‘Bandish Bandits’ Season 2 Series Review: A Bland, Overdramatic Continuation

A scene from ‘Bandish Bandits’ Season 2

When? bandish bandit First released in 2020, it won praise for its music and story that differed from its peers. Four years later, the second season of the show faces the challenge of not only maintaining its initial success but also competing against the much more packed Hindi OTT scene. unfortunately for bandish bandit, Its second season collapses under the weight of its own dramatic momentum, and ultimately fails to replicate its previous momentum.

Picking up a few months after where the first season ended, the series, created by Amritpal Singh Bindra and Anand Tiwari, follows two parallel tracks. The Rathods, following the demise of their patriarch (played by Naseeruddin Shah in season 1), find themselves in the middle of a family feud, with several people, including Digvijay (Atul Kulkarni), vying for control. of family legacy. An erotic book detailing the more unpleasant parts of his grandfather’s life makes it difficult for Radhe (Ritvik Bhowmik) to maintain his family’s reputation as Jodhpur’s leading institution of classical music. Away from the heat of Rajasthan, Tamanna (Shreya Choudhary) takes admission in a fictional prestigious music college located in the hills of Kasol. With an aim to shed her reputation as the “Auto-Tune Queen”, Tamanna threw herself into learning music from scratch.

Miles away from each other, both Radhey and Tamannaah are looking for solutions to their problems in the upcoming ‘India Band Championship’. While Radhey gathers his family to form a classical music band to present his grandfather’s music to the world on his own terms, for Tamannaah the competition becomes a way to redefine her image .

The young romance between Radhe and Tamanna was its central story. bandish bandit In the beginning. Keeping them apart this time means the show will have too much in its hands, and will lack the skill to wield it deftly. With 10 episodes this season, the first half of the show simply shuttles back and forth between Jodhpur and Kasol while making little effort to meaningfully connect the two stories. By the time we get to the second half of the show, where Tamannaah’s college band takes on the Rathore family, the audience has lost both patience and interest.

Being a show whose narrative is carried forward from time to time with the help of a lengthy soundtrack, Bandish Bandits’ These songs are often given emotional importance. So, it’s surprising that the script also chooses to make the rest of the show overly dramatic. The almost constant pauses for nonsensical points in the plot often distract attention from the dire situation of the moment.

However, in this huge cast of characters with their own individual dramatic moments, Sheeba Chaddha’s Mohini ultimately grabs the limelight. After being the shadow daughter-in-law, Mohini is finally given a chance to showcase her musical talent. Chaddha’s deft handling of Mohini comes as a breath of fresh air, and shows the potential for different routes for the show.

Despite new characters and longer episodes, the second season of bandish bandit Fails to attract its audience. As the story of classical music progresses, there is much to be said about legacies, the “purity” of music, and the place of women in the field. hopefully, bandish bandit These possibilities can be taken advantage of in later seasons.

Bandish Bandits is available to stream on Amazon Prime