Following a prolonged delay and amidst high expectations from fans and critics, the much-awaited second season of Amazon Prime Video's 'The Family Man' is here, and boy, it's totally worth the wait.

Creators Raj and DK, alongwith co-writers Suman Kumar, Suparn S Varma and Manoj Kumar Kalaivanan create a juicy narrative whose storytelling has not been compromised owing to the hype and popularity of the earlier season, a criminal pattern observed in the second seasons of many Indian shows. In that context, the second season of 'The Family Man' sticks true to its intentions, emerging as an unadulterated, wholesome entertainer.

National-Award winning actor Manoj Bajpayee returns as Srikant Tiwari, the Senior Agent at the TASC unit of the NIA, who has quite a handful to deal with in the new season. His marriage with Suchitra (Priyamani) has hit rock bottom. He's quit his field job to settle down for the 9-5 routine of a corporate slacker so that he could dedicate time towards his family, something which he loathes. He is ridden with guilt about the events that unfolded on that fateful night at the Orion chemical plant and is experiencing major FOMO, as his colleague JK (Sharib Hashmi) points out. Meanwhile, the nation is staring at the threat posed by a new enemy. Raji, (a stellar Samantha Akkineni) a young Tamil rebel is willing to go to any extent to stop a bilateral dialogue from happening between the diplomats of two neighbouring nations.

Raj and DK deploy current geo-political conflicts amidst humanist engagements with the same effectiveness as they did with season one. So for those who have been vociferously contesting the depiction of certain communities and ethnicities in the new season, even before having viewed the show, kindly take a chill pill. Cameron Eric Bryson's frames are captivating and when equipped with Saini Johray's production design and Pritam Das' sound design, you experience a fulfilling execution. The screenplay offers plenty room for laughs and luckily for us, they appear unexpectedly. While the banter between Srikant and JK inspire clap-trap lines (firstly, their bromance deserves a film or a show of its own), the scenes between JK and Chennai agent Muthu Pandian, played superbly by Ravindra Vijay, will make you roll on the floor. It's particularly refreshing to see Tamil characters being played out without the Aiyyos and the curd rice humour, which Bollywood has particularly tired us of. Infact, South-Indian stereotypes are cleverly taken upon in key scenes. Although, I must point out that for many who aren't well-versed with Tamil or English, the absence of Hindi subtitles is a glaring setback. Aejaz Gulab and Yannick Ben's action perfectly compliments Samantha's standout scenes from the show. Her combat sequences are jaw-dropping. Besides Sachin-Jigar's standout titular track which has been retained though restructured with the use of the traditional nadaswaram, the soundtrack again features prominent Indie acts from Swarathma, Fiddlecraft, Brodha V, Vasu Dixit and Arivu. The makers also pay a humble tribute to the late S.P Balasubramaniam. Interestingly, the release date of the second season co-incides with the birth anniversary of the legendary maestro. Casting director Mukesh Chhabra and his team yet again ensure that Raj and DK's passion project is empowered by compelling, convincing actors, each cast appropriately for their parts.

Season 2 allows Bajpayee to play the field agent more than the family guy, he was in the earlier season. And the actor is surely seen enjoying himself. Despite all his niceties, you also discover his insecurities and his unflinching ability to manipulate people and situations. Up against him as his prime nemesis, Samantha completely disappears into the skin of Raji. Personally, Raji is my favourite character from this season. Of course, the inconsistent brown tone slathered on her is questionable. Some may even argue that she maintains just a single expression throughout. But such is the design of her character. You've to understand that Raji has internalized her pain and trauma to such an extent that she is absolutely impassive to everyone and everything around her. Together, Bajpayee and Samantha's cat-and-mouse game is the kind of thrill we look forward to. Watch out for the interrogation scene between the two. I had goosebumps.
Priyamani has precious little to do in the new season and that's partially due to the show's immense indulgence towards the spy genre. Yet as Suchitra, the actress holds her own while overcoming her internal conflicts and making professional amendments. Hashmi as JK provides the much-needed comic relief and I suppose, fans will now always address the actor by his character name. Ashlesha Thakur and Vedant Sinha as Dhriti and Atharva stick true to their character arcs from the earlier season, although Vedant provides quite a few chuckles while posing as the jack of all trades, but master of none. It's heartening to watch the late Asif Basra play the shrink who has a quote for every situation. The rest of the cast deliver complete justice to their parts.

Without giving you any spoilers, let me tell you that once you finish binge-watching the second season of 'The Family Man', you will be left wondering over two very important questions. Not telling you any further.