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The story of a middle-class man who works for a special cell of the National Investigation Agency. While he tries to protect the nation from terrorists, he also has to protect his family from the impact of his secretive, high-pressure, and low paying job.
Episodes
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E1: The Family ManSrikant Tiwari, a member of TASC, a discreet intelligence agency, is assigned to interrogate suspected ISIS recruits. Balancing his personal life with work becomes a challenge for this family man, and things get out of hand on both fronts. -
E2: SleepersA scooter bomb goes off at Kala Ghoda. Srikant learns about a mission called Zulfiqar. Suspects in the blast case tell him about a drop box near Victoria College. He arranges for round-the-clock surveillance at the drop box location.
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E3: Anti-NationalWhen he finds out that one of the hospitalised prisoners is part of Mission Zulfiqar, Srikant interrogates the prisoner’s friend, Moosa, about it. Someone called Kareem has used the dropbox. TASC monitors Kareem’s hostel room, but Kareem gives them the slip.
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E4: PatriotsTASC is in a quandary. They fear Kareem and his men have a devious plan. They get to Kareem’s car, only to realise that things are not what they seem.
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E5: PariahISI agent Sameer sends the Kala Ghoda bomber to Kashmir to execute Mission Zulfiqar. Srikant is ‘punished’ and sent to Kashmir, but when his boss, Kulkarni, tells him it was planned, Srikant starts digging into Zulfiqar.
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E6: Dance of DeathSrikant discovers that he’s been after the wrong suspect all this time.
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E7: ParadiseSrikant searches for Sajid at a wedding in Baramulla. Pakistan’s PM finds out about Zulfiqar and tries to stop it.
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E8: Act of WarSrikant helps CIA locate Faizan, a wanted man hiding in Balochistan. Srikant slips into Pakistan to interrogate Faizan.
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E9: Fighting DirtySrikant tries to thwart a plan to smuggle nerve gas canisters from Kashmir into Delhi.
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E10: The BombTASC realises that Mission Zulfiqar is not over. There is a Plan B. And it has already been put to action.
Episodes
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E1: ExileSrikant Tiwari has started a new life as an IT employee, but he can't stay away from adventure when JK is sent to Chennai to nab a former foreign insurgent. Chennai TASC agent, Muthu and JK are faced with a hostage situation in Chennai. And Dhriti may have a boyfriend.
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E2: WeaponSuchitra wants Srikant to go for couple counselling. Prime Minister Basu wants to make up for India's recent foreign policy faux pas. Bhaskaran activates an elite unit with Major Sameer's help. A creep harasses Raji.
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E3: Angel of DeathSuchitra's birthday dinner triggers a showdown between Srikant and Suchitra. Srikant quits his IT job and joins back TASC. Raji's boss is onto her secret life and blackmails her.
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E4: EagleSrikant starts investigating in Chennai. Sajid teams up with Selva and Raji. Wonder who they are targeting! Inspector Umayal starts investigating Nanda's disappearance.
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E5: HomecomingInspector Umayal wants to join the TASC team in their mission. All roads lead to the old base.
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E6: MartyrsSrikant and team manage to nab Raji. But they find out the hard way that they are way in over their heads. TASC suffers a tragic loss.
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E7: Collateral DamageRaji is injured days before the D-Day and needs treatment. Simmering tensions between Suchitra and Dhriti hit a crescendo. Sajid bids adieu to Raji, for he has another, personal mission to accomplish in Mumbai. Meanwhile, Srikant is hit by another debilitating personal crisis.
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E8: VendettaThe hunt is on for Dhriti. Meanwhile, JK and Muthu decide to check out Tigris Aviation, and walk into a trap. Dhriti's loss of innocence is gruesome.
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E9: The Final ActNews about JK forces Srikant to rush back to Chennai. Raji hears about Sajid's fate. Dhriti finds out the true nature of Srikant's job. Prime Minister Basu reaches Chennai for bilateral talks with the Lankan President, Rupatunga. Srikant and team race against time to prevent a deadly attack on the two premiers.
