The series was announced in June 2018, with filming of the first season began simultaneously in Mumbai, Delhi, Kochi, Kashmir, Ladakh and was wrapped up within May 2019. Filming for the second season began in November 2019, and was wrapped up in September 2020.[4] The cinematography for the first season was handled by Azim Moolan and Nigam Bomzan, with Cameron Eric Bryson hired for the second season. Sumeet Kotla edited the series, while Ketan Sodha composed the background score.
The Family Man: Season 1 was showcased at the Television Critics Association's summer press tour held in Los Angeles in July 2019,[5][6] and was eventually premiered on Amazon Prime Video on 20 September 2019.[1] It received positive response from critics and audiences, praising the performance of the cast members, and writing and execution. It eventually became the most viewed web series on Amazon Prime Video. The second season was scheduled to be aired on 12 February 2021 but was delayed and is now scheduled to be aired on 3 June 2021.[7][8]
The Family Man, received eleven nominations at the Filmfare OTT Awards. It eventually won five awards – Best Actor (Crtitics) for Manoj Bajpayee, Best Actress (Critics) for Priyamani, Best Series (Critics), Best Director (Critics) and Best Dialogues.[9] In May 2020, Raj and D. K. announced that the third season of The Family Man, is to be conceptualised.[10]
Premise
The Family Man follows the story of Srikant Tiwari, who works as a senior analyst in the fictional Threat Analysis and Surveillance Cell (TASC), which is a part of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) of India. He is a married man with two kids, and the first season follows an investigation of a potential terrorist attack, while simultaneously following his slightly unsettled family life.[11] The show is inspired by real life newspaper articles.[12]
Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K. Suman Kumar Dialogues: Sumit Aroraa
20 September 2019 (2019-09-20)
The Indian Coast Guard captures three ISIS terrorists in Arabian Sea near Kochi. Force One is tasked to handle the transportation of these personnel under TASC supervision. Meanwhile, Dhriti, daughter of Srikant Tiwari (Manoj) who works for TASC, is on the brink of suspension from school for her activities. The ISIS personnel tries to escape in Mumbai which results in a shooting by Force One. Srikant convinces Moosa, one of the ISIS operatives to surrender. Meanwhile, in Pakistan, Major Sameer is planning a mission in India to force India into taking military action. One of the ISIS militant plants a scooter bomb and is considered by Sameer for Mission Zulfiqar.
2
"Sleepers"
Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K.
Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K. Suman Kumar Dialogues: Sumit Aroraa
20 September 2019 (2019-09-20)
The bomb planted by ISIS militants in the scooter near Black Horse (Kaala Goda) statue explodes even after the security forces try to defuse it. Pressure increases to find the bomber. Chief analysts of T.A.S.C receive information about three gaming engineers who are linked with ISIS. Srikant plans to arrest them. After arresting them at their company, on interrogation they mention a dropbox and strongly suspect it is a student in Victoria College but they reveal that they have never met him face to face.
3
"The Anti-National"
Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K.
Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K. Suman Kumar Dialogues: Sumit Aroraa
20 September 2019 (2019-09-20)
Under the instructions of T.A.S.C., local police monitors the dropbox. Meanwhile, in college, Karim is contacted by ISIS for a mission. In Pakistan, Major Sameer plans to misguide the intelligence of India to throw them off their trail. Karim, at Victoria College, picks up a message from the dropbox and hence falls in the radar of T.A.S.C. T.A.S.C sets up surveillance at Karim's room and finds that he is planning something with a floor plan and guest list. However, Karim has his suspicions that he is being watched and gives T.A.S.C the slip. Karim with two of his friends are shown preparing a van to get into a party. T.A.S.C scrambles to find his location otherwise they will have to evacuate the market.
4
"Patriots"
Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K.
Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K. Suman Kumar Dialogues: Sumit Aroraa
20 September 2019 (2019-09-20)
Srikant suspects that his wife is having an affair with Arvind, whereas Suchitra is just meeting Arvind for a new job offer. However, Srikant traces her phone and confronts her at the hotel, where Suchitra and Arvind are just having drinks. T.A.S.C is meanwhile able to hack into Karim's hard drive and they figure out the location of the strike. On night of attack by him, Karim and his friends run into the road blocks set up by T.A.S.C. One of Karim's friend starts shooting and hence all three are shot down in the return fire. T.A.S.C finds out that their plan was to just feed beef to the guests in the party and not to bomb the place. Srikant reaches home drunk and accuses Suchitra of having an affair. Karim and his friends are branded as terrorists to save T.A.S.C's face. In the last scene, it is shown that the actual person responsible for the scooter bombing is, in fact, Sajid, also a student from Victoria College, who has just been released from jail after a rough interrogation.
5
"Pariah"
Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K.
Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K. Suman Kumar Dialogues: Sumit Aroraa
20 September 2019 (2019-09-20)
Sajid meets with ISIS agents who tell him that they have bigger plans for him and Karim was sacrificed to protect his identity. Srikant is under investigation and during interrogation assumes all the blame on himself. Guilt ridden, Srikant visits Karim's girlfriend Jonali and tells her that Karim is not a terrorist. On the other hand, Moosa seduces nurse Mary to meet his ends. He is able to make a call using Mary's cellphone and informs ISIS militants that he will escape from hospital in 2-3 days. In the middle of having sex with Mary, he leaves his hospital room to see Asif. There Moosa kills Asif by injecting Potassium into his blood. Sajid's next task is to go to Srinagar for Mission Zulfiqar. Meanwhile, Srikant is temporarily transferred to Srinagar as punishment. He and Suchitra are still not on speaking terms. When Srikant reaches Srinagar, Kulkarni then tells him that there is a reason for his transfer as they received intel from R&AW about a key terrorist sleeper agent coming to Srinagar.
6
"Dance of Death"
Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K.
Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K. Suman Kumar Dialogues: Sumit Aroraa
20 September 2019 (2019-09-20)
In flashback, it is shown that Moosa is one of Faizan's top ISIS agent and he had orchestrated a terrorist attack in Istanbul in which he killed 270 people with nerve gas. Major Sameer recruits him for Mission Zulfiqar. At present nurse Mary is scared when she learns about Asif's death but does not reveal the truth to T.A.S.C or any other authorities. Asif's death is attributed to cardiac arrest and the security force is substantially reduced in the hospital while Pasha is suspended. Meanwhile, Srikant flirts with his current CO, Saloni Bhatt, who is coincidentally also his ex-girlfriend. The team at Srinagar is tracking Basharat who supervises every terrorist activity in Kashmir. Srikant has his doubts that Moosa is Al Qatil and asks Talpade and Pasha to rush to the hospital. At the hospital, Jayesh, Zoya and Milind are guarding Moosa, when four armed men attack the hospital in order to free Al Qatil (Moosa). In the fighting that ensues, Jayesh and Pasha are killed along with the four attackers. During the ensuing firefight in hospital, Moosa is able to escape from the hospital but only after brutally murdering Mary with a surgical knife and leaving a trail of bodies behind him.
7
"Paradise"
Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K.
Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K. Suman Kumar Dialogues: Sumit Aroraa
20 September 2019 (2019-09-20)
As the news of the attack at hospital spreads, T.A.S.C. faces criticism and investigation. Suchitra goes to help Arvind when his daughter falls sick. In Srinagar, Sajid gets impatient and demands a call with Faizan. Meanwhile, the Indian security forces team gets the intel that Basharat is attending a wedding in Baramulla; however, the residents of Baramulla recognize themselves as Pakistanis and the army cannot enter that area without upsetting the status quo. Basharat attends the wedding to meet Sajid and to get him in touch with Faizan. Srikant, being anxious, enters the wedding in disguise and recognizes Sajid as one of the suspects arrested by Mumbai police. But Srikant continues to pursue Sajid ignoring the warning and orders from Saloni and Major Vikram. Srikant's impulsive actions causes the army to lose Basharat's trail and Sajid easily escapes in Baramulla with support from the locals.
8
"Act of War"
Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K.
Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K. Suman Kumar Dialogues: Sumit Aroraa
20 September 2019 (2019-09-20)
Faizan is captured in Pakistan in a operation by U.S. forces. Srikant enters Balochistan with the help of an undercover R&AW agent. They extract information out of Faizan posing as agents from the ISI, appealing to his patriotism towards Pakistan. It is found that the terrorists are planning to release a nerve gas in New Delhi. The gas has been smuggled into Kashmir over time and is now being transported to Delhi. Sajid is supposed to transport the nerve gas and build the bomb together with Moosa. The PM of India is alerted about this plan. Suchitra goes to Lonawala for a conference and impresses the VCs. Dhriti being home alone goes to a late night party at her friend's house and Atharv finds Srikant's revolver in the locked room; being curious, he starts playing with it, but puts it under the pillow, when Dhriti comes home.
9
"Fighting Dirty"
Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K.
Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K. Suman Kumar Dialogues: Sumit Aroraa
20 September 2019 (2019-09-20)
Some officials of T.A.S.C accidentally send an SMS to Jonali from Karim's phone. This make Jonali curious and she goes on a search for Karim's body-cam which is hidden in an abandoned car. Pakistan's PM makes a deal with General Ansari and General Ansari abandons Mission Zulfiqar. Major Sameer is arrested by 1/11 infantry of Pakistan army and provides the details of the nerve gas attack when he finds out about General Ansari's deal, but is able to warn Basharat, who catches up with Sajid and warns him but the Indian army is able to procure all the nerve gas canisters and Basharat dies in a cross-fire. Moosa is planning another attack by blackmailing a chemical engineer, Vaibhav, in New Delhi. Sajid meets with Moosa in New Delhi where Moosa informs him that there is a plan B for Mission Zulfiqar.
10
"The Bomb"
Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K.
Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K. Suman Kumar Dialogues: Sumit Aroraa
20 September 2019 (2019-09-20)
T.A.S.C. realizes that Mission Zulfiqar is not over. Moosa's plan is to recreate the Bhopal Gas Tragedy in New Delhi. Sajid blackmails Vaibhav to gain entry into Orion chemical plant. Moosa's men commandeer a water tank which Moosa uses as a reagent for the toxic reaction. Moosa and Sajid get into the chemical plant and Moosa kills Vaibhav. Moosa sets up the plant to spew toxic gases which will kill everyone in Delhi within 2 hours. Zoya and Milind enter the chemical plant and end up in a cross-fire with Moosa's men disguised as security guards. Srikant meets Moosa's mother in Delhi and releases a video in the news in which Moosa's mother appeals to him to surrender. Moosa changes his mind and decides to stop the toxic gas from leaking but Sajid disagrees and kills Moosa. Srikant and Talpede again prematurely celebrate their victory when they find Moosa's dead body. Meanwhile, Zoya and Milind are pinned in the cross-fire and are unable to reach Srikant. In the last scene, it is shown that the pressure has reached the critical limit and the toxic gases have started leaking while Zoya cries in desperation. Suddenly, one of the containers bursts open after reaching the critical pressure, and the show ends on a cliffhanger.
In November 2017, filmmakers Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K. planned for directing a web series, with Akshaye Khanna being hired as the lead role.[14] It was touted to be a socio-political thriller,[15] with Akshaye Khanna, initially agreed to the series after accepting the script finalised by Raj Nidimoru, but due to budget constraints in which Khanna charged a huge amount for the series,[16] the makers replaced him with Manoj Bajpayee as the lead character in December 2017.[16] The ten-episode series, tentatively titled as The Family Man, marked the digital debut of Bajpayee.[17][18] On 13 June 2018, Amazon Prime Video, which bagged the streaming rights, officially announced the series,[19] stating it as an "edgy drama-action series with a touch of wry humour, drawing from real incidents".[20]
In an interview with Scroll.in, Raj and D.K. stated that the series is closely based to Shor in the City (2011), in terms of its tone, stating, "It is dramatic and edgy with action involved. The humour is the kind of stuff that comes just from working in and dealing with the system or bureaucracy in our country. The series draws from contemporary geopolitical issues, and most plot threads are inspired from newspaper headlines over the years."[21] A Deccan Chronicle article released in September 2019, stated that the series feature similarities from real live events.[22] Despite filming of the second season, the makers announced for a third season in May 2020.[23]
Casting
Manoj Bajpayee, plays the role of Srikant Tiwari, a middle-class man who works for a cell of the National Investigation Agency. While he tries to protect the nation from terrorists, he also has to protect his family from the impact of his secretive, high-pressure, and low paying job.[24]
"There is a lot of content out there for people to watch, so it becomes essential for us to not only make our series sincerely and sensitively but also to tell a unique story - something that concerns the common man and his uncommon life with his extra-ordinary struggle. To balance not only his family, but also his job which is very, very demanding."
