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*The Freelancer*
The Freelancer
Genre	Action-thriller
Created by	Neeraj Pandey
Based on	A Ticket To Syria by Shirish Thorat
Written by	Neeraj Pandey; Ritesh Shah;
Directed by	Bhav Dhulia
Starring	Mohit Raina; Anupam Kher; Kashmira Pardeshi;
Theme music composer	Sanjoy Chowdhury
Country of origin	India
Original language	Hindi
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	7
Production
Executive producers	Gaurav Banerjee; Mahesh Menon; Varun Malik;
Producer	Shital Bhatia
Production location	India
Cinematography	Arvind Singh; Sudheer Palsane;
Editor	Praveen Kathikuloth
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	30-60 minutes
Production company	Friday Storytellers
Original release
Network	Disney+ Hotstar
Release	1 September 2023 –; present

The Freelancer is an Indian Hindi-language action thriller television series created and written by Neeraj Pandey, with Bhav Dhulia serving as the director after Khakee: The Bihar Chapter (2022).^[1] Produced by Shital Bhatia under the banner of Friday Storytellers, the series features Mohit Raina, Anupam Kher and Kashmira Pardeshi.^[2] It premiered on Disney+ Hotstar on 1 September 2023.^[3]

Plot

Inayat Khan and Avinash Kamath are Mumbai Police officers who get thrown out of the police force after Inayat slaps an arrogant and corrupt politician who tries to force them to look the other way when the politician's son commits some crimes. While Avinash becomes a military freelancer, Inayat struggles to find a new job. Over the years, the two lose contact of each other.

In the meanwhile, Inayat's daughter Aliya marries Mohsin Fazal who comes from a well to do family in Malaysia. Soon after the marriage the Fazal family makes a family trip to Turkey, from where the whole family crosses the border into Syria to join ISIS. Aliya is opposed to this, but is forced to go along by her husband and his family.

Once they cross over to Syria, Inayat loses contact with his daughter and worries about her. When he approaches Mumbai police for help in locating his daughter, no one pays any attention to his pleas because he had been dishonourably removed from the police force. Left with no option, he stages a false security incident in front of the Consulate General of the United States, Mumbai in which he is shot dead, knowing that the incident will be plastered all over the media and get the attention of Avinash, who he believes is the only person who can rescue Aliya.

When Avinash visits Inayat's wife Sabeena to pay his condolences, she tells him about Aliya's disappearance in Turkey. After investigation, Avinash finds that the whole Fazal family had been radicalised under the influence of one Farhat Khala.

From Syria, Aliya manages to get in touch with her mother and explain everything to her. Sabeena puts Avinash in touch with Aliya, and he launches a rescue operation to get her back.

Cast

Mohit Raina as Avinash Damodharan Kamath alias "The Freelancer": Mrunal's husband
Anupam Kher as Dr. Arif Ajmaal Khan
Kashmira Pardeshi as Aleeya Khan / Rukhsaar Ahmed / Sonia Shah, Inayat and Sabeena's daughter
Ayesha Raza Mishra as Sabeena Khan née Anwar: Aliya's mother; Inayat's wife
Manjari Fadnis as Mrunal Kamath née Chikate: Avinash's wife
Sarah-Jane Dias as CIA Agent Radha Lampat Baxi
Sushant Singh as Inayat Khan, Aliya's father; Sabeena's husband
Jeniffer Piccinato as Miriam, Avinash's lawyer
Arnav Maggo as Sameer Fazal
Navneet Malik as Mohsin Fazal: Aliya's husband
Geeta Agrawal Sharma as Asar Fazal
Hardika Sharma as Child Aliya
Edward Sonnenblick as Burt Raphael
Karan Sharma as Afsaar
Danny Clifford as Buzz Jones
Mario Silva as Sheikh Khaleel
Balaji Gauri as Farhat Khala
John Kokken as Intelligence officer Raghavendra Sethu
Aakash Dabhade as Wilson
Sairi Salma as Nadia Khadki
Sangay Tsheltrim as Gurung Thapa, Nepali free lancer
Jalila Talemsi as Amena
Anouar Akerrmann as Ritchie
Sami Fekkak as The Photographer
Youssef Tounzi as Registration officer 1
Faycal Zeglat as Registration officer 2
Varun Pande
Shahid Lateef
Ujjwal Gauraha as Janitor

Production

The series was announced on Disney+ Hotstar by Friday Storytellers,^[4] and features Mohit Raina in the titular role, Anupam Kher and Kashmira Pardeshi as the lead.^[2] It is based on Shirish Thorat's A Ticket to Syria (2017).^[5] The principal photography of the series commenced in 2022 and wrapped up in 2023.^[6] The series is set in Syria^[7] and were primarily shot in Mumbai, Morocco, Europe, America and the Middle East.^[8]^[9] The trailer of the series was released on 8 August 2023.^[10]

Reception

Anuj Kumar of The Hindu stated that "Bereft of high-octane action or deep insight, this thriller created by Neeraj Pandey feels formulaic and farcical"^[11] Archika Khurana of The Times of India rated 3.5 out of 5 and wrote that "Without a doubt, 'The Freelancer' adds another success to Neeraj Pandey's portfolio. It's a must-watch for its engaging plot, tension-filled atmosphere, and effective storytelling, which captivate viewers throughout."^[12] Deepa Gahlot of Rediff.com rated the series 2.5/5 stars.^[13] Sunidhi Prajapat of OTT Play rated the series 3.5/5 stars.^[14]