The Test Case is a 2017 Indian web series, directed by Vinay Waikul and Nagesh Kukunoor and produced by Endemol Shine India for the ALTBalaji.[1] It stars Nimrat Kaur, Akshay Oberoi, Atul Kulkarni, Rahul Dev and Anup Soni in lead roles along with Juhi Chawla in a guest appearance. The web series is about the main character training to be the first woman test case in a combat role, within the Indian Army.[2][3] The basic story of this web series is inspired from the 1997 American film G.I. Jane.[4]
| The Test Case | |
|---|---|
_publicity_poster.jpg) Official Poster | |
| Genre | Drama Web series |
| Created by | Ekta Kapoor Samar Khan |
| Developed by | Endemol Shine India |
| Written by | Ishita Moitra |
| Screenplay by | Mukul Srivastava Nagesh Kukunoor |
| Story by | Samar Khan Vinay Waikul |
| Directed by | Vinay Waikul Nagesh Kukunoor |
| Creative director | Nimisha Pandey |
| Starring | Nimrat Kaur Akshay Oberoi Atul Kulkarni Rahul Dev Anup Soni |
| Theme music composer | Tapas Relia (Background Music) |
| Opening theme | Sohail Sen |
| Country of origin | India |
| Original language | Hindi |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 10 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Mrinalini Khanna |
| Producers | Shefali Bandyopadhyay Akshay Mhatre Shravan Reddy |
| Production locations | Mumbai, Maharashtra |
| Editors | Abhishek Seth Shakti Hasija |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | ~30 minutes |
| Production company | Endemol Shine India |
| Budget | ~4 crores |
| Original release | |
| Network | ALT Balaji |
| Release | 30 April 2017 – 26 January 2018 |
Plot edit
Protagonist Captain Shikha Sharma (Nimrat Kaur) is the only woman in a group of Indian Army officers training to join the Special forces.[5] She is also the first woman to be undertaking the course making her a "test case" for inducting women into combat oriented roles in the Indian army. The storyline revolves around her journey of overcoming challenges at home to biases by her colleagues despite being an intelligent and a highly motivated individual.[6]
Shikha initially faces physical challenges when completing a demanding obstacle course. But she perseveres and overcomes them with grit. This results in making both friends and enemies among her colleagues. She manages to not only remain in the course but also moves up to the top-half of the team's leaderboard. During the final phase of training, which is in the form of a simulated sortie into harsh enemy territory spanning multiple days, Shikha is placed in command of one of the two competing squads in an effort to test her leadership skills. The exercise ends in disaster with the squad losing contact with the course instructors for a prolonged period of time. The squad eventually makes it back with Shikha and Captain Bilal (Akshay Oberoi) suffering severe injuries and unconscious. A medical examination reveals that Shikha's injuries were not as a result of combat injuries. But a follow-up interrogation by the lead course instructor Naib Subedar Kirpal Bhatti (Rahul Dev) and the course commanding officer Colonel Ajinkya Sathe (Atul Kulkarni) has Shikha and the members of her squad insisting that nothing untoward happened and the injuries were as a result of an accident.
In the meanwhile, an anonymous letter is sent to the Army command alleging that Shikha was sexually assaulted during the exercise.[4] Lieutenant Colonel Imtiaz Hussain (Anup Soni), a poker aficionado, is dispatched to investigate quickly and quietly. Using a series of unconventional tactics Colonel Hussain ultimately manages to piece together the sequence of events and identify the culprit. But Shikha refuses to press charges saying she wants to solve this problem without anyone else helping her. She explains to Hussain that she wants to set a clear example that women are not only just capable of joining combat units but also equally capable of defending themselves without help. She ultimately manages to get Captain Manit Varma (Suhail Nayyar) to confess while covertly recording his confession; And also manages to defeat him in one on one close quarter combat. He is ultimately arrested and led away by the Army police.[7]
The story ends on a happy note with Shikha graduating top of the training course.
