Raj and DK’s The Family Man is one of the very few shows that demanded a sequel, and they delivered a great second serve. This season picks up right from where the first season left. While the character arcs have been kept the same, their complexities have increased manifolds. The detailing of every character’s nuances in looks or the way they talk or walk has been done remarkably well. The story, however, is predictable without any jump-out-of-the-chair scenes.
Manoj Bajpayee doesn’t disappoint and comes up with a character that has equal portions of corporate frustration, marital crisis, patriotic belligerence, and above all sarcastic humour. While in the first season his act as an undercover agent was kept under wraps, this time it is much more open to his family.
That changes Manoj’s dynamics with the wife and the kids, and that’s a welcome change. To add to that, his jokes and, at times, his facial expressions of sheer cynicism, are so casual that they instantly make you start liking the character. However, his camaraderie and the crackling chemistry with Sharib Hashmi was much funnier in the previous season.
Samantha Akkineni makes a firebomb of a debut in Hindi content. Despite being a hugely popular star down south, she chose a character where she had to let go of her vanity. She manages to build a complex and layered character with precision.
Ravindra Vijay as Muthu comes as a breath of fresh air and his north Indian-south Indian innuendos are really funny. Bajpayee's onscreen son, Vedant Sinha as Atharv Tiwari, is a loud-mouthed character, and there are instances where you would just want him to shut up. Seema Biswas as PM Basu, a character slightly modelled on Mamata Banerjee, gets the varied shades of the politician aptly. However, Priyamani, Sharad Kelkar, Dalip Tahil, Darshan Kumaar, Sunny Hinduja, Shahab Ali, Shreya Dhanwanthary don’t have much screen time.
The editing of the show by Sumeet Kotia could have been crisper as there are numerous unnecessarily lengthy scenes shown, which could have been easily chopped by a few seconds here and there. The cinematography by Cameron Eric Bryson is outstanding and there are a few fight scenes that seem to have been seamlessly done on one take. The gun showdowns at the police station and then at the final climax are the highlights.
Without a doubt, The Family Man 2 is a worthy sequel. Even though the story is predictable, the season manages to live up to the enormous expectations that the first season had created. I am going with 3.5 stars.
Title: The Family Man 2
Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, Samantha Akkineni, Priyamani, Sharib Hashmi, Seema Biswas, Darshan Kumar, Sharad Kelkar, Sunny Hinduja, Shreya Dhanwantary, Shahab Ali, Vedant Sinha, Mahek Thakur, Mime Gopi, Ravindra Vijay, Devadarshini Chetan, Anandsami and N. Alagamperumal
Directors: Raj and D.K., Suparn S. Varma
Platform: Amazon Prime Video
Rating: 3.5 stars
