The Family Man Season 2: From Samantha Akkineni’s ‘Brown-Face’ to Lonavala Mystery, 10 Problems We Cannot Ignore About Manoj Bajpayee’s Series (LatestLY Exclusive)

The second season of The Family Man, created by Raj & DK with a few episodes directed by Suparn S Varma, has been getting very good reviews. Bringing back Manoj Bajpayee as Srikant Tiwari, a TASC officer, the season 2 sees him and his team trying to negate a terror threat involving rogue Tamil Eelam rebels who wants to bomb a meeting between Indian Prime Minister and the Sri Lankan President. The Family Man Season 2 Review: Manoj Bajpayee and Samantha Akkineni’s Series Feels a Major Disappointment in Its Second Outing.

Samantha Akkineni, Telugu superstar, is introduced in the new season as Raji, a Sri Lankan Tamil Rebel who is tasked to pilot the plane containing the C4 explosives. The series also brings back Priyamani, Sharib Hashmi, Dalip Tahil, Sunny Hinduja, Shreya Dhanwanthary, Darshan Kumaar et al from the first season.

The Family Man Season 2 has getting praise from the viewers and most of the critics, though our review for the season has been somewhat critical. While our review has been highly appreciative of the performances and a couple of action sequences (also glad that it didn't dub for the regional portions), we feel The Family Man didn't exactly deliver good on some of the important portions. We look at 10 areas where The Family Man Season 2 felt a letdown (Of course, major SPOILERS ahead!).

Ruining the Cliffhanger Finale of Season 1

Say what you want, the cliffhanger finale of season 1 left everyone talking in how it ended on a devastating note. The gas leak attack was, however, made more of a footnote for the new season. The leak got timely prevention, Milind and Zoya escaped alive with no major health consequences, and Srikant never even got a rap for not keeping his phone with him. Wonder then why they couldn't make this ending part of the first season itself!

Raji, the Brown Face Girl!

Remember the time when we lambasted Hrithik Roshan for donning a brownface for Super 30? So it was annoying to see a fair-skinned Samantha getting a brownface to look her 'part'. As if Sri Lankans can't be fair, or we don't have other actresses who would have looked the part. Ever heard of Kani Kusruti who you have been raving about in Biriyaani, Maharani and OK Computer? The Family Man Season 2: From Manoj Bajpayee’s Srikanth to Samantha Akkineni’s Raji, Explaining the Final Fates of All the Major Characters.

Tamil Rebel Storyline Lacks Substance

Is it the fear of facing outrage or just general lack of knowledge that Tamil Eelam issue has been so flimsily dealt with? Tackling it as a revenge saga over a personal vendetta makes it even worse, especially showing how some of them are working with hardened terrorists. What's more, it leaves Raji - a potentially complex antagonist - into a weakly written crony who deserves better.

ISI Storyline Shoehorned

The ISI storyline was one of the weakest aspects of the new season, consequences of not plugging that plotline in the first season. The whole trapping Srikant's daughter using a honeypot felt so lazily written and lacks any kind of tension needed for the portion. Also we don't know what happens to Darshan Kumaar's Major Sameer who once again goes MIA!

Ignorant Sri Lankan Intelligence System

OK, I get it that the Indian Prime Minister was stubborn to go ahead with the meeting, despite the bomb threat, because she don't want to bow down to the terrorists. But what about the Sri Lankan President? Did his intelligence not warn him of the imminent terrorist attack and ask him not to go by the Indian PM's whims?

Lonavla Mystery Gets Postponed Again

You might see it cute, but I was annoyed that even the new season didn't address the whole 'what really happened with Suchi and Arvind in Lonavla' mystery. The way the track kept dilly-dallying on this secret makes Suchi and Arvind's subplot in the new season very superficial, and her character more annoying than needed. Come on, this is Lonavla, not Vegas, hope season 3 puts an end to this saga! The Family Man Season 2 Ending Explained: How Manoj Bajpayee, Samantha Akkineni’s Series Introduces Srikanth’s Next Mission for Season 3!

Chellam The Convenient Superhero

Chellam is nothing sort of a superspy, who has plenty of SIM cards at display (thankfully with a Hindu name, he won't be arrested on terrorism charges for possessing so many SIMs). He can even hoodwink intelligence officers and appear and disappear in a small Udipi hotel at will. And he has answers for any question that Srikant has about the terrorists, including their final hideout. While the social media is raving on the character, a deeper look into how he is written so that Srikanth and his team don't end being jokers. In short, if 'convenience trope' has a face and name, it would be Chellam Sir.

The Climactic Fight

One thing The Family Man did right is in how it executes the action sequences. Well, mostly. The second season boasts of a terrific police station shootout sequence - the highlight of the whole season - that was nicely executed with its pretense of being one-take. The makers attempt something similar in the final fight sequence, but the impact is grossly understated, the whole runaway scene suffers from average CGI and the conclusion of Raji's arc feels straight out of some action videogame. You know, where you just shoot, shoot and shoot, till something explodes!

#JusticeforMilind

Sunny Hinduja has become a big deal since his scene-stealing arc in TVF Aspirants. Since most of The Family Man Season 2 happened before this boom, we can't blame the makers for not anticipating this and expanding his role. My issue is what they do with his character. Suffering from guilt and PTSD from what happened in the finale of season 1, the new season occasionally addresses his mental trauma, before they unceremoniously kill him off in the police shootout sequence. What's even hurting is that we don't see him getting a proper tribute after the mission is over. Only Srikant and co drinking one glass of whiskey for him...

Where is Umayal?

Speaking of getting awarded, where did Umayal go? The last we saw her, she was hospitalised after being attacked by Raji. Why was the cop from Chennai not awarded along with Srikanth and others by the PM? Even JK who was similarly injured was honoured. That's unfair!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 08, 2021 03:02 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).