The Family Man 2 – a layman’s review

Shrikant Tiwari, a TASC (NIA) agent, hunts down LTTE terrorists to save the Indian Prime Minister. Amidst flying bullets, we see epithets and F-words and cuss words raining cats and dogs. When characters aren’t using cuss words, they shoot or travel by a Mahindra Scorpio. That is Family Man 2 for the lay man.

Manoj Bajpayee, true to his skills, plays Shrikant Tiwari exceptionally well. While the Prime Minister Ms.Basu is modelled on the lines of Mamta Banerjee, she talks about PM Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ schemes. Basu’s meeting with Sri Lankan President Rupatunga resembles the Modi-Xi meet at Mahabalipuram, for the event is quite recent. Modi’s many overtures to Tamil Nadu finds a mention in Basu’s saying so – ‘maine ithna kiya in logon ko’. Basu doesn’t spot the bindi, a prominent symbol of bengali hindu women. Here again, Mamta Banerjee sneaks in.

The series is a thriller yet has its scenes of cryptic humour. The scenes were Talpade, Shrikant’s assistant, drools over Umaiyal, the police officer from Tamil Nadu, are a treat to watch. Shrikant’s personal life, full of troubles, is an un-welcome distraction though.

The series talks about ISI-LTTE links. Though the LTTE had tried to get help from Palestinian rebels, it has not been fully established that the now defunct LTTE had anything to do with Pakistan’s ISI. Reality was that Pakistan had hobnobbed with Sri Lankan govt to needle India.

The characterisation of the female terrorist, Raji, merits attention. Played brilliantly by Samantha Akkineni, Raji, though the tough fighter that she is, has a soft corner for the Pakistani agent Sajid. This is depicted not so explicitly but becomes visible when, on hearing about his death, Raji stops her dinner midway and moves from the scene abruptly.

The characters of Bhaskaran and Deepan are modelled definitely after LTTE Chief Prabhakaran and LTTE’s chief ideologue Anton Balasingham. However the events that take place are not true. It is true that Balasingham’s words did not carry weight with Prabhakaran in the post 9/11 world and that ultimately led to the obliteration of the LTTE.

Muthu, the TASC office from Tamil Nadu is played brilliantly by Ravindra Vijay. When Talpade talks about ‘South Indian Food’, Muthu asks, which state in South India as there are five states that comprise of South India.

The attention to detail in the series merits attention. When Raji goes into Jebaraj’s home, the poster in the background displays the ‘Eelam’ geography and talks about remembrance. The clock shows 8:15 when Tiwari’s family has its dinner and later, when Tiwari and his wife have a chat, clock shows 8:45. Many such items show the efforts the crew has put in for the production.

A treat to watch – Family Man 2.

P.S.: The executive producer’s name is Rahul Gandhi. And the irony shows.