Bandish Bandits season 2: A compelling effort but makes you miss the season 1 charm!

The wait is finally over! Radhe and Tamannah’s story is ready to move ahead, but has the show really taken season 1’s legacy forward? Let’s find out!

Bandish Bandits season 2: I remember the first time I watched Bandish Bandits during the lockdown and just how taken aback I was by the music. It unexpectedly awakened my love for the Indian classical genre and how much it has to offer to the world. The star cast had two new faces at the centre and some veterans bringing their A-game to the table. There was nothing not to like about this show. When I binged the series in a day, I remember how I instantly wanted to watch more of it. But good things take time and Bandish Bandits sure did take its time with season 2. So it goes without saying the pressure’s on! 

Season 2 picks up 3 months from where season 1 left us. Tamanna (Shreya Chaudhary) has left Radhe (Ritwik Bhowmik) to pursue music. Radhe is still the head of his ‘gharana’. But when his grandfather passes away, things start to go haywire for him and his family. A scandalous book written about the musical prodigy that his grandfather turned into a controversy real quickly. The very people who loved their music started to hate them. Hence, to restore the respect that people once had for his gharana, the entire Rathod family participates in the India band championship. This is not just a new opportunity for Radhe but also a place where he reunites with Tamanna, who is also participating in the competition with her own set of people she met in college. So, of course, there’s a showdown, and three love triangles struggle in the middle of it all. 

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Traditions vs adapting to modern times

Bandish Bandits’ core lies in Radhe being the traditional, close to the roots kinda guy. But everyone he works with tends to make more fast paced and easy on the ears but not food for the soul kind of music. This is where most of the conflict started in season 1, and season 2 is no different. Radhe and his sangeet ke ustaadon waali family beautifully unlearn and adapt to the new world of music. They find their footing and emerge out even stronger than before which are some of the highlights this season. 

But all the other ‘modern day’ music per say that is made in the show seems very caricature like IMO! Which makes this the show’s strength and weakness at the same time.

Music: the soul of Bandish Bandits

Bandish Bandits and music are synonymous at this point. You cannot talk about the show without talking about the music. Season 1 had songs that mentally took you to another place altogether. But season 2’s soundtrack is unfortunately a miss. It does not impact you in a way that the previous season did. In fact the season 1 hits like ‘Chedkhaniyaan’ ‘Garaj Garaj’ and ‘Sajan Bin’ were brought back into the new season to keep it alive and those are the only best musical moments of the show. Binging the new season only made me go back to season 1’s album and listen to those songs on loop, which I do believe says a lot about a series that is mainly about music. 

The emergence of new characters

Season 2 creates more room for new characters as the story goes forward. Almost every other show that we’ve watched has that one season where unwanted love interests turn up and create friction between the leads. That pretty much sums up season 2. Tamanna is in a new situationship at college and Radhe’s new band member has a major crush on him. Radhe and Tamanna spend most of their time apart this season, but when they do come together, there is angst and there is sexual tension that can be cut through a knife. But at one point Tamanna is literally two timing both the guys and that just feels like an unnecessary arc to the story. It only makes you want to scream at the screen and tell her to get her life together. 

Divya Dutta plays Tamannah’s college teacher and she does everything but teach. She feels more like a therapist than a music teacher and I truly believe she is capable of doing so much more as an actor. The only way her character can redeem herself is if she got a spin off show of her own. 

Veterans vs young blood

The show has a good mix of veterans and new faces. Sheeba Chadda’s arc this season was by far the one I was most intrigued by. She went from a bird that was caged by responsibilities to taking center stage. Atul Kulkarni and her felt like modern day Romeo and Juliet and the way they bring such richness to their characters adds a lot of flavour to the show. I’ve also been a Ritwik Bhowmik fan since season 1. His ability to fool us all into thinking he is the one singing all the songs is still intact. He becomes one with Radhe and oftentimes carries the story on his shoulders. He is one OTT actor I’d love to see more of!

Overall, while this season wasn’t the best, Bandish Bandits as a story is deeply rooted in Indian culture. It is first of its kind and has the potential to open Indian OTT content’s doors to the rest of the world. Here’s hoping that season 2 was just a filler before things take off on a much higher note in this musical journey (pun intended). And hope that we don’t have to wait for another 4 years till season 3 comes out!

Bandish Bandits season 2 is currently streaming on Prime Video!

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