— Manoj Bajpayee, about his character Srikant Tiwari in the series, in an interview with PTI[25]
As the storyline spans around various places in India, the makers chose actors from various states such as [Karnataka] Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra. KISHOR plays the role of tough commando and his role is commendable. Priyamani plays the role of Suchitra, Srikanth's wife and also an associate professor in the psychology department. About her character Suchitra, she stated that "She’s a typical working wife and someone who is not afraid of expressing herself. She’s a multi-tasking woman and someone who, even though she has her hands full, wants to do more."[26]Sharad Kelkar plays the role of Arvind, an associate professor, who is trying to become an entrepreneur.[27]Neeraj Madhav, in his digital debut, plays the role of Moosa, a 24-year old IIT engineer, who gets involved with ISIS.[28][29]Sundeep Kishan plays the role of Major Vikram.[30] The cast members also includes Sharib Hashmi, Sunny Hinduja and Shreya Dhanwanthary in pivotal roles.[31]
On 28 November 2019, Samantha Akkineni announced her confirmation in the second season of the series,[32] thus marking her digital debut.[33][34] Samantha plays the role of the main antagonist Raji, a terrorist leader,[35] with Neeraj Madhav's character Moosa is expected for a comeback in the second season.[36] Apart from the cast members of the first season, the second season features Shahab Ali, Vedant Sinha, Mime Gopi, Ravindra Vijay, Devadarshini Chetan, Anandsami and N. Alagamperumal.[35]
Filming
Season 1
Filming for Season 1, took place on 13 June 2018, within the start of the announcement. Most of the portions were filmed across Mumbai, with some sequences were filmed at Ladakh, Delhi, Kashmir and Kerala.[37] In August 2018, Raj and Krishna stated in an interview, that a huge chunk is built in Kashmir, for which they interacted with the people in localities, exploring the livelihood of the people and their perspectives of their world they live in.[21] The Kashmir sequence were shot first, during early 2018.[21][38]
A scene featuring at the Ballad Estate (in the district of South Mumbai), was shot in a single take, with a span of 7–11 minutes.[39] Raj and DK stated that the camera is inside the car for half the action sequence.[39] In order to resemble the sets of Balochistan, as the team was denied permission to shoot in the country, a huge set was built in Ladakh to resemble Balochistan.[40]
Another sequence was shot in a live hospital located in Mumbai which spanned around 13 minutes.[41] In an interview with Film Companion, the makers stated "The location was expensive and we got it only for 2 nights. We had to come up with the entire sequence and rehearse and stage everything on the first night and the next night we had to light everything and shoot. I am really proud of the team because you don’t really pull off stuff like this in one day."[41] The shooting was completed in May 2019.
