Thriller series with superb acting keeps its promise

The highly anticipated second season of ‘The Family Man’ doesn’t take anything away from the reputation of the first season. Directors Raj & DK once again offer an intense and layered action thriller headlined by a terrific cast.

Srikant Tiwari (Manoj Bajpayee), who near-flawlessly plays a smart intelligence officer, quits his risky job to save his marriage with Suchitra (Priyamani). The career change does little to improve his dysfunctional family life.

A man accustomed to facing dangerous situations, he faces a mid-life crisis in his mundane IT job. A suspected attack on the Indian prime minister (Seema Biswas) becomes a good enough reason for him to rejoin his favourite place, the Threat Analysis and Surveillance Cell (TASC).

The directors are in no hurry to tell you the story, and the slow pace may exasperate you. Yet, you forgive the 413-minute run-time (nine episodes) thanks to its packaging. The plot once again tries to strike a balance between Tiwari’s struggles as a family man and his unconditional love for his job.

The technical mastery of ‘The Family Man’ masks the story’s flaws. As the series reaches a crescendo, Ketan Sodha’s background score heightens the tension. You are gripped by Cameron Eric Bryson’s cinematography and the slick encounter sequences.

The second season, like the first, doesn’t quite resolve with precocity. TASC solves the puzzles with clues that surprisingly fall into its lap. The humour gets silly at times.

The superb wordplay means the characters keep delivering funny or powerful dialogues. There is good attention to detail, as far as the different Tamil dialects are concerned.

The great supporting cast keeps us engaged with the drama. With the series set in Chennai, it makes perfect sense that they chose gifted performers from Tamil like Mime Gopi, Azhagam Perumal and Devadarshini to play key roles.

The standout performers are Bajpayee and Samantha Akkineni, who plays a Sri Lankan Tamil rebel. Bajpayee delivers a master class in acting as a witty, shrewd and emotional officer.

Samantha’s dusky make-up may seem odd initially but she is brilliant as a ferocious fighter. She revels in action sequences and instils fear through her eyes. She is the biggest plus of the season.