The Family Man (Indian TV series)

In November 2017, filmmakers Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K. planned for directing a web series, with Akshaye Khanna being roped in as the lead role.[14] It was touted to be a socio-political thriller,[15] with Akshaye Khanna, initially agreed to the series after accepting the script finalised by Raj Nidimoru, but due to budget constraints in which Khanna charged a huge amount for the series,[16] the makers replaced him with Manoj Bajpayee as the lead character in December 2017.[16] The series consisting of 10 episodes, which was tentatively titled as The Family Man, marked the digital debut of Bajpayee.[17][18] On 13 June 2018, Amazon Prime Video, which bagged the streaming rights, officially announced the series,[19] stating it as an "edgy drama-action series with a touch of wry humour, drawing from real incidents".[20]

In an interview with Scroll.in, Raj and Krishna stated that the series is closely based to Shor in the City (2011), in terms of its tone, stating, "It is dramatic and edgy with action involved. The humour is the kind of stuff that comes just from working in and dealing with the system or bureaucracy in our country. The series draws from contemporary geopolitical issues, and most plot threads are inspired from newspaper headlines over the years."[21] A Deccan Chronicle article released on September 2019, stated that the series feature similarities from real live events.[22] Despite filming of the second season, the makers announced for a third season on May 2020.[23]

Manoj Bajpayee, plays the role of Srikant Tiwari, a middle-class man who works for a special cell of the National Investigation Agency. While he tries to protect the nation from terrorists, he also has to protect his family from the impact of his secretive, high-pressure, and low paying job.[24]

"There is a lot of content out there for people to watch, so it becomes essential for us to not only make our series sincerely and sensitively but also to tell a unique story - something that concerns the common man and his uncommon life with his extra-ordinary struggle. To balance not only his family, but also his job which is very, very demanding."

— Manoj Bajpayee, about his character Srikant Tiwari in the series, in an interview with PTI[25]

As the storyline spans around various places in India, the makers chose actors from various states such as Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra. Priyamani plays the role of Suchitra, Srikanth's wife and also an associate professor in the psychology department. About her charcater Suchitra, she stated that "She’s a typical working wife and someone who is not afraid of expressing herself. She’s a multi-tasking woman and someone who, even though she has her hands full, wants to do more."[26] Sharad Kelkar plays the role of Arvind, an associate professor, who is trying to become an entrepreneur.[27] Neeraj Madhav, in his digital debut, plays the role of Moosa, a 24-year old IIT engineer, who gets involved with ISIS.[28][29] Sundeep Kishan plays the role of Major Vikram.[30] The cast members also includes Sharib Hashmi, Sunny Hinduja and Shreya Dhanwanthary in pivotal roles.[31]

On 28 November 2019, Samantha Akkineni announced her confirmation in the second season of the series,[32] thus marking her digital debut.[33][34] Samantha plays the role of the main antagonist Raji, a terrorist leader,[35] with Neeraj Madhav's character Moosa is expected for a comeback in the second season.[36] Apart from the cast members of the first season, the second season features Shahab Ali, Vedant Sinha, Mime Gopi, Ravindra Vijay, Devadarshini Chetan, Anandsami and N. Alagamperumal.[35]

Filming for Season 1, took place on 13 June 2018, within the start of the announcement. Most of the portions were filmed across Mumbai, with some sequences were filmed at Ladakh, Delhi, Kashmir and Kerala.[37] In August 2018, Raj and Krishna stated in an interview, that a huge chunk is built in Kashmir, for which they interacted with the people in localities, exploring the livelihood of the people and their perspectives of their world they live in.[21] The Kashmir sequence were shot first, during early 2018.[21][38]

A scene featuring at the Ballad Estate (in the district of South Mumbai), was shot in a single take, with a span of 7-11 minutes.[39] Raj and DK stated that the camera is inside the car for half the action sequence.[39] In order to resemble the sets of Balochistan, as the team was denied permission to shoot in the country, a huge set was built in Ladakh to resemble Balochistan.[40]

Another sequence was shot in a live hospital located in Mumbai which spanned around 13 minutes.[41] In an interview with Film Companion, the makers stated "The location was expensive and we got it only for 2 nights. We had to come up with the entire sequence and rehearse and stage everything on the first night and the next night we had to light everything and shoot. I am really proud of the team because you don’t really pull off stuff like this in one day."[41] The shooting was completed on May 2019.

On 28 November 2019, Raj and D. K. announced for a second season of the series, followed by the commencement of the shooting.[42][43] Filming of the first schedule which took place across Mumbai, was wrapped up on 2 March 2020,[44] before the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in India.[45] Filming resumed on July 2020, adhering to the safety guidelines imposed by the government, in order to curb COVID-19 spread. Samantha started dubbing for her portions on 28 August 2020,[46][47] whereas Manoj Bajpayee started dubbing on 14 September.[48] On 25 September 2020, the makers announced that the principal shoot has been wrapped, followed by the completion of the production works on 16 October.[49]

The Family Man: Season 1, consists of fourteen songs used in the series.[50] One song "Dega Jaan" composed by Sachin-Jigar, was released as the promotional single track on Amazon Music. It was unveiled on 16 September 2019,[51] through music streaming platforms and as a video song through YouTube.[52] The soundtrack has music composed by Sachin-Jigar, Divya Limbasia, Mahesh Shankar, The Local Train, Jaan Nissar Lone, Aabha Hunjara, Thaikkudam Bridge and Underground Authority, with lyrics written by Irshad Kamil, Divya Limbasia, Gulshan Irfan Khanday, Mahesh Shankar, Piyush Kapoor, The Local Train, Jaan Nissar Lone, Aabha Hunjara, Thaikkudam Bridge and Underground Authority. The background score is composed by Ketan Sodha. The album consists of songs with Balochi, Kashmiri, Malayalam and Tamil lyrics, apart from featuring songs written in Hindi languages. Two of the band Thaikkudam Bridge's independent music album "Aarachar" and "Navarasam" were reused in the series.[53][54]

Rohan Naahar of the Hindustan Times wrote "Without ever parodying the genre, The Family Man succeeds at being a surprisingly funny spy series; equally capable of snappy one-liners as it is of slick thrills."[80] Karan Sanjay Shah of Rediff.com rated it four out of five and called it a "raw, engaging, well-written espionage drama that will keep you on the edge of your seat".[81] Suresh Mathew of The Quint gave it a three-and-a-half out of five and distinguished it from Sacred Games by saying, "What makers Raj and DK bring to The Family Man is a total mastery over the craft of storytelling. Unlike, say a Sacred Games, The Family Man manages to remain eminently accessible while still retaining its finesse."[82]

Ektaa Malik of The Indian Express gave three out of five stars, stating "The performances by Manoj Bajpayee and Sharib Hashmi are stellar as are the dialogues."[83] Raja Sen of Mint also appreciated Bajpayee's role saying, "Bajpayee is alone reason enough to keep watching The Family Man."[84] Swetha Ramakrishnan of Firstpost gave three out of five stars and stated "The Family Man's version of a family man is someone who can't juggle his work duties and familial duties and we're supposed to find the comedy in that."[85] Akhil Arora of NDTV wrote "On one hand, The Family Man shows itself to be very socially and politically aware but its inelegant handling of exposition, and inability to be tonally cohesive lets it down."[86] Ananya Bhattacharya of India Today wrote "Despite Manoj Bajpayee's work, The Family Man is really a dampener."[87]

Nandini Ramanth of Scroll.in reviewed "There are moments in the early episodes when it appears that Raj and DK are sending up the tradecraft genre and not taking this terrorist-hunting business too seriously. It is sometimes hard to tell whether Srikant is being serious or sardonic. Manoj Bajpayee’s ability to suggest both states initially keeps The Family Man in a midway zone between muscular nationalist thriller and a True Lies-style spoof."[88] A critic from Indo-Asian News Service gave three-and-a-half out of five stars and stated "If you like binge-watching, this one is for you. Like many of the characters in it, The Family Man leaves us viewers with no choice."[89]

The New Indian Express's critic Kaushani Bannerjee reviewed "Despite the pace and the predictability of things, the show neither tries to be preachy about tolerance or peace nor portrays a black and white picture of patriots and terrorists. It depicts both sides of the story in a balanced manner underscoring the fact that nobody is born a terrorist and even the hero needs to deal with mundane issues of life."[90] Rahul Desai of Film Companion wrote "It’s in the smaller – and uncompromising – details of The Family Man that we sense how director-duo Raj & D.K. can transcend their ‘quirky’ reputation if given the leeway".[91]

Tanul Thakur of The Wire stated "The Family Man is elevated to a large extent by not just its writing and technical finesse – making the show tense and unpredictable – but also acting."[92] Jennifer Keishin Armstrong of BBC News reviewed that "The Family Man turns on such satisfying juxtapositions, constantly pitting Sri’s disastrous personal instincts against his superhuman – though not infallible – skill in his role at the National Investigation Agency, rooting out terrorists who flourish in and around India (his family think he has an ordinary desk job)."[93]