Episodes
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E1: The Peace ProblemExplosions send tremors across the Northeast, shaking Prime Minister Basu’s peace agenda. As Srikant and Kulkarni step into fragile negotiations with wary Naga leaders, enemies within and beyond the borders lurk in the shadows, armed with deadly intent.
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E2: It's PersonalRecovering from a deadly ambush, Srikant traces the trail to an elusive Rukma, unaware that his pursuit has already drawn the gaze of Meera and her powerful backers abroad. As the hunt turns violent, lives are lost, allegiances tested, and Srikant is pulled deeper and deeper into a dangerous game.
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E3: Wanted ManAs a smear campaign engulfs his family, Srikant faces crumbling trust at home and rising threats outside. With no end in sight and his family caught in the storm, he makes a drastic choice that changes everything. Meanwhile, Rukma struggles with a responsibility he cannot escape.
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E4: Don’t Worry Be HappyAs Srikant and his family flee deeper into the Northeast, Yatish and Zoya close in with their team. In Kohima, Rukma forces young Bobby into a deadly mission, turning the Prime Minister’s peace rally into the stage for his most dangerous strike yet.
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E5: Crossing The LineUnder fire after the Kohima blast, PM Basu authorises a high-risk strike across the border. Rukma and Meera forge a treacherous alliance in Myanmar to set their dangerous plan in motion. Srikant gets a lead from a source that spirals into chaos.
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E6: With Friends Like You...Fallout from the failed Myanmar strike rattles PM Basu’s leadership in Delhi. Srikant uncovers Rukma’s link to Meera. As hidden moles and betrayals surface, Zoya intercepts a plot against Srikant’s family. The battle between truth and deception reaches its breaking point.
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E7: EndgameAs PM Basu gets ready for war, Srikant plunges into hostile territory where traps and betrayals wait at every turn. With Rukma closing in for revenge and Meera slipping further from reach, shifting allegiances and hidden agendas push Srikant toward a brutal reckoning that could change everything.
The Family Man 2 Review: Star Rating:Â 3.5/5 Stars (Three & A Half Star)
Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, Samantha Akkineni, Sharib Hashmi, Priyamani, Sharad Kelkar, Sunny Hinduja and ensemble.
Creator: Raj Nidimoru & Krishna DK
Director:Â Raj Nidimoru, Krishna DK & Suparn Varma
Streaming On:Â Amazon Prime Video
The Family Man 2 Review: What’s It About:
If you are here without watching the first season, I would suggest head back. Delhi was on the verge of a gas attack by the end. Milind (Sunny Hinduja) and Zoya (Shreya Dhanwanthray) were stuck in the chemical factory. And what happened in the room in Lonavala stands to be the biggest mystery. Season 2 begins on the same note. Regret has led to Srikant Tiwari leave his job with the NIA and is now working in an IT company.
In the lands not so far away, the Tamil Government in exile plans to take revenge, and NIA is at the forefront of this new war to save PM Basu (Seema Biswas). Srikant has to get back as Raji (Samantha Akkineni), the face of the baddies, is not an average joe, as they say. Begins the quest of The Family Man!
The Family Man 2 Review: What Works:
Now, I am neither scholar in politics nor an expert in especially the Tamillian conflict here. So my review is that about the fictional story that Raj and DK have to tell with all honesty. To take ahead a show as massive as The Family Man, it must take a village. And in season 2, the village is expanded. We enter the lives of already existing characters in the universe while they are facing the aftermath of what happened in the season 1 finale.
Appreciate me for the fact that I am writing this review without a single spoiler, but I might end up telling you what happened in Lonavala by the end. First, the fact that creators Raj & DK were ready with the content of season 2 while filming season 1, is a winner. Unlike many other shows that end up going against their tonality in follow up seasons, The Family Man stays afloat on the same surface successfully. The universe is expanding more horizontally than vertically. This has also led to a drawback, but about that later.
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The scale has, of course, gone up, and the pressure is too high. While season 1 was more compact in its approach, season 2 is spread wider. As writers, the team, including Raj Nidimoru, Krishna DK, Suman Kumar and Suparn Varma, must have faced the biggest trouble in connecting the antagonist to the NIA, and it is a very soft spot considering the real times. The writing makes sure that it reflects that the routes these people have taken are wrong, but the struggles and sufferings they have met aren’t something we should ignore. It is oppression and domination that creates monsters that someday come for the oppressors. We are reminded that at equal intervals.
The writing gets interesting every time the two leads (Manoj and Samantha) cross paths. By now, we know what mastery the two creators have achieved in conceptualising the cat and mouse chase story. It isn’t that the mouse is caught only by the end once, and that thrilling habit still prevails. God, it’s so difficult to not give out spoilers! A scene which has Raji and Srikant converse is such a treat and what follows is a punch in the gut. Credit to amazing actors and the team behind them.
The screenplay is woke and alert about the times it is set in. For example, Srikant’s daughter Dhriti being a pseudo intellect, or the rest of the country’s ignorance towards the South of India and a nod to WhatsApp forwards that suggest you keep your drenched phone in a rice container. Each character is layered, and no one is left one tone. Also, thank god, Tamillians talk in Tamil without the stress of the audience understanding it or not. It’s time we embrace subtitles. Cross-pollination of cultures is the need of the hour.
Talking of actors, Manoj Bajpayee reprising his NIA agent who can lie on the drop of a hat, a dotting father and a brutal officer continues to be his dashing self. The difference is that he isn’t hiding his identity as much as season 1. Bajpayee has now completely marinated himself as Srikant and he even breathes like the character. Watch his juggle between two lives when a closed one is hurt. See if you can find Manoj in any bit of it.
Someone has to tell Samantha Akkineni that she is a precious actor and we deserve her on screen. Samantha’s Raji has not just faced brutality at the hands of Sri Lankan soldiers but has also faced abuse by the men in day to day life. Men trying to get into bed with her in her workplace, or a random stranger trying to touch her inappropriately on a local bus. So you see, the angst is not only against the Indian/Sri Lankan Governments, but also the patriarchy, male oppression and society at large. The actor literally embodies all of that suffering and wears it.
We are introduced to her like a dumb person with no expressions. But slowly, she unfolds, and you see the darkest side of her existence. There is a reason why she is expressionless. Because she has seen the most brutal side of life at a tender age. Nothing moves her anymore, not even the happiest news. To emote her emotions, Akkineni does the smallest of the movements, and you are bound to capture them because she does it so effectively. And please give her the action star label already.
Sharib Hashmi only gets better as Talpade and is more romantic with Sri than Suchi this time around. Talking about Priyamani, she picks up where she left and compliments the show nicely. I am a fan of her accent for some reasons. Sunny Hinduja is set to break hearts again, and I am not spilling anything more.
I will not forgive myself if I do not mention DOP Cameron Eric Bryson, and his skills he has showcased in shooting the climax. Majorly one take, it seems like the camera had got a life of its own and was wildly following everything that was happening around.
Also, I could be reading too much between lines, but an observation. Sajjid is still alive and is caught at the similar location where the team had shot dead Kareem (Abrar Qazi). Seemed like a closure to the conflict to me.
The Family Man 2 Review: What Doesn’t Work:
I know many will come at me for pointing out bad in a show as good as The Family Man. But I cannot ignore the drawbacks however a big fan I am. The first and foremost is a dip the show suffers midway. A lot of it is to be blamed on the parts the show takes off to London. The weakest of the parts are always when we are taken to London and adjoining countries. The energy is pulled down almost by half and that ruins the experience a bit.
The Family Man 1 was throughout a slow-boiling broth that took its sweet time to become perfect. Season 2 also begins in a similar way. But somehow, it catches speed and doesn’t tend to slow down. To further dismay, the rush follows the climax too. Remember when Zoya ( in season 1) prayed for her life by the end minute, we were hooked. But season 2 rushed towards the end so fast that it came and went by without creating a huge impact. That was injustice to Samantha’s brilliant performance indirectly.
The Family Man 2 Review: Last Words:
There are drawbacks, but not enough to stop you from watching The Family Man 2. Watch it for a team who have put heart, soul, blood and sweat into making it. But watch it as a fictional show because it is one, and that is how it must be consumed. Oh, about Lonavala? You trust me more than you should. Watch the show for it! Also, I am in no mood to be in Srikant Tiwari’s bad books.
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