Saare Jahan Se Accha (2025 TV series)

Plot

In the 1960s, after two conflicts in five years, Indian nuclear physicist Dr. Homi J. Bhabha publicly advocates for India to become a nuclear power, drawing CIA covert operations to sabotage the program. This leads to the creation of the Research & Analysis Wing, headed by R. N. Kao. In 1972, after the Shimla Agreement, Pakistan's Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto escalates his country's nuclear program.

Kao, informed by Mossad, sends Vishnu Shankar to Islamabad on a covert mission to sabotage Pakistan's nuclear program. Vishnu works to locate Pakistan's nuclear facilities. Meanwhile, ISI head Murtaza Malik cleans out foreign operatives; his brother-in-law and colleague Brigadier Naushad Ahmed, an R&AW informant under duress, supplies crucial intelligence that Pakistan is buying nuclear reactors. Naushad is caught and killed by Murtaza.

Vishnu's mission shifts to tracking the reactor purchase. Through operatives Sukhbir (posing as Karachi stock trader Rafiq) and Vikram in Paris, he learns Pakistan is making secret payments to French company HGN. Vikram, with Mossad counterpart Maria and two other R&AW agents in Paris, tracks and murders the ISI agent overseeing the payments.

Production

The series incorporates several true events from the nuclear tensions between India and Pakistan in the 1960s and 1970s. These include Dr. Homi J. Bhabha's claims to build India's nuclear weapons within 18 months and his death in a 1966 plane crash amid assassination allegations. It also depicts the creation of R&AW in 1968, the 1972 Shimla Agreement, and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's establishment of Project 706, which brought back Pakistani nuclear physicists including Munir Ahmad Khan.

Reception

Deepa Gahlot of Rediff.com gave 3.5 stars, noting that Pratik Gandhi finds a match in Sunny Hinduja with a top notch supporting cast. Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave 2.5 out of 5 stars, saying the show steers clear of vicious jingoism but peters off towards the end. Lachmi Deb Roy of Firstpost rated it 3.5/5, calling it a must-watch despite wanting in some departments. Anuj Kumar of The Hindu observed that despite strong performances and a powerful premise, the six-episode drama feels like a compromised mission.

Rashmi Vasudeva of Deccan Herald rated it 3/5, finding it atmospheric in parts and largely engaging. Sana Farzeen of India Today gave 3.5 out of 5, stating the show works because it portrays regular Indian family men serving their country. Rahul Desai of The Hollywood Reporter India commented that the spy thriller is compromised by its own mixed identity.

Shreyanka Mazumdar of News 18 rated 3.5/5, calling it a sharp political thriller driven by powerhouse performances. Aishwarya Vasudevan of OTT Play rated 2.5/5, citing safe execution and predictable plot. Dhaval Roy of The Times of India gave 3.5 out of 5, praising pulse-pounding tension and stellar performances. Subhash K Jha of News 24 gave 2/5, criticizing lame execution and visible lack of funds.