‘Bard of Blood’: Another Indian jaunt from Netflix
Ribhu Dasgupta’s latest, “Bard of Blood,” a Netflix original, enjoys a free run with its bold content and easy style. Adapted from Bilal Siddiqi’s 2015 novel, “Bard of Blood” converts words into visuals, and narrates a spy thriller largely set in Balochistan.
In a tightly scripted sevenepisode series, the director uses Shakespearean themes of tragedy and turbulence to tell the story of protagonist Kabir Anand (Emraan Hashmi). Anand teaches Shakespeare in a school, and believes that the playwright is relevant today. In fact, Anand’s own life has an uncanny resemblance to that of the tragic heroes found in the plays penned by “the Bard.” Anand — also known as “Adonis” — is a former Indian intelligence officer who is called back to help rescue four Indian agents taken hostage by the Taliban in Balochistan. Facing Taliban supremo Mullah Khalid (Danish Hussain) and his fire-spewing son, Aftab, Anand knows that this will be no Shakespearean sonnet. Drawn into the mission, he gets into battle-gear with Isha Khanna (Sobhita Dhulipala), an analyst in India’s intelligence set-up and Veer Singh (Viineet Kumar), a forgotten undercover agent in Balochistan. Helping Anand in the province is his old flame, Jannat (Kirti Kulhari), whose teenage brother is part of a resistance movement against the Taliban.
“Bard of Blood” is espionage in every frame with bullets and blood, guns and gore — tempered with love and lust. But beneath all these is a wily political game. It becomes apparent that the agents on the ground are mere puppets. Enriching Dasgupta’s taut narration is a superb performance by Hashmi. He is variedly subtle and stylish without melodrama.
However, “Bard of Blood” may be seen as cliched in a certain sense — it does push the anti-Pakistan feeling that is now prevalent in India’s political echelons. In the end, we must remember that in the game of espionage, there are no good and bad guys.