The Family Man Season 2. Deconstructed.

Title: The Family Man Season 2

Starring: Manoj Bajpayee, Samantha Akkineni, Sharib Hashmi, Priya Mani, Sharad Kelkar, Dalip Tahil, Seema Biswas, Vipin Sharma, Sunny Hinduja and others.

Teleplay/Screenplay: Raj and DK, Suman Kumar and Suparn Varma.

Direction: Raj and DK, Suparn Varma.

No. of episodes: 9

Deconstruct meter: 3.5/5

Raj and DK have a peculiar style of film-making that does not take itself seriously in the face of it. It is surrounded by a casual and an effortless aura. Be it 99, Shor in The City or Go Goa Gone; it is always outright fun and engaging. The Family Man, on the other hand, progresses into being a full tilt thriller genre, with a lot of Raj and DK-ness all over it. Nonetheless, it is downright entertaining.

Without much ado, the second season jumps right into action. The events of the first season are given a quick revisit. The several repercussions of season 1 are introduced to the audience in the form of changing camaraderie’s. Things have changed in the second season, but deep down, everybody is still the same.

The Family Man S2 knocks a solid punch mainly in the writing and acting departments. The script is a fireball apart from one or two odd scenes here and there. And the ensemble cast adds life to the crackling screenplay in the form of incredible performances all round.

The witty and careful amalgamation of the story line of Season 1 into a brand-new story line of this season comes together like clockwork. As always, the writing (screenplay and dialogue; Raj and DK, Suman Kumar and Suparn Varma) is exceptional, slick and fast paced. It is research laden and focuses on deep dwelling into characters. This play of emotions viz a viz the unfolding action makes for an intense watching experience. The show has gotten bigger in terms of scale and set pieces. What I love about season 1 are the relentless chase sequences necessitated by unexpected encounters, wherein, the struggle of everyone is the frame is evident. This style of choreography is used for almost all the dynamic sequences in the season, backed by an ardent background score. Also, quirky dialogue, Sri and JK’s sizzling camaraderie and brilliant performances highlighted the first season. Clearly, all these elements have been carried into this season to great effect.

Talking about this season as a standalone show, the scale is magnificent, and the characters come alive in the grand scheme of National Security things. Helping the edge-of-the-seat writing along the way are crackling performances by all the cast members. The ease with which Manoj Bajpayee plays Srikant is astonishing. He is angry, vulnerable, helpless, powerless and confident all at the same time. And Bajpayee makes you dive deep into the life and complexities of Srikant Tiwari; the agent; the patriot; the Family man. Sharib Hashmi is fun to watch playing JK Talpade, Sri’s sidekick and friend and confidant. Sunny Hinduja as Milind Hinduja gets a meaty turn in this season and his screen presence is terrific. Priya Mani and Sharad Kelkar return as Suchi and Arvind. Seema Biswas is nuanced and powerful as Prime Minister Basu and Vipin Sharma plays SAMBIT, the PM’s NSA. Cute. The real hero of this season though is Samantha as the mysterious, unpredictable and fiery Rajalakshmi AKA Raji. Her character is expressionless throughout the show. Why it is glorious though; Raji has a certain element of physicality and an undying thirst for revenge. Revenge in the form of a bad ass bombing. The insane level of preparation Samantha has put in to perform Raji’s character is evident; which is why she is the real hero of the show; hands down.

Another element to Raj and DK’s Family Man are larger than life antagonists. Moosa in season 1 and Raji in season 2. When the antagonists are bad ass, the protagonists’ fight tends to look more grandiose than it is. All in the writing. And Raj and DK are very invested in creating memorable bad guys, which is not an easy thing to do. The drama is accentuated by a superb background score and top-notch cinematography.

The Family man S2 disappoints in bits after a point as the chase sequences begin to feel a little forced and stretched. Whatever worked in season 1 is amplified and thrown at the audience in this season. Tends to get a little melodramatic after a point. Also, the climax could have been better by leaps and bounds. It sorely disappoints. Like an abrupt end to an amazing joy ride. Watching a feeble Manoj Bajpayee engaging in hand-to-hand combat is an absolute disaster. Followed by mediocre special effects trying to pull off a Bond-esque climax is a no go. Nada.

Apart from this, the show is a firecracker and entertains thoroughly. Manoj Bajpayee shines as the Family Man. Like in the first season, the audience is left high and dry in anticipation of what happens next.

Rest assured; a third season is on its way. Raj and DK style.

The Family Man Season 2.

Streaming on Amazon Prime Video.