What stood out in The Family Man, from its first season itself, was how it straddled the personal and the professional lives of Srikanth Tiwari, a seemingly innocuous man carrying a secret identity since years, with humour and high-octane. That’s where the show gets its title from, too. In season 3, the makers finally reach a point where the stakes really get high in terms of his identity as a family man — where lines get blurred, and Srikanth is forced to flee, hide his beloved people from higher mysterious powers because his secret life has caught up with his family life like never before. For all its little missteps, the show finally does justice to its title.
Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, Jaideep Ahlawat, Sharib Hashmi, Priyamani, Nimrat Kaur, Shreya Dhanwantary
Created by: Raj & DK
The missteps, too, are fortunately very few. There are too many wires crossing in terms of subplots and multiple characters playing a role in the unfolding of events. Sesultantly, the season can feel a little info-heavy and percunctory in terms of its landing. But the show never loses its grip, because it’s substantially different from the previous two seasons in terms of its playout.
Srikanth’s house gets a definite upgrade, but his banter and generational gap-driven interactions with Atharv and Dhriti don’t. It begins on a light-hearted note — Srikant’s struggle to keep up with his childrens’ lingo and thought-process, but the show is serious about its place in the longer narrative arc. After a few early jokes about appropriate pronouns, the track tenderly reaches a point where Sri has a tender and vulnerable conversation with Dhriti about his marriage. It’s one of those bridges the show crosses smoothly, while balancing humour and emotion. The show also occasionally but smartly reminds us that underneath their superhero-like loyalty to the nation, these men remain every bit as goofy and ordinary as anyone else. The use of humour this time around is sparse, but effective.
At large, there are fewer action set-pieces (including a spellbinding sequence set around Rukma’s escape, although), and more conversations. Fewer bullets and more introspections. We get many more of Srikant’s personal moments of self-reflection and struggles, even as he embarks on another dangerous mission — this time not just to save his nation to also restore his personal credibility. It’s not just Srikanth on the sly run anymore — it’s also Suchi, Dhriti, and Atharv, all dealing with their own share of barriers and stigmatisation this time around.
However, in another of major flaws of this season, these scenes, capturing the troubles faced by Sri’s family, don’t land with the emotional punch they could have. The show also teases us with a possible new romantic entanglement for Srikant, but doesn’t tie it up neatly. Fortunately, after staggering a little in the middle episodes, the series finds it groove back with a few knock-out twists — some familiar, while others a welcome surprise — and remains smooth in its sailing there on.
The show also explores some interesting dynamics with other new characters in the universe. Rukma’s (Jaideep Ahlawat) relationship with a little kid, is wonderfully subdued, so is his hot-and-cold repartee with Meera (Nimrat Kaur). One of the greater pleasures of The Family Man Season 3 is to see one stellar actor after the other join the cast as the season progresses, with each making the best of the material and elevating the viewing experience further. There are also a couple of surprising appearances, including an arrival from Farzi, laying down the path for an enthralling crossover into the Farzi universe. And tying it all together is the ever-reliable Manoj Bajpayee. There’s something about Srikanth’s fatigue that often stumbles from endearing to empathetic, and Bajpayee captures that weariness that comes with growing old like very few others can. Sharib Hashmi continues to dhare a delightful chemistry with Manoj, with them together forming the most watchable scenes of the series. Among rest of the cast, Jaideep Ahlawat predictably stands the most towering, lending a certain charm to his menace and chewing the scenery whenever the narrative allows him to.
For large parts, The Family Man does a commendable job of addressing familiar issues, and holding a semblance of a relevant, realistic narrative. However, that one part that really takes us out of the realism is the portrayal of media. We are constantly reminded of show’s roots in realism as the writers incorporate China as a consistently threatening figure, or with the mentions of app bans, anti-national youngsters, and the soft power battles. And yet, very few creators have managed (or dared) to show mainstream media for what it is — yet another pawn in the hands of higher authority, an institution that can still trigger a prime minister of the malleable status of her chair. So for all its keywords and familiar talking points, The Family Man keeps reminding us that it’s a fictional show.
The way the makers conclude this season of The Family Man might divide the house. But it’s also interestingly symbolic of how this season, from Srikant’s perspective was far more personal than the previous two rounds. Like most tough journeys, it could not end easily. Not with a respite for anyone involved. And we, as people invested in Srikanth’s life, should make peace with it already.