Some More Chaos:
It did not make much sense to truncate Tanaav Season 2 into two parts; at least the second comes before the first part has slipped out of memory.
A new terrorist lone wolf Al-Damishk aka Fareed Mir (Gaurav Arora) was introduced, who is running riot all over Kashmir. His father had been killed in Season 1, so revenge is his primary motive, but he also wants to establish ISIS rule in the state. He believes that the leadership of separatist group Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, agreeing to a peace talk with the Indian and Pakistani government has sold out the cause. With his cohort Junaid (Shashank Arora) in jail, Fareed is also busy recruiting young Kashmiri students, which includes the teenage son (Adil Zubair) of Pakistani Intelligence officer Mallik (Danish Husain). His Indian counterpart, also named Mallik (Rajat Kapoor) is getting flak from his bosses for being unable to contain the Fareed menace.
If the politics of the region is put aside, then Part 2, has a lot of fast-paced shootouts and emotional undercurrents. The head of Kashmir’s anti-terrorist unit, Kabir (Manav Vij) becomes the target of Fareed’s ire, and this time it’s personal for both equally-matched adversaries. Both lose loved ones and have more reason to go after the other. Caught in the crossfire are Junaid’s wife and Kabir’s beloved Dr Farah (Ekta Kaul), his ex wife (Sukhmani Sadana), his kids and father (Kabir Bedi), also Fareed’s mother (Soni Razdan), pacifist brother (Junaid Khan) and his pregnant wife (Swati Kapoor).
Adapted from Israeli show Fauda 2, directed by Sudhir Mishra and E.Niwas, shot brilliantly by Quais Waseeq, the action (Abbas Ali Moghul) just doesn’t let up, as Fareed keeps Kabir’s team on its toes. In one harrowing scene, the sole female Toshi (Sahiba Bali) in the group is savagely attacked by people instigated by Fareed, and help does not come in time because the narrow streets are blocked by the mob.
This time the plot strongly emphasizes that innocents become collateral damage when violence is unleashed, even if the reason can be justified. At one point Fareed tells Kabir that they are not too different from each other, and it seems true. Kabir may be enforcing the law, but his methods are not above board– he does not look back at the destruction their 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 cast 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 on this one. It ends with a short sequence to announce in the next season, in which, like Fauda 3, Kabir will go undercover as a boxing coach.
(This piece first appeared in scroll.in)
