New Delhi:
The collision and synthesis of different musical traditions that Bandish Bandits rode on four years ago is back with double the force in Season 2 of the Amazon Prime Video show. When it’s on song, which, sadly, isn’t often enough, it’s a visual and auditory delight.
Ritwik Bhowmik’s Radhey Rathod moves to Mumbai with the aim of carrying forward his Jodhpur-based family’s classical music legacy. Shreya Chaudhary’s Tamannaah Sharma joins a music school in the hills to hone her singing skills.
The relationship between the two young singers has turned sour as bitter rivalry is displacing the love they once expressed for each other. They struggle to rekindle their bond but the music they make never stops. In fact, it achieves a wider range than before.
Does this closure make the new season of Bandits better than the first? Not necessary. Too many sub-plots and clichéd narrative devices weigh it down.
Conflicting heritages, differing temperaments and diverse cultural trends meld into a broad-strokes musical, crucially saved by its eclectic soundtrack and ensemble of engaging performances.
Building on the foundation laid by the early seasons, these eight episodes use singing voices as statements of intent and weapons of ‘war’ as well as devices to deliver statements of intent and achieve harmony. The love found and lost in Season 1 is close to being found again as it unfolds against the backdrop of a triangle.
While the quality of the writing fluctuates at times, the series created by Amritpal Singh Bindra and director Anand Tiwari finds enough inspiration in the tradition-versus-modernity construct to keep the story generally watchable.
The season reveals more conflict points as Radhey decides to go up against her Rajasthani family in a fight to save her 400-year-old heritage. His family participates in a band representing the Himalayan School in a music competition. Aamna-Saamna is nothing but a novel.
As is often the case with competition-centric dramas about musicians, dancers or athletes, Bandish Bandits S2 is unable to free itself from a predictable groove. Themes of patriarchy, gender equality, loyalty, love, friendship and empowerment are woven into the narrative. It doesn’t all come together until the seams stick out awkwardly.
After the death of patriarch Pandit Radhemohan Rathore (Naseeruddin Shah, absent from the S2 cast), the dignity of the Rathore family falls when a skeleton comes out of the closet. A writer exposes the shameful side of the late music maestro’s behavior towards his family, especially his daughter-in-law Mohini (Sheeba Chaddha).
The king of Jodhpur withdrew his patronage and the disciples left the family. Radhe finds opportunities in adverse circumstances. He resolves to start over, even if it means breaking some well-worn rules and starting over.
Radhe’s mother Mohini comes out of the bondage imposed on her by her father-in-law, and returns to the public sphere in the company of Digvijay (Atul Kulkarni), the man who she believes is Panditji’s rightful heir. Mohini is encouraged by her husband Rajendra Rathod (Rajesh Tailang) to find her voice.
Rajendra, on the other hand, suffers from the pangs of guilt and resentment. When Mohini takes a life-changing decision at her son’s behest, Digvijay tries to stop her by reminding her of her responsibility towards the family legacy. This household was never mine, “Houses belong to men,” she laments.
In Kasauli, a modern music teacher Nandini (Divya Dutta, an addition to the cast) grooms a group of select students, including Tamanna. He is a tough taskmaster with a backstory that threatens to ruin the band.
Nandini chooses Soumya (Yashaswini Dayama) as the lead singer of the band and Tamanna as one of the back-up singers, leading to misunderstandings. Rivalry, recriminations, regrets and revenge unfold as the two girls compete against each other for control of the music the band makes.
Beyond music, Tamanna has a relationship with drummer and lyricist Ayaan (Rohan Gurbaxani). The ups and downs of the relationship, exacerbated by Radhe’s return to Tamanna’s orbit, begin to impact the band’s fortunes.
The emotional depth the show occasionally achieves stems from complex, if not always convincing, emotional arcs, as Radhe and Tamanna try to reconnect as Ayaan hovers over them with intent. As data analysis and mathematics enter the musical arena in the form of a new member of the Rathore household’s support team, Ananya (Alia Qureshi), the pitch gets even more bizarre.
The music of Bandit Bandish S2 – a key number, composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy for Season 1 – is undeniably fantastic, but the plot is not that good. Much of the excitement subsides as the show enters the ‘Championship’ stage, in which musicians gear up to prove themselves in the glare of the spotlight.
Before the show moves towards its climax, Rathod’s path crosses with Mumbai-based fusion band frontman Mahi (Paresh Pahuja), who plays the “electric” sitar and the work he does “for the soul” and “for the soul”. “For”, differentiates between them. The output he produces is “for the kitchen”.
Radhe doesn’t agree with Mahi at all, who claims that rock is about rebellion, about challenging tradition. But almost everyone in Bandish Bandits S2, led by the quietly rebellious and outspoken Mohini Rathod, wants to buck conventions and expectations.
Their acts of defiance and courage set a pattern that the show follows to the end. Music is a binding force and at the same time it is a discovery that liberates multiple sets of characters across two generations. Arjun Rampal makes a brief appearance as an alumnus of a music school whose history seems to repeat itself in Tamanna and Ayaan’s experiences on and off campus.
This story of searching for victory and snatching it when faced with defeat and despair is brought to life by impressive performances. The seasoned members of the cast (Richa Chadha, Divya Dutta, Atul Kulkarni, Rajesh Tailang) take the show above the ordinary.
It’s a credit to the director and writers that the leads (Shreya Chaudhary and Ritwik Bhowmik) and all the other actors playing the eager-beaver greenhorns give turns that are surprisingly competent. Kunal Roy Kapur has very little to do this time.
Bandish Bandits S2 is never off-key. This is the least one can expect from a show that celebrates music. If it had hit the higher notes with more frequency and consistency, it would have been an absolute blast.
