quality, especially there are few continuous long shots which are simply wow!! Direction by Nikhil Advani is impressive, however, not to forget that he comes from K Jo school of film making hence he could not resist stretching the plot and converting the drama into melodrama at times and few Amar Akbar Anthony moments, which could have been avoided. Good to see the writers did not take liberties with the character of Mohit Raina who plays a trauma Surgeon and resisted the temptation of wielding a stengun dropping his stethoscope and scalpel (Like they did with Sanju baba’s character in Bhuj).
I thoroughly enjoyed the way it exposed overzealous media and its hunger for “breaking news stories” which had played into the hands of “handlers” of these terrorists across the border. Had these news channels showed some restraint and maturity this 60-hour ordeal would have got over earlier and with a lesser number of casualties. I hope at least now the media has learned its lessons.
I belong to the family of Doctors and Surgeons, and I am proud of their front-line contributions to society. This could be one of the reasons why I enjoyed this web series, even otherwise I would have thoroughly enjoyed this fictional tale of the guys with the Hippocratic oath and their selfless motive which saves many lives.
Watch it and feel proud as Iqbal says “Kuch baat hai ki hasti mitati Nahi humari, Sadiyon Raha hai Dushman Daur e zamaza Hamara”
Jai Hind
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