Season 2 of the Amazon Prime Video series brings Bandish Bandits’ clash and synthesis of several musical traditions, which they rode on four years ago, back to power with even more vigour. It is a visual and acoustic delight when it is singing, which is regrettably not always the case. Radhe Rathod, played by Ritwik Bhowmik, moves to Mumbai in order to continue his family’s classical music tradition from Jodhpur. To improve her singing abilities, Tamanna Sharma, played by Shreya Chaudhry, enrols in a music school in the hills. The two young vocalists’ friendship becomes more strained as their once-stated affection for one another is replaced by a sour rivalry. Despite their efforts to re-establish their relationship, their music never ceases. In fact, it acquires a wider range than before.
Is the latest season of Bandish Bandits superior to the previous one because of this? Not at all. It is undermined by an excessive number of subplots and cliched narrative techniques. Divergent temperaments, conflicting legacies, and a variety of cultural preferences come together in this broad-strokes musical, which is much saved by its varied soundtrack and a number of captivating performances. Building on the groundwork established by the first season, these eight episodes use singing voices as weapons of ‘war’ and declarations of intent, as well as as instruments for establishing harmony and making declarations of intent. As it unfolds against the backdrop of a triangle, the love that was gained and lost in Season 1 almost finds its way back.
The series writer Amritpal Singh Bindra and director Anand Tiwari finds just enough inspiration in the tradition-versus-modernity concept to stir up a largely watchable tale, despite the occasional lapse in quality in the writing. As Radhe chooses to defy his Rajasthani gharana’s tradition in an effort to preserve its 400-year-old heritage, the season presents more reasons of contention. In a musical competition, his family competes against a band that represents a school in the Himalayas. There is nothing new about the face-off. As is frequently the case with dramas that focus on competition and involve musicians, dancers, or sports, Bandish Bandits S2 struggles to break free from a formulaic pattern. The story is intertwined with themes of friendship, empowerment, love, loyalty, gender equality, and patriarchy. Not all of it comes together without the seams sticking out awkwardly.
As skeletons emerge from the closet after the death of the patriarch Pandit Radhemohan Rathod (Naseeruddin Shah, who was not in the S2 cast), the Rathods lose favour. The departed musical genius’s treatment of his family, particularly his daughter-in-law Mohini (Sheeba Chaddha), is exposed by a writer. The disciples leave the family, and the Jodhpur Raja revokes his patronage. In the face of hardship, Radhe finds opportunity. He makes the decision to start afresh, even if it means breaking some old rules and creating new ones. Mohini, Radhe’s mother, emerges from the shell that her father-in-law placed on her and rejoins the public sphere alongside Digvijay (Atul Kulkarni), who feels he is Panditji’s legitimate heir. Mohini is encouraged by her husband Rajendra Rathod (Rajesh Tailang) to find her voice.
For his side, Rajendra is plagued by feelings of hatred and remorse. Digvijay tries to discourage Mohini from making a life-altering choice at her son’s insistence by reminding her of her duty to uphold the family tradition. “Gharane toh mardon ke hote hain,” she laments, “this gharana was never mine.” In Kasauli, Tamanna is one of a select group of students being groomed by Nandini, a modern music instructor (played by Divya Dutta, who was added to the cast). She has a backstory that could ruin the band and is a strict taskmaster. Misunderstandings arise because Nandini chooses Tamanna as a backup vocalist and Soumya (Yashaswini Dayama) as the band’s lead singer. Rivalries, recriminations, regrets and retractions come to the fore as the two girls compete with each other for control of the music that the band makes.
In addition to the music, Tamanna and drummer and songwriter Ayaan (Rohan Gurbaxani) have an intermittent relationship. The fluctuations of the relationship, made worse by Radhe’s re-entry into Tamanna’s life, start to affect the band’s performance. Ayaan hovers over Radhe and Tamanna with intent, and their attempts to reconcile are complicated, if not always believable, emotional arcs that give the show its occasional emotional depth. As data analysis and mathematics enter the realm of music through Ananya (Aaliyah Qureishi), a recent addition to the Rathod gharana’s support staff, the pitch is further queered.
Unquestionably, Bandit Bandish S2’s music—one of the show’s key songs is adapted from Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s Season 1 compositions—is excellent, but the plot isn’t. As the show moves into the ‘championship’ phase, where the musicians prepare to prove themselves in front of the public, it loses a good deal of impact. Rathod’s journey intersects that of Mahi (Paresh Pahuja), a leader for a fusion band from Mumbai who plays a “electric” sitar and distinguishes between the work he does “for the soul” and the output he creates “for the kitchen” before the show reaches a peak. Radhe disagrees with Mahi, who claims that rock is about defiance and questioning authority. But the upending of traditions and expectations is what almost everybody in Bandish Bandits S2, led by the quietly rebellious and assertive Mohini Rathod, seeks to do.
Their bold and defiant actions establish a pattern that the performance adheres to until the very end. A quest that liberates multiple sets of characters over two generations, music also serves as a unifying factor. In a fleeting cameo, Arjun Rampal plays a music school graduate whose past seems to be reoccurring in Tamanna and Ayaan’s lives both on and off college. The outstanding performances bring life to this tale of pursuing and seizing triumph when failure and disappointment are staring you in the face. The show is elevated above the norm by the seasoned cast members Rajesh Tailang, Atul Kulkarni, Divya Dutta, and Richa Chaddha.
The leads (Shreya Chaudhry and Ritwik Bhowmik) and every other actor portraying the eager-beaver greenhorns give remarkably good performances, which is a compliment to the director and writers. This time, Kunaal Roy Kapoor has a lot less work to do. Never is Bandish Bandits S2 off-key. From a presentation that honours music, that is the very least one could hope for. It would have been a huge hit if it had struck the higher notes more frequently and consistently.
