Manoj Bajpayee and Jaideep Ahlawat engage in a familiar turf battle in the review of ‘The Family Man 3’.

By Ayush Sachan

In the third season, the character arcs and conflicts feel familiar, but the geopolitical intrigue, Srikant Tiwari’s signature wit, and moral dilemmas make it a guilty pleasure that you don’t mind indulging in.

A middle-class intelligence officer, juggling high-stakes national security threats with his chaotic family life, found a fresh take on the spy genre in 2019 when The Family Man graced our living rooms. Manoj Bajpayee’s nuanced performance anchored the narrative, raising the bar for Indian OTT thrillers.

However, success contains the seeds of its own cliché-fication. What felt revolutionary six years back, is now the default mode. Humanising espionage and family drama, the very thing that made The Family Man stand out among his contemporaries, has now become formulaic. Spread over seven episodes, it is like watching 200 grams of geopolitical intrigue followed by 150 grams of family dynamics and so on.

Of course, the geopolitical stakes are higher, the family dynamic retains its charm, the humour retains its bite, and Bajpayee continues to be the bagpiper leading us to the depths of the stream of emotion, but the third season gives a strong sense of familiarity, which threatens to breed contempt.

The North East has emerged as the latest hotspot for screenwriters seeking socio-political themes to anchor their new seasons. Following the success of Pataal Lok in exploring the region’s potential, creators Raj and DK revisit the narrative of the central government’s vested interest in the region’s development and the mistrust of a new generation of locals due to years of neglect and betrayal. They introduce a Chinese angle and a corporate collective aiming to undermine the Indian state by inciting sectarian violence. While the backdrop may not be entirely novel, Raj and DK, along with Suman Kumar, infuse the mundane with energy and purpose, infusing the conflict with a sense of urgency and significance.

Within the set framework, the writers highlight contemporary issues such as Chinese apps, media ethics, and trolling to stay relevant. While the seasonal flavor is evident, The Family Man remains a timeless classic.