Infused with a liberal dose of patriotism Sahara's one hour weekly Mission Fateh that premiered on 30 March attempts to ride on the current wave of nationalism. No surprise that it comes from a channel that wears nationality on its sleeve. However the appeal of the show is not the jingoism but the human aspect of the war.
'Hindustani do cheez bardasht nahi kar sakta, cricket mein haar aur desh pe war'. This line from last year's much hyped movie Kaante puts forth just the reason why the mega budgeted show on Sahara might interest the viewer. Since the cricket rage has been done with, now comes the time for some patriotic dose.

With huge banners and an elaborate and innovative multimedia campaign across nine cities, the channel managed to intrigue the public, while the slick shot promos with a voiceover by 'Big B' Amitabh Bachchan gave it recognition prior to its release.

Civilians aside, even army officers were quite curious courtesy the involvement of the army and the alleged true depiction of the war conditions.

Tom tommed as the a mega-serial, a blockbuster on the small screen if you please, Mission Fateh's concept does sound suspiciously similar to J P Dutta's Border. The title song, sung by Roop Kumar Rathod, Shaan, Sadhna Sargam and Md Salamat, has the same feel to it as the 1998 blockbuster's music score but nevertheless does manage to surge patriotic emotions. On the cosmetic front, the orange-black logo seems a tad drab.

Based on missions undertaken by officers of the Indian Army during wars and counterinsurgency operations from 1948 onwards, Mission Fateh has tried to capture the lives of army officers and jawans, both on and off the field. The serial has been shot in areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Nagaland including locations like, Rohtang Pass, Koksar Valley, Lahoul and Spiti Valley rather than some local studio, which is definitely a big plus.

Interestingly, one of the reasons given by the channel about the delay in its launch is also the time span required to shoot in remote and hostile environments.

Apparently the equipment, weapons and snowgear used by the actors have been custom-made after being duly approved by Indian Army Liaison Cell and other authorities pertaining to various regiments. The producers Sahara India Media Communication Ltd (SIMCL) and Clapstem Production certainly have not spared any cost.

Baring a few, the rest of the cast relatively new. Most of the cast members are National School of Drama graduates. Besides the evident research on the personal lives of the soldiers, the channel has even managed to cast the actors with a likeliness to the character portrayed.

Capt.Vikram Batra

The first episode telecast on 28 March is based on the story of Captain Vikram Batra of 13 JAK Rifles, honoured Param Vir Chakra posthumously. The Kargil war hero, also famously remembered as the brave soul who endeared himself to viewers after an interview with journalist Barkha Dutta on the field. With his repartee, yeh dil mange more, he has turned the jingle into some kind of the war slogan.

While the scriptwriter did a good job of introducing Vikram Batra as a good son, loving brother, gentle flirt, they seemed to go a bit too far with the yeh dil mange more bit. Seemed like the ad line was coined by Batra himself.

Batra's portrayal on the assignment, his interaction with his colleagues and his motivation speeches were amongst the memorable moments. The scriptwriters, like their Bollywood counterparts, however could not resist typecasting the soldiers on the other side. Sporting henna dyed hair, paan stained teeth and loud personalities, the characters were reduced to caricatures.

Bachchan's national integrity message apart, the script writers have crammed in patriotic messages and religious war cries. Not necessarily a bad thing but nonetheless is slightly over the top.

Director Girish Mallik has managed to get good performances from the cast, but desperately needs to work on the camera angles. Disappointingly enough, he has not managed to utilize the locations and experiment with the camera angles. The look of the serial, at times seems low budget documentary-ish. Even if some shots were canned on the beta camera, a lot can be done by just playing with the light and giving it a sort of Band of Brothers (a HBO original Movie) look.

Looking at the current satellite channel scenario and the obvious lack of original scripts, the series is a welcomed change. Though the idea is not novel, shows and movies based on patriotic themes manage to tug heart strings, be it in India or any where else. Mission Fateh, media blitz and celebrity endorsement et al, does have its heart in right place but what it needs is to sustain interest by playing with emotions, including action and interesting visuals and continuing to push the serial till it registers in the public eye.

Sahara does need badly to carve a niche in midst of the three big daddys of tellydom. While Mission Fateh can help it to scratch the surface, it needs to come up with few more such big tickets.

In a lighter vein, maybe the army needs make it an agenda to promote the series with full gusto looking at the current lull in the army appointments.

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