'Tandav' review: Good acting in dull political drama

Director: Ali Abbas Zaffar

Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Dimple Kapadia, Mohd. Zeeshan Ayyub, Sunil Grover

Rating: 2/5

Streaming on Amazon Prime Video

When a silly film/web series takes itself seriously, we are in for a disaster.

People can go any lengths to stay in power. Idealism will wilt against the might of the corrupt system. There is no place for relationships in politics. These philosophies are common in political dramas and Ali Abbas Zaffar’s ‘Tandav’ doesn’t offer anything new.

Saif Ali Khan plays Samar Pratap Singh, son of the country’s Prime Minister Devki Nandan (Tigmanshu Dhulia). Samar, tired of his father treating him more like a henchman than his successor, kills him to grab the hot seat (this predictable twist is no spoiler!). The murder triggers a chain of events that involve conspiracy and betrayal.

There is no denying that ‘Tandav’ is a reflection of our times. The crux of the plot is taken from the JNU students’ protest against the Delhi police. There is a nod to the farmers’ agitation as well. It takes a dig at the religious unrest in India. But the problem is the series doesn’t go beyond this. It’s just a retelling of incidents we know with poor cinematic treatment.

The narration is too self-explanatory, spoon-feeding the viewers about every plot point. There is no inventive wordplay. Characters just beat around the bush with boring dialogues inspired by epics. It appears like the director has no qualms about the film’s snail pace. The annoying background score used to manipulate the audience is the final nail in the coffin.

It’s criminal of ‘Tandav’ to waste its terrific cast. Saif Ali Khan, in the early portions, gets into the badass mode seen in ‘Omkara’ (2006). Unfortunately, his character turns tame way too soon. ‘Tandav’ somehow floats because almost every actor excels. Mohd. Zeeshan Ayub and Sunil Grover are a couple of notches above the rest.

It’s interesting the film repeatedly uses one of the famous tracks from ‘Yuva’ (Dhakka Laga Bukka), the Hindi version of ‘Aaytha Ezhuthu’. ‘Tandav’ tries to be a tribute to Mani Ratnam’s flick, which also blended youth and politics. That film was riveting, gritty, and consistently entertaining. ‘Tandav’ is dull.