To the point that I felt the seventh episode was gonna lead up to the eighth, for a finale, since most shows/seasons end on an even number of episodes. That’s not how it worked
Manoj Bajpayee as Srikant Tiwari in ‘The Family Man 3’
‘The Family Man 3’
On: Prime Video
Dir: Raj Nidimoru, Krishna DK
Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, Jaideep Ahlawat
Rating: 3.05/5
Let’s get this clear first, if you don’t know it already: the third season of The Family Man doesn’t end conclusively. As in, there isn’t the usual closure.
Such that the fourth season isn’t just imminent — it’d practically be an extension of the current one, for a bit, anyway.
To the point that I felt the seventh episode was gonna lead up to the eighth, for a finale, since most shows/seasons end on an even number of episodes. That’s not how it worked.
And no, this this isn’t a spoiler for FM3, FFS.
It’s simply forewarning to prepare you sufficiently. All the more, as the same advisory helped lessen my disappointment, recently, sitting through Search: The Naina Murder Case (Konkona Sensharma), on JioHotstar. Which is a murder mystery, where the mystery stays under wraps for the following season.
This sucks, when the time gap between two instalments of a series is inordinately long. Although The Family Man, as a franchise, is not a whodunnit.
It’s a spy thriller, with — given its creators Raj & DK have described the protagonist regularly as “James Bond from Chembur”, i.e. Srikant Tiwari (inimitable Manoj Bajpayee) — the ‘maximum guy’, living between extremities, of adventure, action, adrenaline rush, in service of the state.
Plus, the regular mundaneness of being with wife, kids, over what’s essentially a family show, after all (check title).
Evidently, Tiwari Ji has moved on from Chembur. The bigger/better home appears to be in Lower Parel/central Mumbai.
This must be on account of his wife’s corporate income, since the family man remains very much the passionately honest government servant: under-paid, under-appreciated, under multiple bosses.
What’s not changed, as it can’t, so far as this series is concerned, in line with spy thriller as a genre itself — hence, as true for Zurich-born, British James Bond — are delusions of grandeur, with respect to national security, hinged on a one-man army’s work, that can make or break geopolitics, international trade, global terrorism.
Consider this fantasy fiction: the Indian Prime Minister (Seema Biswas) hosts a press conference! Fiery journalists grill her over the coals.
So does the national news channel, albeit owned by a conflicting business-interest (Jugal Hansraj, such a genial onscreen presence). Indeed, to address local concerns, the PM also travels to the North East!
Which is the setting for FM3. In particular, Nagaland. As with Paatal Lok 2, also on Prime Video — equally, like The Family Man, a rare sequel that matches the OG.
Chiefly, because it flies you into another world, even if main character energies can’t be interchanged.
The series travels with what is its USP, still: an inherent sense of humour, and general lightness of being among the established lead/ensemble cast, the likes of JK (Sharib Hashmi), Chellam Sir (Uday Mahesh), etc.
Besides, that you observe and enjoy the picturesquely green North East, for its virginal view, learning a thing or two about apong (rice wine), sweet pineapples, or Tamil settlers from Myanmar in Manipur.
Of course, with subsequent seasons, one brings more brains onboard. In what may be the first time that I’ve noticed — besides the creators, FM3 credits “developed by”, to writer-director Suman Kumar.
The story is centred on a popular mainstream spy-trope, that is, the top agent, presumably, gone rogue. The audience knows this ain’t true. Someone’s sneaking in the system — so what, if you can identify that mole, from a mile. There’s enough to keep you busy.
The background score is a fine mix of local sounds, hip-hop, even the nostalgia track from the late ’80s, Don’t Worry, Be Happy, with a kid here called Bobby McFerrin!
Who’s this boy? He’s with the expectedly new antagonist, opposite Agent Tiwari. And, who would that be?
My sense is this actor came, before the character, on the script. That’s the position the gentle-giant Jaideep Ahlawat commands on the OTT screen, currently.
It’s kinda hard to place his part. He knows the lay of the (Naga) land, but speaks in a fairly Haryanvi twang, and is strangely named Rukmangadha.
He’s a gun on hire, and runs the drug trade for big money. What he does with the multi-million dollars is, honestly, beyond me!
What you wait for, though, is the Heat (1995)-like moment, where the hero (Bajpayee, law-enforcer) and villain (Ahlawat, law unto himself) meet. Ahlawat’s character calls this meeting “soldier to soldier”. That it’s anything, but; worth it, all the same.
Can that also be said for FM3, after what’s been a four-year wait since the second season? Yup.
Something hardly true for a few third/fourth seasons of popular shows I’ve attempted to watch, lately, and simply given up after a couple of episodes (Delhi Crime 3, Maharani 4).
In fact, I feel a fair bit of FOMO for FM4, already. That’s the thing with how the season ends. Long live The Family Man then.
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