Cast edit
- Nimrat Kaur as Captain Shikha Sharma (Corps of Army Intelligence, Para Probie)
- Juhi Chawla as Shraddha Pandit (cameo) - Minister of Defense
- Atul Kulkarni as Colonel Ajinkya Sathe - CO, SFTS (Parachute Regiment)
- Rahul Dev as Naib Subedar Kirpal Bhatti - Instructor, SFTS (Parachute Regiment)
- Anup Soni as Lieutenant Colonel Imtiaz Hussain (Parachute Regiment)
- Akshay Oberoi as Captain Bilal Siddiqui (Artillery Regiment, Para Probie)
- Manit Joura as Captain Avinash Walia (Mechanized Infantry, Para Probie)
- Bhuvan Arora as Captain Rohan Rathore (Brigade Of The Guards, Para Probie)
- Sumit Suri as Captain Ranjit Surjewal (Madras Regiment, Para Probie)
- Tarun Gahlot as Captain 'Tank' Chauhan (Para Probie)
- Bijou Thaangjam as Rifleman Tej Bahadhur Thapa (3GR, Para Probie)
- Saurabh Goyal as Captain Vishnu Soren (Bihar Regiment, Para Probie)
- Suhail Nayyar as Captain Manit Verma (Bombay Sappers, Para Probie)
- Shruthy Menon as Dr.Captain Aparna Rao - RMO (Army Medical Corps)
- Rio Kapadia as Major General M. Sundar Raman
- Arshia Verma as Captain Rohan Rathore’s Daughter
- Samir Kochhar as Shivalik Ahuja[8]
- Pawan Chopra as Subedar Major Devidyal (Capt Shikha Sharma's father)
- Rituraj Singh as General Bedi
- Sonal Jha as Captain Shikha's Mother
- Rajveer Singh Rajput as Tender
Episodes edit
- Episode 1: The Beginning.
- Episode 2: The Outsider.
- Episode 3: The Player.
- Episode 4: Heart of Darkness - Part 1.
- Episode 5: Heart of Darkness - Part 2.
- Episode 6: Down but Not Out.
- Episode 7: Mind Games.
- Episode 8: Prisoners of Conscience.
- Episode 9: The Confession.
- Episode 10: Season Finale: What goes around... Comes around.
Delay in episode availability edit
The first episode of the series was made available on the launch date over the ALT Balaji App. The future of the series appeared uncertain after successive episodes did not follow for a prolonged period. Reports of creative differences emerged between the director and the producer[9][10][11] as a possible reason for the delay. Eventually it was announced that from the second episode onwards, Kukunoor had been replaced by Vinay Waikul as the director. Waikul had previously served as first assistant director for the super-hit Bollywood films like Dangal, 3 idiots, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and Ghajini. This web series was Waikul's directorial debut.[12]
In December 2017, an announcement from the show's producer confirmed the shooting having been completed for the remaining 9 episodes. These were made available for viewing on 26 January 2018 - to coincide with the Indian Republic Day.[13]
Reception edit
Bollywood actor Aamir Khan liked the series and appreciated the entire cast of the series for their efforts.[14]
Awards edit
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Indian Television Academy Awards | Best Director in a Web Series | Nagesh Kukunoor | Won | [15] |
| Best Actress in a Web Series | Nimrat Kaur | Won | |||
| 2018 | IWM Digital Awards | Best Actress Drama | Won | [16] | |
| iReel Awards | Best Actress Drama | Won | [17] | ||
| Streaming Awards - February Edition | Best Actress | Won | [18] |
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Ekta Kapoor's Test Case back with a bang; this popular actor to join the cast". India Today. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
- ^ "The Test Case trailer: Nimrat Kaur looks tough as nails in her upcoming web series. Watch video". The Indian Express. 7 April 2017. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
- ^ "ALTBalaji launches the inspirational trailer of Nimrat Kaur's 'The Test Case' - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
- ^ a b "The Test Case review: Nimrat Kaur's one-woman army show is the best thing to happen to Indian TV in years". hindustantimes.com. 1 February 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
- ^ "The Test Case trailer: Nimrat Kaur plays an army captain in the upcoming ALTBalaji web series". Firstpost. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
- ^ "The Test Case Review: Nimrat Kaur's sublime showing, writers' grasp of material make for an Indian army soap opera". Firstpost. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
- ^ "'The Test Case' Review: B*lls, P*ssies & What They Signify". The Quint. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
- ^ "The Test Case: Samir Kochhar to star opposite Nimrat Kaur in ALT Balaji web series". Firstpost. 27 September 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
- ^ Nathan, Leona (7 June 2017). "Is Ekta Kapoor's web series Test Case shelved after just one episode?". India.com. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
- ^ "What happened to Ekta Kapoor's 'Test Case'?". mid-day. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
- ^ "Nimrat Kaurs Test Case shelved after one episode? Ekta Kapoor reveals the real reason". Retrieved 4 September 2017.
- ^ "Vinay Waikul Marks Directorial Debut with ALT Balaji's Web Series THE TEST CASE". Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ "Nimrat Kaur's web series 'The Test Case' to be back from THIS date". News Nation Bureau. 3 December 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
- ^ "Aamir Khan Takes To Twitter, Appreciate Ekta Kapoor and Nimrat Kaur's Web Series: The Test Case". Headlines Today. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
- ^ "Winners List: 17th Indian Television Academy Awards,2017".
- ^ "Winners List: IWM Digital Awards, 2018".
- ^ "Winners List: iReel Awards, 2018".
- ^ "Winners List: Streaming Awards, February 2018 Edition". Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
External links edit
- The Test Case web series on ALTBalaji
- The Test Case at IMDb
