The much-anticipated second season of Neeraj Pandey’s hit espionage thriller series Special Ops is set to premiere on JioHotstar on July 11. The series continues to follow RAW agent Himmat Singh, played by Kay Kay Menon, as he takes on the daunting challenge of tackling global cybersecurity threats. This season also introduces a new antagonist, portrayed by Tahir Raj Bhasin, who steps in following Sajjad Delafrooz’s nuanced act in Season 1. t2 was at the star-studded trailer launch held recently at the Grand Hyatt in Bandra, Mumbai, where we caught up with Pandey and Menon for a chat.
Neeraj, Special Ops has become one of those shows that has distinctly carved a space for itself in the OTT espionage/Indian spy thriller genre. How did you and the others go about raising the stakes for Season 2?
Neeraj Pandey: We were never consciously cognisant of the fact that expectations might have risen. But we did know that there was more anticipation this time around, that people wanted to have a better experience. That was the catalyst that drove us and continues to drive us. After Season 1, we knew we had to be more accountable the next season. As you know, we did 1.5 in between… so that’s something that all of us, every single team member, is cognisant of, and then that becomes a stepping stone to identifying the idea, to writing the script, to getting the team together, and so on. That’s where it all starts, and because we enjoy it, it becomes even more fun.
The theme this season is, in many ways, a tad more serious. Was there ever a moment in which you felt: ‘This is riskier than what we did last time?’
Neeraj: We all thought the story this season was even more interesting. As storytellers, we get to tell cool, exciting stuff, and this genre is something I’ve always been massively interested in. Cybersecurity as a motif was something we thought would be different. Truth be told, in this business, everything is risky. So, the best thing that you can do is not think about it and just fall into the story. Just go ahead and do what you want to do
Kay Kay, Himmat Singh is now an iconic character. Does he still surprise you as a character?
Kay Kay Menon: Personally, I look at each scene as being unique, as never having been done before, even though similarities may exist. So I never get bogged down by either the past or the future of a particular performance. I didn’t know that Himmat Singh would be a hit in the first season itself. I usually just do my best within the confines of what is already present and then leave the rest to destiny.
I don’t think any actor can pre-empt their roles. So the more time you spend playing with a character, the more important it is to play it wholeheartedly and then leave it for the audience to decide. That’s very much my view of it.
Expectations aren’t really quantitative. People may say things like: ‘Oh, we want this to be bolder, bigger…’ but these things don’t mean anything in the quantitative sense. What we need to do is tell a story afresh in terms of the plot. If we keep doing that with sincerity, it will come across to the viewer.
There was a particular aspect of Himmat that we saw in Season 1, and then we elaborated on that character in 1.5. So you know a little more about him through 1.5. And now you will know a little more about him again, through 2. And so the audience, as well as the actor, are constantly learning more about the character. That’s what keeps it interesting.
Neeraj: For us to write a new aspect of the character, something that has not been told to the audience... that’s exciting. And it’s exciting for Kay Kay to discover that while reading the script. That naturally whets our appetite. We will have to again tap into something new when we write Season 3.
Kay Kay: It’s actually quite fun to see the choices Himmat makes with each season and each episode, so it’s really much more to do from the writer’s side. Very honestly, if it’s not there on paper, I can’t really do much about the character!
Neeraj: It’s also got to do with how long Kay Kay and I have worked together! We’ve had a journey of many years. It becomes interesting, while we are writing the story, to see what boundaries we can create or push. We’re always trying to come up with something different; we tell each other: ‘Let’s try and see if this particular thing works out.’ Which is really what 1.5 was all about.
We wanted to see a younger version of Himmat. We wanted to see him doing action. We wanted to do certain stuff with him, which was not possible, or rather was not on our minds when we wrote and did Season 1. But because the first season was what it was, we ended up making 1.5. Now Season 2 will be entirely different, and hopefully next season will go deeper into something even more.
The franchise is now joined by Tahir Raj Bhasin and Tota Roy Choudhury. What kind of conversations did the team have while taking this story forward?
Neeraj: The conversations are very much part of the process, especially in the aftermath of the reception that we got for Season 1. When we did 1.5, we sat down, chewed on the feedback that we got for 1, and tried to come up with what could be an interesting story for a four-episode season. We knew that it would be a shorter season, even at that point of time. And that’s how Himmat’s backstory came into being. We had never thought that we would be doing a 1.5 with Himmat’s story, and that too with it being narrated by Vinay (Pathak)’s character! Abbas, by far, is the one who has the closest peek into who Himmat really is. These are things that evolve, and they are all part of the process. It’s like writing a long novel. So we are on chapter 3 of that novel right now, technically, with Season 2. Let’s hope we can keep writing it for a long time.
And about Tota, I’m glad you asked! I can only tell you this much... you’ll see an aspect of his which you’ve not seen in Bengali films at all. Ever. You’ll see Tota in a completely new light. And we are proud to introduce him in this manner through Season 2.
Neeraj, what is your approach towards sequels, especially with characters the audience already knows well? For example, your Khakee: The Bengal Chapter was quite different from The Bihar Chapter...
Neeraj: I’ll use the word ‘franchise’. We haven’t really done any sequels for any of our films. Naam Shabana was the one-off that we did, but that was not a sequel so much as it was an indirect spawn. But we knew when we started doing Special Ops that it would be a franchise if it worked. That’s how it was conceived in the first place, because that’s how season writing works. The series has to work itself, firstly, and if it works, then it is up to you to figure out how to take the story forward. Anything that we’ve done in the digital space has the potential to become a franchise eventually, and that’s what has happened. So you start with that objective, and then you add to it. You hire the best talent, and you make it work. It’s as simple as that.
Kay Kay: And especially, it’s very interesting for Himmat as a character because he’s juggling work with his family life, and his relationship with his daughter. It’s complex that way, since for him, it’s always a nation-first policy. It’s his life motto. His work, his country are everything to him. But his family is not to be taken lightly either. So the complexity of that is what is exhilarating for an actor to do.
Is there ever the worry that you may be ‘glamorising’ the intelligence world? Especially with a character like Himmat Singh, who is equal parts suave and deadly…
Kay Kay: I think it’s more about bringing out the difficulties in that profession, rather than anything else. Romanticising or glamorising it is not our intention, and I don’t think we ever approached the story that way either. It’s not something I ever thought about, at least. The intelligence industry is a thankless profession. You save the country 5,000 times, but the one time you slip up or fail to anticipate something, all the blame falls on you. And most of the time, it’s not even your fault. But the ridicule comes down to you anyway, because that’s when people start to say things like: ‘Oh, the whole intelligence community has failed us.’
We are just glad that we are at least able to put across to the people, albeit through a cinematic format, what life in intelligence is all about. So if the audience sees a bit of glamour in that, there’s no harm done.