If I were to draw parallels for a show like Tanaav (and Fauda), it was be loosely with The Game Of Thrones. Think about it – you have a bunch of characters staking their claims to the ‘throne’ (in the case of Tanaav, it is the land of Kashmir which can be considered that). But unlike The Game Of Thrones, which are individual power centers and character dynamics at play, Tanaav has a clear demarcation between the ‘good guys’ and the ‘bad guys’, with a clear reflection of morality. Keeping that in mind, you do not necessarily root for a character that is trying to establish the ISIS root in India, starting with Kashmir. Your loyalties are always with the Intelligence Agency that try their level best to fight the ‘elements’ at play. This is different to an extent with Fauda because your gaze remains neutral – and so, you do not have a personal stake with the regional loyalties that you are privy to. But the beauty about the structure of Fauda should you choose to adapt it in its purest form, is that it still reflects on the humane qualities of the characters that makes them grounded, as opposed to broadly painting them with a single colour. And that remains the strong point of Tanaav too, wherein the adaptation is faithful with the change of guard only being reserved to the conflict true to the region. Every other aspect including the character traits are similar, so it still hits you as hard as ever if a character meets with his/her fate!

While the first part of the second season focused on smaller trajectories, the broader payoffs are reserved in the second part, even as the drama picks up from where the first part had ended. There are internal mind games alright yet the central conflict lies elsewhere, something that has the members of the Intelligence Group work over time. Their first goal is to identify the antagonist, a mystery figure who is rebellious enough to wreck havoc in the valley. And so each skirmishes that the group is a part of, has more to do with nabbing the perpetrator – be it in the form of a pseudo truce as a part of the setup, or utilizing the prowess of characters close to the antagonist, in order to extract information. And I must admit that the skirmishes definitely keep you on the edge of your seat, even with the backdrop of the conflict pertaining to the region, which always acts as an additional dynamic in the setup (and working against the Intelligence Group). And in that regard, the setting plays an important invisible character too, even as politics plays out well in the backdrop.

One of the reasons why I chose to call with part of the show as ‘The Game Of Thrones’ is mostly related to the characters, and how they meet their fate. There are a host of characters that you generally tend to root for, while watching the show. And unlike Fauda, since the lines of morality are etched out better here, this aspect becomes all the more hard-hitting, given that you dread the fate that some of the characters would meet. The fans of Fauda might know what transpires next, and so there would be an anticipation of sorts, at times in the form of fear, which automatically works in favour of Tanaav. So either way Tanaav would work – either as a shocker or in anticipation of fear, with respect to the fate that the characters meet, even as the writers consistently raise the stakes in the drama with some solid twists and turns. In the process, even a few character dynamics which were strained previously, are gently resolved even as you are witness to the infectious synergy of the group.

One criticism that I had with Tanaav here was related to its final act. There was a lot happening in terms of the tension, which was two fold in a way. But the idea of accelerating the final act wasn’t the best idea – the trick lay in systematically creating bouts of tension by considerably slowing things down. Here though, the thought seemed to be to jump from one event to another, that not only killed the tension but also transforming the drama into a cardboard cut-out wherein the layers were missing. But that, the events leading up to the final act were splendid and definitely added to the intrigue of the drama. So overall, the screenplay is well written and makes for a solid impact.