Season 2
On 28 November 2019, Raj and D. K. announced for a second season of the series, followed by the commencement of the shooting.[42][43] Filming of the first schedule which took place across Mumbai, was wrapped up on 2 March 2020,[44] before the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in India.[45] Filming resumed in July 2020, adhering to the safety guidelines imposed by the government, in order to curb COVID-19 spread. Samantha started dubbing for her portions on 28 August 2020,[46][47] whereas Manoj Bajpayee started dubbing on 14 September.[48] On 25 September 2020, the makers announced that the principal shoot has been wrapped, followed by the completion of the production works on 16 October.[49]
Music
The Family Man: Season 1, consists of fourteen songs used in the series.[50] One song "Dega Jaan" composed by Sachin-Jigar, was released as the promotional single track on Amazon Music. It was unveiled on 16 September 2019,[51] through music streaming platforms and as a video song through YouTube.[52] The soundtrack has music composed by Sachin-Jigar, Divya Limbasia, Mahesh Shankar, The Local Train, Jaan Nissar Lone, Aabha Hunjara, Thaikkudam Bridge and Underground Authority, with lyrics written by Irshad Kamil, Divya Limbasia, Gulshan Irfan Khanday, Mahesh Shankar, Piyush Kapoor, The Local Train, Jaan Nissar Lone, Aabha Hunjara, Thaikkudam Bridge and Underground Authority. The background score is composed by Ketan Sodha. The album consists of songs with Balochi, Kashmiri, Malayalam and Tamil lyrics, apart from featuring songs written in Hindi languages. Two of the band Thaikkudam Bridge's independent music album "Aarachar" and "Navarasam" were reused in the series.[53][54]
The Family Man Season 2 had its previous title track recreated with Tamil lyrics. The soundtrack was composed by Sachin-Jigar, Fiddlecraft, Mahesh Shankar.
The Family Man: Season 1 was showcased at the Television Critics Association's summer press tour held in Los Angeles in February 2019.[5][6] On 15 July 2019, Amazon Prime Video announced five new series in production, where a first poster released on the occasion of Prime Day celebrations.[55] The series consisting of 10-episodes was announced for a release on September.[56] The photoshoot of the teaser poster was shot using One Plus mobile camera,[57] which was released on 30 August 2019,[58] along with the teaser.[59] The official trailer was unveiled on 2 September 2019.[60][61]Amazon Prime Video released the series in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu languages on 19 September 2019, ahead of the initially scheduled release of 20 September, in more than 200 countries.[62]
On 28 September 2019, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh raised objection to the concerns over a few scenes in the web series about the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.[63] An RSS-affiliated magazine Panchajanya stated that "In the series, a woman affiliated to the National Investigation Agency is shown speaking to her male colleague at Srinagar’s Lal Chowk, decrying the fact that Kashmiris were being oppressed by the Indian state as it had shut down phones and internet and used measures like the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. At one point she asks her male colleague, who appears quite affected by her talk, whether there is any difference between the Indian officials and militants."[64] The magazine also accused the makers for creating sympathy for terrorists.[65] The series became the most watched Indian web shows on Amazon Prime Video.[66]
Season 2
In May 2020, filmmakers Raj and Krishna stated that the second season of the series, will be released in the last quarter of 2020, as the post-production process (sound, music creating, VFX work) may take four months to complete.[23] But, it was eventually delayed to 2021,[67] citing the completion of visual effects.[68] A sneak peek of the second season was released on 20 September 2020, coinciding with the release date of the first season.[69] A new poster of the second season was released on 29 December 2020,[70] and on 7 January 2021, the makers announced the release date as 12 February 2021.[71][72] The makers unveiled the teaser of the second season on 13 January 2021.[73][74] In order to promote the trailer launch event on 19 January 2021,[75]Amazon Prime Video announced that the first season of the series, will be made accessible to all users without subscriptions,[76] from 14 to 19 January.[77] However, the trailer was not eventually released, due to the controversy surrounding over Tandav, which premiered on the same platform.[78]
In late January 2021, there were reports claiming that the second season will be postponed due to the legal tussles revolving over Amazon Prime and their series Tandav and Mirzapur, for hurting religious sentiments.[79] It was reported that the series feature similar content to that of the former and Amazon Prime had decided to postpone the season in the outburst of controversies, so that they have time to edit the series, as a part of post-production.[80] The same was confirmed by the creator duo Raj and DK, however they did not quote the controversy over Tandav.[81]
