It didn’t make sense to truncate Tanaav’s second season into two parts. At least the second chapter comes on Sony LIV before the first has slipped out of memory.
The terrorist Al-Damishk, also known as Fareed Mir (Gaurav Arora), is running riot all over Kashmir. His primary motive is revenge for his father’s death, but he also wants to establish ISIS rule in the state.
With his colleague Junaid (Shashank Arora) in jail, Fareed is also busy recruiting Kashmiri students, which include the teenage son (Adil Zubair) of Pakistani Intelligence officer Mallik (Danish Husain). Mallik’s Indian counterpart, also named Mallik (Rajat Kapoor), is getting flak from his bosses for being unable to contain the Fareed menace.
Keeping aside the politics of the region, part two has a lot of fast-paced shootouts and emotional undercurrents. Kashmir’s anti-terrorist unit head Kabir (Manav Vij) becomes Fareed’s target. This time, it’s personal for the equally matched adversaries.
Both lose loved ones and have reason to go after each other. Caught in the crossfire are Junaid’s wife and Kabir’s beloved Farah (Ekta Kaul), his ex-wife (Sukhmani Sadana), his kids and father (Kabir Bedi), as well as Fareed’s mother (Soni Razdan), pacifist brother (Junaid Khan) and his pregnant wife (Swati Kapoor).
The show is adapted from the Israeli series Fauda 2, directed by Sudhir Mishra and E Niwas and shot brilliantly by Quais Waseeq. The action by Abbas Ali Moghul doesn’t let up. In one harrowing scene, the sole female Toshi (Sahiba Bali) in Fareed’s group is savagely attacked by people in narrow streets blocked by a mob.
This time, the plot strongly emphasises that innocents become collateral damage when violence is unleashed. Fareed tells Kabir that they are not too different from one other, and it seems true. Kabir may be enforcing the law, but his methods are not above board – he does not look back on the destruction his missions leave in their wake. There is also the constant fear that a moment’s delay – like a malfunctioning lighter – can cause havoc.
Fareed is a despicable character, but the actor who plays him looks ordinary and quite harmless, unlike the usual snarling villains. Manav Vij, Rajat Kapoor, Danish Husain and Soni Razdan, in a brief role, share the acting honours in this edition, which ends with an announcement about the next season.
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‘Tanaav 2’ review: Truncated season leaves us hanging