Tanaav Season 2 Volume 2 Review: Al Damishq, STG come to blows in this fitting conclusion to Kashmiri Fauda

Tanaav Season 2 review

Coincidences to get characters into trouble are forgivable. Coincidences to get them out of trouble aren’t exactly specimens of good storytelling. The second volume of SonyLiv’s Kashmiri Fauda ‘Tanaav’ opens with Jagjit Malik (Rajat Kapoor) sending Zafar (Adil Zubair) off to Multanpor in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir, in hopes of gathering intel on Al Damishq/Fareed (Gaurav Kapoor). Zafar clashes with his father Shabeer Malik (Danish Hussain), who feels the youth must engage in peace and dialogue before resorting to violence and terrorism. Zafar’s ideology differs.

Tanaav Season 2 Volume 2: Plot

Back home, Dr Farahg (Ekta Kaul) now lives with the Farooquis and spends quality time with Haider Farooqui (Kabir Bedi) as she tries to reconcile the inevitable bitterness she feels after being betrayed by Kabir Farooqui (played convincingly by a towering Manav Vij). The two try to make amends but soon, there is trouble in paradise—Al Damishq carries out an ISIS-style execution of someone close to Kabir—Haider ends up dead as a devastated Kabir tries to cope with the grief of losing his father.

Arjun (Udit Arora) asks Toshi (Sahiba Bali) out for a date to a French cafe but she turns it down. The unlikely couple begin their romance as Arjun locks horns with Kabir after an attempt to neutralize Fareed fails. With the help of Kunal (Arsalan Goni), Kabir kidnaps Harkat leader Idris (Mir Sarwar) who helps Malik track down Fareed. Fahad (Junaid Khan), Fareed’s brother, engages in a debate with the separatist who has been brainwashed by ISIS and wants Kashmir to be under their control. “That’s not what our father wanted”, protests Fahad all while trying to convince Fareed to not go down the path of religious extremism.

Tanaav Season 2 Volume 2: Performances

In the meanwhile, Junaid Alam Shaikh (Shashank Arora), having been betrayed by his wife Dr Farah, is now being interrogated by the STG group as Muneer Jeelani (Amit Gaur) is planted by the STG group as Junaid’s inmate to extract information out of him. All eyes are on the Peace Summit in Kashmir, which will have leaders from India and Pakistan engage in dialogue to keep peace in the region of Kashmir. Fareed plans to blow up the venue. Will STG succeed in stopping Al Damishq?

Undoubtedly, the standout performance in Tanaav 2 is that of Manav Vij who, as Kabir, portrays the pain of losing his father (and then his lover) to near-perfection. Also doing complete justice to his role is Rajat Kapoor, who, as the head of the operation leaves no stone unturned to keep peace in the valley, even as he faces pressure from his superiors. A lot rests on Gaurav Kapoor’s portrayal of Al Damishq. While Kapoor isn’t as unhinged and scary as the antagonist (primarily because the character isn’t written that well), the actor tries to bring out the inner conflict of a radicalized terrorist well.

Tanaav Season 2 Volume 2: Writing And Direction

With six episodes in volume 2, the first couple episodes are off to a slow start. STG and Al Damishq come to blows only in the 8th episode when Kabir’s father died, leading to absolute mayhem. What works well for the second season of Tanaav is that it brings out some of the intricacies and pitfalls of living in a conflict region. Two women characters, Dr Farah and Aayat (Swati Kapoor, the wife of Fahad, Fareed’s brother) trade loyalties towards their husbands in exchange for safety.

Knowing fully well that she needs to protect her child, Aayat agrees to provide intel to STG in exchange of information, much like Dr Farah who, in volume 1, ditched Junaid to side with Kabir. When women and children become pawns in this battle between the separatists, radical islamic terrorists and the STG forces, they choose safety, even if it comes at the cost of betraying their own. In another scene, Fareed uses Ismail, a kid, as a pawn to gather information on the outside world.

Tanaav Season 2 Volume 2: What Works, What Doesn’t

What doesn’t work as much for Tanaav season 2 is the many illogical inconsistencies that exist in the show’s framework. Pray, why is ISIS relying solely on an individual (Al Damishq) to take over Kashmir, that too without additional support in terms of a network of spies, surveillance and weapons? In an ideal world, it shouldn’t take an STG group with at least ten (or more?) members to neutralize a single target, that too when the clues are all over the place. Yes, at one point their operation fails because a cigarette lighter doesn’t go off.

All of this to say that plot twists happen without any explanation or additional context. How did Uday (Satyadeep Mishra) manage to defuse the bomb vests that too in such a short timeline? Exactly how clear is Malik’s vision that he was magically able to figure out from the CCTV footage that the bomb is placed inside the souvenirs? As I said in the beginning of the review: Coincidences to get characters into trouble are forgivable. Coincidences to get them out of trouble aren’t exactly specimens of good storytelling. Having said that, Tanaav season 2 volume 2, gives a fitting conclusion Kabir’s story arc with Manav Vij channeling all his aggression and grief as a professional boxer. Watch Tanaav 2 Volume 2 for its well-rounded character arcs.

Star rating: 3 / 5 stars

All episodes of Tanaav Season 2 Volume 2 are now streaming on SonyLiv.