The
many
episodes
in
which
the
characters
discuss
quarrel,
sulk
and
rehearse
would
have
been
boring
were
it
not
for
the
music,
observes
Deepa
Gahlot.
The
first
season
of
Bandit
Bandits
(2020)
was
a
family
drama,
with
music
at
its
centre.
The
story
about
a
classical
music
purist
Panditji
(played
by
Naseeruddin
Shah),
his
estranged
son
Digvijay
(Atul
Kulkarni),
the
other
passive
sons
Devendra
(Saurabh
Nayyar),
Rajendra
(Rajesh
Tailang),
his
dutiful
wife
Mohini
(Sheeba
Chaddha),
and
their
son
Radhe’s
(Ritwik
Bhowmik)
struggles
with
following
tradition,
yet
wanting
to
break
out,
was
appreciated
for
its
performances,
music
(by
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy)
and
somewhat
novel
subject.
By
the
time
Radhe
defeated
his
uncle
Digvijay
in
the
Sangeet
Samrat
competition
and
was
chosen
successor
to
his
family’s
gharana,
his
beloved
Tamanna
(Shreya
Chaudhry),
a
pop
star,
left
him
to
join
a
music
school
and
become
a
better
singer.
Their
short-lived
collaboration,
Bandish
Bandits
ended.
In
Season
2,
directed
by
Anand
Tiwari,
much
of
the
complications
and
concerns
are
carried
over
but
nothing
actually
adds
to
the
basic
concept
of
sticking
to
tradition
versus
adapting
to
change.
Panditji
is
dead,
and
Digvijay
hovers
around
like
an
ill-tempered
stalker,
demanding
his
right
to
the
gharana
(the
subtitles
translate
it
as
‘household’!).
The
addition
is
Tamanna’s
fitting
into
the
music
school
at
Kasauli,
where
the
sole
teacher,
a
morose
Nandini
(Divya
Dutta)
makes
random
comments
like
‘You
need
to
find
your
voice,’
students
wander
around
with
musical
instruments
that
nobody
taught
them
to
play,
but
are
all
set
to
participate
in
a
big
reality
show,
Indian
Band
Competition
(IBC).
Nandini
picks
Saumya
(Yashaswini
Dayama)
as
the
lead
singer,
over
the
popular
Tamanna,
which
causes
some
friction
between
the
two.
The
cute,
flirtatious
keyboard
player
Ayaan
(Rohan
Gurbaxani)
is
also
the
resident
lyric
writer
because
according
to
the
strange
methods
of
this
music
school,
the
singer
also
composes
and
writes
lyrics!
Ayaan
and
Tamanna
hook
up
quickly
so
when
Radhe
re-enters
the
scene,
there’s
a
love
triangle
ready
to
brew.
There’s
another
one
already
simmering,
with
low
key
sighing
and
suppressed
emotion,
considering
Digvijay,
Mohini
and
Rajendra
are
older,
if
not
wiser.
The
action
moves
between
Jodhpur
and
the
troubles
in
the
Rathod
clan,
and
Kasauli,
where
the
bunch
of
disparate
musicians
finally
cohese
as
a
band
that
is
named
Royalty
Free.
A
dirt-digging
writer
exposes
some
Rathod
family
secrets
that
result
in
a
musical
and
social
boycott.
Egged
on
by
his
manager
Arghya
(Kunaal
Roy
Kapoor,
who
seems
to
have
wandered
over
from
a
stand-up
comedy
show),
Radhe
goes
to
Mumbai
to
join
a
fusion
band
run
by
Mahi
(Paresh
Pahuja),
who
takes
a
revered
bandish
by
Panditji
and
—
travesty!–
turns
it
into
a
birthday
song
for
a
rich
girl.
Sadly,
Mahi
vanishes
from
the
series
much
too
soon
because
the
issues
he
raises
with
the
huffy
Radhe
would
actually
resonate
with
music
lovers
—
namely,
classical
music
should
learn
to
adapt
to
the
times
and
tastes
of
the
new
generation,
without
losing
its
essence.
The
Rathod
gharana
would
be
better
served
by
reaching
out
than
by
harping
on
a
purity
that
just
gets
empty
auditoriums.
(This
is
not
entirely
true,
there
are
many
classical
singers
and
instrumentalists
who
fill
up
halls!)
All
this
sturm
and
drang
builds
up
to
the
various
rounds
of
the
IBC,
including
a
very
strange
one
in
which
the
classical
singing
Rathod
family
has
to
‘interpret’
a
Queen
Eli
song.
This
singer’s
name
is
evoked
like
she
is
one
of
the
all
time
greats!
The
many
episodes
in
which
characters
discuss
the
contest,
quarrel,
sulk
and
rehearse,
would
have
been
boring
were
it
not
for
the
music.
To
top
it
all,
a
mathematician
called
Ananya
(Aaliyah
Qureishi)
surfaces,
who
gives
the
Rathods
lectures
on
the
connection
between
music
and
maths,
so
they
absolutely
have
to
include
her
in
their
band;
also
stand
by
love
interest
for
Radhe.
Then,
suddenly,
Panditji,
who
is
not
even
in
the
show
any
more,
gets
a
back
story.
Ten
episodes
of
a
meandering
plot,
weird
twists
and
characters
that
speak
like
they
were
reading
social
media
forwards
about
surrender,
inner
feelings
and
freedom
is
too
much
to
take.
Eg:
‘Art
is
a
blessing
and
a
curse,
you
can
never
escape
it…
just
like
love,’
Nandini
has
an
endless
collection
of
platitudes!
The
series
could
have
expanded
its
scope
to
examine
the
current
music
scene.
Saumya
brings
up
the
point
that
today,
appearance
and
performance
matters
more
than
singing.
Autotune
and
lip-sync
are
accepted
concert
practices.
The
locations
are
lovely,
everybody
wears
really
attractive
costumes,
the
actors
do
their
best,
with
Sheeba
Chaddha
and
Atul
Kulkarni
easily
stealing
the
show.
In
the
end,
music
is
the
saving
grace,
and
the
singers
deserve
all
credit.
Bandish
Bandits
2
streams
on
Amazon
Prime
Video.
Bandish
Bandits
2
Review
Rediff
Rating:
