This critic vicariously lived his dream of being a part of a rock band as he watched the eight somewhat prolonged, mostly engaging episodes of Prime Video’s Bandish Bandits season 2. While the central conflict this season is not entirely different from the first—think tradition v/s modernity conundrum, rock bands clashing with gharanas, classical v/s contemporary music—it will be safe to say that Anand Tiwari’s crafts an innovative sophomore season even if it doesn’t soar, or, let’s just say hit the high musical notes as one would expect. The season opens with the death of Pandit Radhe Singh Rathod (Naseeruddin Shah).
Bandish Bandits Season 2: Plot
A book launch goes haywire as Pandit Rathod is accused of prohibiting his daughter-in-law Mohini (played by the versatile Sheeba Chaddha) from singing. A MeToo-like scandal breaks out where the late Sangeet Samrat and the apple of His Highness’s eyes, falls from grace. The now-disgraced Gharana finds itself in the eye of a media storm where their reputation is all but destroyed, much to Radhe’s (Ritwik Bhowmik) dismay who must, by all means, restore Gharana to its former glory.
The events unfold under the watchful eye of the shrewd and calculative Digvijay (Atul Kulkarni) who seems to have had a change of heart after Pandit Ji’s death. In the meanwhile, Tamanna (Shreya Chaudhary) gives up her successful singing career to get formal training in music at the Royal Himalayan Music School, under the guidance of a strict Ms Nandini, who refuses to give Tamanna preferential treatment owing to her pre-existing fame. Long story short: India Band Championship (IBC) is around the corner and Ms Nandini wants to select the best musicians to form the band.
Bandish Bandits Season 2: Performances
Tamanna strikes an unlikely friendship with Aayan, who initially comes across as the typical woke boy quoting poets. Her rivalry with Saumya becomes a point of contention in the band. Much to Tamanna’s surprise, she is chosen as a back-up vocalist while Saumya is the lead. The commentary on privilege and access is sharp. It is much later that Tamanna realizes how much IBC means for Saumya. An unfavourable outcome for Tamanna means she can go back to her singing career and a pre-existing fanbase but Saumya isn’t that lucky.
In the meanwhile, Mohini and Digvijay team up and perform together at events in an effort to keep Gharana’s music alive. Radhe goes to Mumbai and forms an unlikely friendship with the charming and effervescent Mahi, the lead singer of the band ‘Rage and Raag’. In many ways. Both Radhe and Mahi represent two opposite schools of thought. While Radhe wants to remain in the confines of Hindustani classical music, rarely stepping out of the pre-decided Ragas and meters, Mahi is open to improvisation and bats for a more experimental approach, which doesn’t go down well with Radhe.
Bandish Bandits Season 2: Writing And Direction
In a scene from episode 3, Radhe and Mahi have a showdown where Mahi quite passionately argues how Hindustani classical music can be just as elitist and exclusionary (if not more) as contemporary music. It is a moment of reckoning for Radhe too, who soon realizes that in order to appeal to the contemporary audience, he must, by all means, go for a fusion between classical and modern. The idea isn’t particularly fresh, more so because the first season was pretty much based on the same tradition v/s modernity conundrum.
Better still, writers Amritpal SIngh Bindra, Lara Chandni and Anand Tiwari raise pertinent questions about Radhe’s situation. Is it okay to compromise on the originality of one’s art to appeal to a wider audience? Is it justified to dilute the form of one’s craft if it allows more people to engage with it? Mohini, unlike Radhe, struggles to make sense of his participation in IBC. As a purist, she doesn’t want Gharana’s music and Panditji’s bandish to be played before those who aren’t capable of appreciating it. The show exposes the elitism and gatekeeping on both sides of the aisle.
Bandish Bandits Season 2: What Works, What Doesn’t
What works for the second season of Bandish Bandits is that it stays true to its premise and within the pre-existing conflict, raises new questions to further the discourse on art and music. In a breathtaking sequence, Ms Nandini sings with the notes of her voice matching the wings of a butterfly. In another scene, she blindfolds the members of the band during rehearsals to improve their coordination and improvisational skills. At times the stress on music and how it changes lives might come across as pretentious.
Kunaal Roy Kapoor, who plays Arghya, might just be the dark horse of the show. His humour, wit and tongue-in-cheek comebacks stand in sharp contrast with the self seriousness of the Rathod family who might just come across as stuck up. He keeps the tempo high and you can’t help but root for him. Arjun Rampal makes an appearance in episode 5 as Imroz Dhailavi, a former alumni of the college and celebrated poet. There is also an arc exploring Saumya’s eating disorder.
What doesn’t work as much for the show is the montages which play at lightning speed, often giving us a bird’s eye view on the events unfolding at a fast pace. The entire MeToo fiasco, media outrage and subsequent downfall of Rathod Gharana should have ideally played out in an episode but instead unfolds as a three-to-four minute montage. The setup happens rather too quickly as does the resolution.
For instance, Tamanna and Saumya’s rivalry which was simmering through the course of five episodes is suddenly resolved over a single conversation. Even then, Bandish Bandits season 2 is certainly one of the better shows to have come out this year. Much like its previous season, this rendition also boasts of a formidable Original Soundtrack which will likely dominate streaming charts in coming days.
Star rating: 3.5 / 5 stars
All episodes of Bandish Bandits season 2 are now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
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