So, the news is out there now. If sources are to be believed, The Family Man 2 will be releasing on Amazon Prime Video by the first week of June, 2021 after spending almost six months in unexpected exile.
Ever since the news went out, fans are going crazy over the fact that finally the second installment of their beloved cop-drama series is coming back. The Family Man Season 1 premiered back in 2019 and immediately became a super hit and one of the most successful OTT content of 2019. It revolves around Srikant Tiwari, a middle-class man secretly working as an intelligence officer for the National Investigation Agency, who uncovers secrets that could change the fate of the country.
Srikant Tiwari aka Manoj Bajpayee, is our focus for now. We are embarking on a journey to find out why these characters of rough-n-tough law enforcement officials suit him the most. For the sake of argument, let’s do a headcount!
Inspector Samar Pratap Singh in Shool, DCP Arvind in Happy, Major Suraj Singh in 1971, CBI Officer Waseem Khan in Special 26, Constable Ramdas Godbole in Traffic, Colonel Abhay Singh in Aiyaary, DCP Shivansh Rathod in Satyamev Jayate and very recently ACP Avinash Verma in Silence… Can You Hear It?
Phew! Now, this is a track record to be proud of.
Granted that Manoj Bajpayee is one of the most versatile actors of the country who could fit in any role given to him. But we think the biggest factor that differentiates him from other actors to portray the roles of cops and law enforcement officers is his down to earth attitude and his slightly less-glamorous look, fusioned with a voice that reflects pure Indian masculinity.
The point is, Indians are very much accustomed to seeing cops who are extremely non-glamorous in terms of appearance with most cops speaking in colloquial languages in daily life. And here comes Manoj Bajpayee who is able to tick every single pointer of that ‘Indian cop’ checklist. Therefore, with his slightly colloquial dialect and his not-so-macho (unlike commercial actors who bank only on their glamorous looks) appearance, Manoj Bajpayee has gradually gone on to become India’s favorite screen-cop.
Now, when it comes to Srikant Tiwari’s character in The Family Man, he is an extremely tenacious officer who frequently fails to balance his own family life. On the one hand, he is up for investigating a terrorist attack; and on the other hand, he and his wife, portrayed by Priyamani, are struggling to fix their daughter’s numerous concerns at school. These things make The Family Man’s Srikant Tiwari relatable to most Indians, who just like Srikant, struggle to maintain a happy and satisfied family while working 12-hours for multinational or government organizations.
Talking about Srikant’s character, we discovered in one of Manoj’s old interviews, where he said, “I was telling somebody that when Tiwari is at home or office, he looks as if he is coming straight out of R.K. Laxman’s sketches. He is that common a person. However, when he is in Kashmir, trying to find information in another county, the job, and the approach become a little larger than life. That makes it a very interesting combination for an actor to bite his teeth into.”
And that’s what we wanted to interpret here that as beautifully as Manoj Bajpayee can portray the role of a common man, he is also well-versed in transforming that character into a tough cop, seeking justice.
So folks, as The Family Man 2 is almost knocking at the screens of our laptops, smartphones or tablets, take a deep breath and appreciate for a moment how realistic Manoj Bajpayee’s portrayals are; how he has evolved as an actor in the last 27 years since his appearance in Bandit Queen; and has transformed into one of the finest method actors of the country and certainly the best silver screen-cop of the last decade.
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