History is a great lesson for the enlightened to look at facts and make amends without leaving room for regrets. However, it is also the most cloaked weapon if distorted by oppressors to instill fear and proliferate hidden agendas. Sevak: The Confessions, a crime thriller anthology released on OTT platform Vidly.tv, is a successful retelling of real history of the post-Partition India untainted by rhetoric propagated by the Indian media over the years.
The series is based on real-life events that unmask the brutalities faced by minorities in India. It boldly confides in its audience from the get go that fascist, terrorist, and extremist forces are actively working in Indian society to destroy the social fabric. These evil forces do not just bring destruction and dejection, but are also willfully ignorant and arrogant to repeat these crimes strategically.
The stories in Sevak unravel heinous crimes committed by the RSS, the Indian government and their machinery in the form of mob violence against minorities, the Hindu nationalist movements, the wave of populism, the supremacist ideas of Hindutva, crimes against humanity, war crimes and violations that may amount to incitement to commit genocide. As soon as the harrowing accounts caught people’s attention, the series and the OTT platform were banned by India in an anxious attempt to hide the true events narrated without a confirmation bias.
The eight-episodic series breaks down horrifying, impossibly tough subjects, powered with actors who have delivered the truth with efficiency and substance. The web series spans over nearly four decades – from 1984 to 2022 – and covers all the atrocities inflicted by the advocates of Hindutva ideology on religious minorities especially Sikhs, Muslims Christians and Dalits that reside in India.
Sevak takes your breath away with its constant developments and compelling storytelling. It throws viewers right into the hellish chaos of the real-life disasters that have been systematically happening to Muslims and other minority groups in India and its terrors and consequences are unflinching and unforgettable.
Start of the Journey
The series introduces us to an ambitious journalist Vidya (played by Hajra Yamin), who is struggling to expose the truth behind a murder that involves her family. She is approached by a mysterious man, Mannu, who is also a victim of oppression by several extremist organizations.
The first episode also narrates the struggles of a Sikh actor, Jeet Singh (played by Mohsin Abbas), who has grown up watching anti-Sikh riots and the plight of her mother. From the onset, we get to learn about Operation Blue Star (and later Operation Woodrose) in which 5000 innocent Sikhs were massacred by the Indian Army in 1984 inside the Golden Temple. 175 Gurdwaras were destroyed and more than 200,000 Sikh men, women and children went missing.
In the Midst of Atrocities
The series then slides into another major event of the demolition of Babri Masjid and the deadliest riots against Muslims in India. It sheds light on the web of lies and deceit that is knitted by followers of the ideology of the RSS. As the story unfolds, it gradually reveals clues about shocking truths behind massacres of Graham Staines, Gujarat pogrom 2002, Gauri Lankesh, Hemant Karkare, Samjhauta Express bombings, Junaid Khan, Surekha Bohtmange, and more heinous crimes.
The crime anthology has been brilliantly written by Saji Gul with nuances and deeper meanings. It will open our eyes to the bombardment of propaganda prevalent in content produced by India that feeds into false narratives. Director Anjum Shahzad and the producers have also put their best foot forward with masterful visual storytelling. Together with a talented cast comprising Mohsin Abbas Haider, Hajra Yamin, Nazarul Hassan, Nayyer Ejaz, Adnan Jaffar and Ammara Malik, who brought their palpable energy to the screens, Sevak: The Confessions unravel scintillating stories intertwined with murder, mystery, action, suspense and espionage. There are a few lighter moments of romance to serve as respite and mirror how life continues even when all hell breaks loose.
The narrative in Sevak is gripping and it is relentless as it builds awful tension with each atrocity, refusing to let go even for a brief moment. There is no caution as the makers have visioned it in a way that you first see the aftermath and then the events that lead to it. The team is confident that any familiarity with the story will only be a proof of its authenticity. It will add to the gut-wrenching experience and make us re-evaluate facts without filters.
An unexpected End
Each episode serves as a wake-up call to our collective consciousness in order to face the reality of human rights violations that are rampant in India. The crime thriller will leave us with a heart-ache and a realization that lies have been consciously fed to us through Indian films, shows and news over the years. There is a long perpetual history of premeditated violation of human rights in India to establish minorities as a threat. The model is strategically designed to create insatiability, persecute religious minorities and take hold of opportunities to use for personal and political power.
Sevak: The Confessions leaves us with a haunting question: what is the cost of this propaganda? The answer lies throughout history in the form of killings of thousands of innocent Sikhs, Christians, Dalits and Muslims.
