P.O.W.- Bandi Yuddh Ke

P.O.W. – Bandi Yuddh Ke
First poster
Genre	family, thriller, drama
Based on	Hatufim
Written by	Aseem Arora Aniruddha Guha Nikkhil Advani
Directed by	Nikkhil Advani Gauravv K Chawla Kaashvi Nair Nikhil Gonsalves
Starring	Amrita Puri Sandhya Mridul Purab Kohli Satyadeep Misra Manish Choudhary
Theme music composer	Arjuna Harjai
Opening theme	Arjuna Harjai
Country of origin	India
Original language(s)	Hindi, Punjabi
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	126
Production
Producer(s)	Monisha Advani Madhu G Bhojwani
Running time	20-24 min 37 min (pilot)
Production company(s)	Emmay Entertainment
Distributor	Turner Broadcasting System
Release
Original network	Star Plus
Picture format	576i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV)
Original release	November 7, 2016 – Present
External links
Website

P.O.W.-Bandi Yuddh Ke is an Indian political thriller television finite series developed by Nikkhil Advani,^[1] and is loosely based on the Israeli drama Hatufim.^[2] The series will premiere from 7 November 2016 and will be broadcast on Star Plus. The trailer of the show was released on the official page of the channel. Several bollywood celebrities have praised the trailer.^[3] The show was premiered at MAMI film fest followed by a talk with Gideon Raff.^[4]

Plot summary

After seventeen years in captivity, two soldiers, who seem to share a dark secret, return to their families. The two families try to pick up where they left off, while a government agent tries to expose their dark secret.

Cast

• Amrita Puri as Harleen Kaur^[5]
• Sandhya Mridul as Nazneen Khan^[6]
• Purab Kohli as Naib Subedar Sartaaj Singh^[7]
• Satyadeep Mishra as Squadron Leader Imaan Khan^[8]
• Manish Chaudhary as Vikram Singh
• Sujata Kumar
• Arun Bali as Harpal Singh
• Suhaas Ahuja as Salim Khan
• Ghazal Thakur as Shaira Khan
• Krish Pathak as Ayaan Khan
• Ravinder Bakshi as Satpal Singh
• Ragini Sharma as Veera
• Anindita Nayar as Dr. Nandini Kapoor
• Vrushabh Naik as Arjan
• Sameksha as Indra Jai Singh

Production

Development

Star Plus approached Nikkhil Advani after watching his latest film D-Day, to direct a show based on the similar plotline on their channel. Star Plus had him watch both Hatufim and its American counterpart Homeland. Advani sought to make a show like Hatufim since he thought a show like Homeland would not suite Indian's sensibilities.^[9]

Casting

Advani decided to rope in Amrita Puri, Purab Kohli,^[10][11] Satyadeep Misra, Manish Chaudhary and Sandhya Mridul – the former debuting on the small screen and the latter returning on the small screen after a hiatus of two years.^[12] Jai Jai Jai Bajrang Bali, Gumrah: End of Innocence and Yeh Hai Mohabbatein fame Kanisha Malhotra joined the show on November, 2016.^[13]

Music

Arjuna Harjai made his television debut with this show. He composed all the music tracks , background score , OST and also sung some, except the title track.^[14]

Critical Reception

The show have received rave reviews from critics and audience alike. Gursimran Kaur Bangal of The Times of India "The show has managed to hold us all through the three episodes aired so far. The narrative is gripping and stirs you emotionally. It keeps you glued to what will happen next. This one is not to be missed!"^[15] Anvita Singh of India Today praised the show's unique plot, strong female characters, actors and the good cliffhanger.^[16] Mid-Day have compared the show with its American counterpart and told While it aids in etching the underlying theme of the series, the treatment given to the two adaptations are significantly distanced from one another.^[17]

References

1. "Nikkhil Advani: 'P.O.W.' equal to 22 films". The Times of India. Retrieved 3 Oct 2016.
2. "Gideon Raff: I am worried whenever 'Prisoners of War' is remade". The Times of India. Retrieved 25 Oct 2016.
3. "B-Town: Nikkhil Advani raising the bar on TV". The Times of India. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
4. "Purab Kohli's tv series became first show to be priemered at MAMI". International Business Times.
5. "How Amrita Puri struggled after shooting P.O.W.- Bandi Yuddh Ke". NDTV. Retrieved 28 Oct 2016.
6. "Tough to understand the trauma of wives of war heroes". The Times of India. Retrieved 5 Nov 2016.
7. "Playing on contrast". The Hindu. Retrieved 12 Nov 2016.
8. "Aditi is my closest friend: Satyadeep Mishra". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 12 Nov 2016.
9. "Nikhil Advani: My show is not an adaptation of 'Homeland'. That kind of show won't work in India". The Times of India. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
10. "Purab Kohli goes raw for Nikhil Advani's show". The Times of India. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
11. "Purab Kohli didn't want to do daily soaps after 'Hip Hip Hurray'". The Times of India. Retrieved 3 Oct 2016.
12. "Amrita Puri to play the lead role in Indian remake of Homeland?". India Today. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
13. "Kanisha Malhotra joins Nikkhil Advani's 'P.O.W.'". The Times of India. Retrieved 10 Nov 2016.
14. "Arjuna Harjai: Making music for Nikhil Advani's TV show is a lot of fun!". The Times of India. Retrieved 5 Nov 2016.
15. "Review: P.O.W. - Bandi Yuddh Ke strikes a chord with its engaging content". The Times of India. Retrieved 10 Nov 2016.
16. "P.O.W. -- Bandi Yuddh Ke Review: Nikkhil Advani's powerful show might set new standards for Indian television". India Today. Retrieved 8 Nov 2016.
17. "'POW: Bandi Yuddh Ke' is 'Homeland' with more heart". Mid-Day. Retrieved 9 Nov 2016.