Rating : 3.5/5
Genre : Drama
Year : 2021
Number of Episodes : 9
Director : Ali Abbas Zafari
Cast : Saif Ali Khan, Dimple Kapadia, Kumud Mishra, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayub, Gauhar Khan, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Sunil Grover
Kidwise : PG-13
I’d looked at the abysmal ratings on IMDB before I started Tandav so I was not expecting much. Plus I’ve also seen Ali Abbas Zafar’s earlier work (Bharat, Sultan) and he isn’t one for finesse. I’m then pleasantly surprised by Tandav because while it is not top-notch it is an entertaining watch.
Samar Pratap Singh (Khan) is the wily, politician son of his wily, politician father Devki Nandan Singh (Dhulia). The goal is to get to the top prize – to become the Prime Minister of India. However, when on the cusp of a major victory and on his way to become PM, Devki suddenly and inexplicably dies, Samar is at a loss. When rumors about a possible murder conspiracy arise, Samar finds himself losing his political footing. What he needs now is to drum up popular support among the youth, and youth leader Shiva Shekhar (Ayub) would be just the man to do it, if only he weren’t so righteous.
This 9 episode first season has a superficially tumultuous story – there are ups and downs with secrets, secret assignations and veiled threats strewn about. Tandav also has a star-studded cast. Saif Ali Khan’s character is defined relatively well, but either Saif is losing his touch, or the beard is obfuscating the emotion, but he can’t quite give this role the oomph it deserves.Dimple Kapadia plays Anuradha Kishore, close associate of Devki Nandan and wily strategist of the first order – and she does it well. Anuradha is ably assisted in her political aspirations by her secretary Maithili Sharan (Gauhar Khan).
Sunil Grover has a plum role as Samar’s right hand man and cold-blooded hatchet man Gurpal Chauhan. With his ever-so-ordinary safari suits, and his reticent, Haryanvi accent, Grover exudes menace. Zeeshan Ayub is very good as Shiva – and his character is one of the better defined ones in Tandav. Kumud Mishra as Devki Nandan’s friend and associate was wasted in an ineffective, shallowly-defined role – it was never quite clear what he wanted or what his game-plan was (if there was one). Dino Morea is back on the small-screen after a while.
While some episodes were pretty tight, there are a few loose ends and inconsistent characters – like political leader Sana Mir (played by Krutika Kamra), who seems kind of wishy-washy with her ideals. Tandav’s story is predictable and a bit basic – kinda like an 80s film. In Tandav what you see is what you get – I wish it had more complexity (there was scope). The characters needed more depth and finessing, because they thought one way and behaved another.
So yes, it’s not all that, but Tandav, on the whole, is a fairly entertaining watch, if you have reasonable expectations.
Kidwise: Violence and some sexual situations.
