Remember #ArnoldSchwarzenegger in #TrueLies and that “Battery Aziz” moment when #ArtMalik is doling out his vicious threat to the Americans? That unknown actor behind the camera was fabulous as his trembling hands lowered the camera gingerly (https://youtu.be/GR3xaeE7oLc). This was #JamesCameron at his best… first a moment of high tension and then a subtle dash of humour placed just right in adequate measure. Ever since I saw Arnold in that character, I have often wondered who would do justice to such a role in Indian cinema. #AjayDevgn perhaps?? Two things stood out for me - Arnold’s character and the use of subtle humour in intense scenes.
ASHOK’s FIVE reviews #TheFamilyMan Season 2 now streaming on #AmazonPrimeVideo has a mix of both these - high intensity scenes often with perfectly choreographed action sequences but often interspersed with a streak of tongue-in-cheek humour. With limited use of strong language as well as violence, this genre-bending series is well on its way to becoming an OTT Blockbuster. #ManojBajpayee is of course in his elements and fully in control and yet does not hog the limelight in every scene or episode. With a pan-India cast, the show continues to focus on the life of the characters and how they relate to the situation they are in. The show, although not exemplary in terms of execution, is testimony to how good writing, focus on character development and staying true to the pitch can counter controversy and emerge a winner!
First let's talk about the North-South issue. Who would cast upcoming Malayali talent #NeerajMadhav as Moosa in Season 1 and pick on top-notch Telugu star #SamathaAkinneni in season 2? How did they pick on insights based on very real trends in society - the Kerala terror tail, the struggles of the Tamil Eelam and the machinations of the political leaders in the country? Surely, this was not the stereo-typed portrayal of the North-South divide. It had to come from somewhere. One look at the background of the creators and you get the answer. #Raj and #DK are both from small town Andhra Pradesh who completed their engineering and went off to the US in search of the proverbial software dream. They came back to pursue their dream and set up movies like #Shorinthecity and #GoGoaGone. Now does that tell you something about where #TheFamilyMan came from? And why the South story works so well in spite of Raji’s brown skin makeup??
Season 2 introduces some well thought through characters, not black or white but grey and victims of their circumstances. Srikant Tiwary has now quit TASC and is part of an IT corporate where he reports into a 28-year-old irritating yuppie. His family life continues to be a mess with tensions between him and his wife Suchi (#Priyamani). There is one hilarious scene where the couple meet a counsellor (played by the late #AsifBasra) where Srikant has a meltdown when they discuss the couple’s sex life. Suchi’s colleague and friend Arvind (#SharadKelkar) continues to be present in the backdrop.Then there is JK (#SharibHashmi) the Maharashtrian side-kick to Tiwari. He is ham handed; the scene where they have Raji on the ground but she manages to attack a fumbling JK and escape is a let down…. But there is no doubt that he is a well-meaning friend.
Raji is played by #SamanthaAkkineni who gets the cold, emotionless terrorist right. In one word, she is ruthless. You also have #SeemaBiswas playing PM Basu, in a takeoff on #MamataBanerjee's persona. South Indian actors #MimeGopi, #Uday’ChellamSir’Mahesh and #RavindraVijay as Muthu do a credible job in the cast. The kids are fantastic as usual and #AshleshaThakur as Dhriti steals a march over the others. Each character is delineated well and this shows in their choice of words. While Raji is disconcertingly cold and merciless, Atharv is a delightful mix of cuteness and maturity as he lends support to the parents. The Eelam leader Bhaskaran is moulded on LTTE’s Prabhakaran and he puts his personal goals ahead of the political.
Humour is leveraged extremely well. The scene where a senior bureaucrat is struggling to pour himself a cup of tea is hilarious. In the office, his boss refers to Srikant as “the minimum guy”. Things reach breaking point and Srikant in a fit of fury roughs him up and quits in a huff. When Srikant is quizzing the students at his daughter’s school, he is stumped with the modern day lexicon of today's teenagers.
#SuparnVerma directs some of the episodes and you can see that between him, DK and Raj they have revelled in the construct of the show. There are a total of nine episodes ranging between thirty minutes to an hour in some cases. The stunt men have done a commendable job with some single take combat sequences coming through to perfection. DoP #CameronEricBryson excels in his work. The season has much more rough and tumble to it and Srikant takes on body blows. Raj and DK refer to him as the ‘James Bond of Chembur’.
Season 2 of #TheFamilyMan raises the bar and takes storytelling and character building to the next level. The humour quotient is also top notch. The last episode ends on a teaser for the audience. Corona times are here and the story moves east hinting at bio-warfare. Quite clearly, the family man is going places and how!
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