The Family Man Season 2 Review: Samantha shines as the fierce Raji

Raj And DK’s Family Man is back again with a bang. The most awaited sequel was released at the late hours of June 3, rather than the said 4 June 2021 release. This season is 9 episodes long, with each episode spanning for 40-50 minutes. Manoj Bajpayee returns to his beloved character, Srikant Tiwari. As seen in the trailer, he has now become a 9-5 corporate officer. He is stuck in a place where he clearly doesn’t belong. A rather amusing sub-plot that gives Bajpayee’s Srikant a tangy headstart. The serious note of the story doesn’t hamper Srikant’s comic timing, as he continues to make the audience laugh with his actions and dialogues. He has an urge to return to the field job, where he belongs, which is clearly visible in his attitude. Here’s a full-blown spoiler-free review of The Family Man Season 2 and the performances of the cast, including Manoj Bajpayee and Samantha Akkineni.

This season can be said to be a career-defining role for Samantha Akkineni. In the South Indian film industry, she has been seen playing mostly conventional roles. But in The Family Man 2, Samantha has a completely different tangent. Her fierceness, the honesty with which she plays Raji, is a treat to watch. Samantha, with her skilful performance, justifies Raji’s character. Her physical build and engaging action sequences are Blockbuster. Her character is layered, there’s a reason for her. Sam shines brightly as Raji, arguably, more than Moosa Rehman, played by Neeraj Madhav in the previous season. Of course, your review of The Family Man Season 2 might vary but there’s no doubt that Samantha has excelled in her role and clearly raised the bar.

Season 2 begins with the scene of a rebel army being trained for their mission in Sri Lanka. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the antagonists need to flee the country. What follows sets the base for the story to carry forward. Raj and DK took a really great technical decision in the presentation of the Tamil community. The characters speak the language they know, Tamil or Hindi, or the common ground of English. The audience might wonder what the audio is as the pilot scene opens, well, that’s pan-India content for you. 

The season continues with the additions to the original characters’ backstories. We see a Ricky Gervais’s After Life series-inspired character, a faulted counsellor. A Secretary to the Prime Minister who couldn’t even enjoy his sip of tea. Milind, from season one, is in a debate with himself, as the Avengers were in Captain America Civil War. A hurt Zoya. While other characters follow the same zones they are assigned. 

Family Man 2 is fast-paced, as it suits the time-bound storyline. It serves as an action-packed story. There are some riveting action sequences. Greatly choreographed chase sequences. Highly engaging use of guns. Srikant’s old style of narrating emotional stories. His seventh sense drives the whole investigation. There’s an intricate thread woven between a fast-paced action sequence and its consequences, the drama, the actual lives of the characters, and the emotions. Enough attention is given to build the layers in the characters.

A sense of patriotism/anarchy drives the antagonist as well as the protagonist. Srikant’s team, the Force, are all the agents of the nation. They serve the nation, not the ruling party that governs the country. Their conscience works by the theory of serving the nation. As for the ‘rebels’, the need for belonging, a deep want of revenge for their losses keeps them going. 

Although the storyline is a bit predictable, Family Man 2 is highly engaging. The character development gives a sharp edge to the story. A hint of Manoj Bajpayee’s character in Gangs Of Wasseypur, Sardar Khan, can be seen in Srikant as he is desperate to catch the ‘rebels’. The ensemble cast of Priyamani, Sharad Kelkar (Avinash), Sharib Hashmi (JK), Sunny Hinduja (Milind), Dalip Tahil (Kulkarni), Pawan Chopra (Sharma), Udhayabanu Maheshwaran(the mystic man- Chellam), Ashlesha and Vedant (Srikant’s kids) do a commendable job. But still, Manoj Bajpayee and Samantha Akkineni outshine as legendary performers. 

Creators Raj and DK set a benchmark by delivering a perfect sequel/continuation to the entertaining story. There were some minor cons that can’t be ignored. Samantha’s skin tone changes from time to time. The subplots grow towards abrupt endings. Some characters vanish suddenly. But they are minute in their impact. Spoiler Alert – the big question ” What happened in Lonavala?” is left unanswered, probably for the next season. The makers have also added hip hop songs at the end credits, to hype up the thrill as an episode finishes. Shreya Ghoshal’s voice at the title track, which plays in the end, is a cherry on top. Do watch out for the end credit scene which kickstarts the hype for The Family Man Season 3.