'Tandav' - The problem isn't the narrative. It's the premise.

[Written by Somdeb Roy]

Tandav is a victim of its flavour.

Oscillating wayward between its hero content intent and hygiene content roots. I’ll not talk about what it could’ve been and rather try to express how it is.

14 years ago, Vishal Dadlani and Himesh Reshammiya had a televised spat over the nature of a contestant on their show named Musarrat [Abbas]. A folk singer whom Dadlani wanted to turn versatile but Himesh wanted to turn into an expert of Sufi music. Tandav is the second coming of Musarrat.

A mainstream director urged to do better. Push the envelope a little bit. While the world can be Vishal Dadlani to him, I however, choose to be Himesh in this parlance. No jack of all trades. I’d rather have a master of one.

The show lacks depth because it’s evidently a 2hr 40 min film stretched into a streaming show.

It relies on formulae to sustain audience retention hence overspends on exposition. The problem isn’t the narrative. It’s the premise.

The show is a lovechild of Rajneeti and Race. Two worlds you wish better not collide. But they do and the lag sets in.

First three episodes are highly snackable and consumable. Ranging around 37-40 minutes, the show seems like a quick binge. But again, the premise called for more. And Zafar’s Tandav ran out of gas.

I want to commend writer Gaurav Solanki’s efforts for trying to fill a paper-thin plotline with nuance and subplots. But the story is like a phoney social activist you can smell of pretence from a mile. By the time you reach the sixth episode, you the viewer, runs out of interest.

If you ask branded content writers the trick to write a good concept note for the client/verbose, they’d show you two pages of jazz made out of a shoddy brief. When you don’t have content, the communication gets too verbose.

Tandav has too much talking and occasional actions. A drama that isn’t dramatic enough to keep you plugged in. The stakes aren’t as high as the universe of the show warrants to.

A new prime minister’s election is treated like a game of musical chairs. Everything in this world happens over a phone call, where no one records a conversation as evidence or a vile death threat is discussed over tea.

There’s no escalation. Just two families going back and forth to quench their thirst of vengeance. Interesting logline. But commonplace. Even the Mahabharata revolves around similar dynamics.

This isn’t a bad show. It’s a half-assed one. Even though a bummer, Tandav has firebrand performances by Dimple Kapadia, Kumud Mishra and Shonali Nagrani. So good to see Shonali come all the way from being an anchor on Zoom to sufficing whatever part was given to her.

Dimple Kapadia is a powerhouse. Experience driven by will to reinvent oneself. I was surprised to see Dino Morea pull off a decent performance as Professor Jigar.

My hopes were let down by Mohd. Zeeshan Ayub who maintains a “Abey mera batua kaha hain?” expression throughout the show.

As foreseen, Sunil Grover has the standout performance mostly because people have seen him as the face of tomfoolery and here it’s a straight-jacket character. Not a great performance. But a sneak peek into the man’s core abilities as an actor. He deserves manifolds more.

The only smart moment of the show is the introduction and establishment of I.T. cells. Very well placed in an otherwise ruckus.

The BGM is good. It’s slick. But they use it enough to make it sound like a jumpscare made of candies.

Ali Abbas Zafar deserves credit for at least trying to break his own shell. The central issue of the show is while watching it, you realise it’s made by the guy who made Sultan, Tiger Zinda Hai and Bharat. His hands are stained with mainstream mediocrity and the stink does rounds around every episode. But he at least tried to break his own status quo.

The complications of a live streaming show are the deals you have to crack with a platform to get a project lit. Platforms mostly ask you for a horizon of 2 seasons, if not 3.

Tandav had the additional slow burn because there’s more to it. Which wasn’t compulsory. What platforms also need to understand and comprehend is that commerce can’t dictate creativity.

Had this been a standalone, one-off show, the take and arcs could’ve been different. Alas, for most makers, creating the first season is to bite the bullet of limited funds, wicked timelines and rushed deliveries. A chunk of which gets reflected in Tandav. It didn’t need a franchise.

A solo show or a film format could’ve helped. But it was what is was sanctioned to be. And that’s not a pretty sight.

Vishal Dadlani and Himesh Reshammiya’s verbal SmackDown for Musarrat did nothing for the guy. He’s nowhere to be found. Neither Dadlani nor Reshammiya gave him a break. Two polar thoughts, none redeemed to action. 14 years forth, Tandav is the Musarrat that’s lost in the middle of nowhere, intellectualised for no reason by its novel intent and mainstream roots.

But I don’t want Ali Abbas Zafar to relinquish the idea of foraying into OTT. He just needs to line aside the MBAs and their SWOT analysis and create what his heart tells him to. Else, public Tandav machate rahegi.

Toh mujhe tere ghar mein storytelling chahiye. Packaging nahi chahiye.

Tandav is streaming on Amazon Prime.

NOTE: THE VIEWS AND OPINION EXPRESSED IN THIS ARTICLE ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR.