After making the absolutely outstanding ,Nikkhil Advani returns with yet another lesser-known or talked about chapter of India’s freedom struggle with . Read MensXP’s The Revolutionaries review below.
The Revolutionaries Story
1912. Four young revolutionaries, Rash Behari Bose (Bhuvan Bam), Bagha Jatin (Gurfateh Pirzada), Sachindranath Sanyal (Rohit Saraf), and Pratibha Lahiri (Pratibha Ranta), rise against the illegitimate Raj in British-occupied India. Two British officers (Jason Shah, Ed Robinson) vow to crush the armed rebellion, determined to reassert imperial power and crush a generation of young Indians willing to die for freedom.
© Prime Video
The Revolutionaries Review
How do you make a story interesting when you are already aware of the outcome and the fate of almost all the characters involved? Nikkhil Advani did it once with the terrific Freedom at Midnight and he has done it again with The Revolutionaries. And the answer is a solid screenplay.
While characters that featured in Freedom at Night are widely known, the same can’t be said about the lead characters in The Revolutionaries which acts like a companion piece to the previous show and could well be termed as the first in the unofficial trilogy where the former is the concluding chapter of India’s struggle for Independence.
There have been many shows and movies about the likes of Bhagat Singh, Chandra Shekhar Azad, Udham Singh, Subhash Chandra Bose, Mahatama Gandhi, Jawahar Lal Nehru, but not much is known about those who preceded them and in many ways were even the inspirations of the aforementioned freedom fighters.
These are Rash Behari Bose, Sachindranath Sanyal, Bagha Jatin and Pratibha Lahiri.
These four are the main focus of The Revolutionaries that depicts how in 1912 the young guns of that era finally decide to fight back and give it back to the British in a way they never expected.
What The Revolutionaries does is it takes us back to a time before Mahatama Gandhi returns to India and before the rise of the other popular Indian freedom fighters.
© Prime Video
Set between 1912 to 1915, The Revolutionaries makes for an intriguing and outstanding watch while also a lesson in history not known in popular culture.
What I also found interesting about the show was the fact that these young freedom fighters act their age.
Besides the revolt of 1857 involving Mangal Pandey, there wasn’t a single instance of India fighting back, Rash Behari Bose takes inspiration from the same and takes it a notch higher by gathering an army.
Considering these revolutionaries are inexperienced, you see them making mistakes, getting caught, losing battles and their different plans failing time and again.
Also, the show isn’t about winning the battle but more about fighting back and inspiring others who came afterwards.
While the screenplay works despite being a bit complex and kind of convoluted with multiple subplots, the show falters a bit in its pacing.
Especially towards the end, the pacing takes a hit, and I’d have preferred may be an episode shorter season. The final episode especially becomes a bit tedious to watch in the first half.
Another thing I wasn’t a fan of was the multiple dream sequences throughout the series. I guess the idea behind that was showing the young Indians and how they think through the possibilities are endless, but it just doesn’t work.
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The production design is one of the best I have seen on Indian OTT and the action set pieces are nothing short of a big screen spectacle.
The series also features songs like theatrical film, and they blend well with the narrative.
The Revolutionaries Cast Performance
Bhuvan Bam has shown promise as an actor, but this is definitely going to be his big breakthrough. He embodies Rash Behari Bose quite naturally and delivers a compelling performance. However, maybe he can go light on the smoulder in non-verbal scenes.
Rohit Saraf is first rate as the youngest of the Revolutionaries and this is also his character’s coming of age. This is another feather in his hat.
Gurfateh Pirzada quite good as the legendary Bagha Jatin. He gets to shine despite relative limited screentime as compared to the other lead actors. His climactic scene will hit you right in the feels.
Pratibha Ranta has a magnetic screen presence and proves to be strong asset to the show. Her chemistry with Rohit Saraf is fabulous.
© Prime Video
Jason Shah as General Dyer is outstanding. This isn’t a one-note evil character. I mean, he is as evil as the real Dyer, but we see shades to it which is interesting to watch.
Ed Robinson as Charles Tegart is a revelation. Ed has featured in shows like Freedom at Midnight and Rocket Boys. But this here could be his big breakthrough in terms of popularity.
All the supporting cast members are good.
The Revolutionaries Final Verdict
Overall, The Revolutionaries is a must-watch. If you enjoy watching historical movies and shows, and loved Freedom at Midnight, this should be on your watchlist for it’s a chapter in history that should never be forgotten.