The trailer was later released on 19 May 2021 with episodes being released on 4 June 2021 only in one language (Hindi) due to some technical problems.[82][83]
Controversy
On 24 May 2021, the Government of Tamil Nadu wrote to the Union government seeking immediate action either to stop or ban the release of The Family Man-2 web series on Amazon Prime Video across the country.[84]Mano Thangaraj, Information Technology Minister of Tamil Nadu, in his letter to Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, said, "the web series (due to release in June 2021) not only hurt the sentiments of Eelam Tamils but also the feelings of the people of Tamil Nadu and if allowed to broadcast, it would be prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony in the State".[85] Several other Tamil Nadu political leaders, including Seeman and Vaiko condemned the series, stating that, the series depicts Tamilians as terrorists and demanded a PAN India ban.[86][87]
Reception
Critical response
Season 1
Rohan Naahar of the Hindustan Times wrote "Without ever parodying the genre, The Family Man succeeds at being a surprisingly funny spy series; equally capable of snappy one-liners as it is of slick thrills."[88] Karan Sanjay Shah of Rediff.com rated it four out of five and called it a "raw, engaging, well-written espionage drama that will keep you on the edge of your seat".[89] Suresh Mathew of The Quint gave it a three-and-a-half out of five and distinguished it from Sacred Games by saying, "What makers Raj and DK bring to The Family Man is a total mastery over the craft of storytelling. Unlike, say a Sacred Games, The Family Man manages to remain eminently accessible while still retaining its finesse."[90]
Ektaa Malik of The Indian Express gave three out of five stars, stating "The performances by Manoj Bajpayee and Sharib Hashmi are stellar as are the dialogues."[91] Raja Sen of Mint also appreciated Bajpayee's role saying, "Bajpayee is alone reason enough to keep watching The Family Man."[92] Swetha Ramakrishnan of Firstpost gave three out of five stars and stated "The Family Man's version of a family man is someone who can't juggle his work duties and familial duties and we're supposed to find the comedy in that."[93] Akhil Arora of NDTV wrote "On one hand, The Family Man shows itself to be very socially and politically aware but its inelegant handling of exposition, and inability to be tonally cohesive lets it down."[94] Ananya Bhattacharya of India Today wrote "Despite Manoj Bajpayee's work, The Family Man is really a dampener."[95]
Nandini Ramanth of Scroll.in reviewed "There are moments in the early episodes when it appears that Raj and DK are sending up the tradecraft genre and not taking this terrorist-hunting business too seriously. It is sometimes hard to tell whether Srikant is being serious or sardonic. Manoj Bajpayee’s ability to suggest both states initially keeps The Family Man in a midway zone between muscular nationalist thriller and a True Lies-style spoof."[96] A critic from Indo-Asian News Service gave three-and-a-half out of five stars and stated "If you like binge-watching, this one is for you. Like many of the characters in it, The Family Man leaves us viewers with no choice."[97]
The New Indian Express's critic Kaushani Bannerjee reviewed "Despite the pace and the predictability of things, the show neither tries to be preachy about tolerance or peace nor portrays a black and white picture of patriots and terrorists. It depicts both sides of the story in a balanced manner underscoring the fact that nobody is born a terrorist and even the hero needs to deal with mundane issues of life."[98] Rahul Desai of Film Companion wrote "It’s in the smaller – and uncompromising – details of The Family Man that we sense how director-duo Raj & D.K. can transcend their ‘quirky’ reputation if given the leeway".[99]
Tanul Thakur of The Wire stated "The Family Man is elevated to a large extent by not just its writing and technical finesse – making the show tense and unpredictable – but also acting."[100] Jennifer Keishin Armstrong of BBC News reviewed that "The Family Man turns on such satisfying juxtapositions, constantly pitting Sri’s disastrous personal instincts against his superhuman – though not infallible – skill in his role at the National Investigation Agency, rooting out terrorists who flourish in and around India (his family think he has an ordinary desk job)."[101]
Season 2
Rahul Desai of Film Companion wrote, "Thank You Brother is a lockdown film. The Family Man 2 nails this big picture through the vacuum of several smaller ones. " [102]
^Karan Sanjay Shah (20 September 2019), "The Family Man Review", Rediff.com. Retrieved 21 September 2019. Archived from the original on 27 September 2017.
