Bandish Bandits Season 2 Review: Ritwik Bhowmik and Shreya Choudhary’s series is like a melodious evening of music

Story of ‘Bandish Bandits 2’

‘Bandish Bandits Season 2’ starts with the demise of Pandit Radhey Mohan (Naseeruddin Shah). A book is published on him/her, in which the long hidden truth about his/her arrogance and misogyny comes out in front of everyone. The story takes a dramatic turn as the life of Radhe (Ritvik Bhowmik), who takes up the responsibility of taking the music of the Rathore family forward, starts changing after this. On the other hand, Tamanna (Shreya Chaudhary) has taken admission in the music school of Kasauli. There he/she meets Divya Dutta, who is a strict but very good teacher. The thread of time brings Radhe and Tamanna, who were walking on two different paths, face to face once again. The two are pitted against each other in a high-profile music reality show. But to know where the story reaches after this, you will have to watch this series.

Trailer of ‘Bandish Bandits 2’

‘Bandish Bandits 2’ web series review

Season 2 keeps its USP i.e. music close right from the beginning. Once again rich, moody music takes center stage. As the story progresses, this fascination increases even more. The blend of musical styles like rock, jazz and pop with difficult ragas, soulful bands keeps you hooked to this web series.

This time, along with taking the story forward, many new characters have also been added to the series. While Tamanna goes to a music school in search of her true voice, Radhey moves to Mumbai to popularize his/her classical music heritage. This change strengthens the plot of the series. The series has many themes ranging from individuality to empowerment, the balance between tradition and modernity. Tamannaah’s career growth as an artist looks particularly good as she continues to discover herself.

Writer-director Anand Tiwari along with co-writers Atmika Didwania and Karan Singh Tyagi have worked to take ‘Bandish Bandits’ to a bigger and broader canvas. This new season delves deeper into the new age manipulations, new relationships, clash of old and new ideologies under the guise of new characters. However, while the emotional depth and musical prowess elevates this series, the screenplay also falters at times. This is also due to the many subplots and little predictability.

The challenges and competition within music bands in the battle to move ahead, the musicians struggling with insecurity, add a bit of tension to the story. However, despite these obstacles, the variety of musical performances on stage do not let your attention get distracted too much.

The main attraction of ‘Bandish Bandits Season 2’ is the music and it lives up to that. Composers like Ana Rehman and Digvijay Singh Pariyar have worked to fill the story with new energy while maintaining its essence. Among the standout tracks, Nikhita Gandhi and Ana Rehman’s ‘Ghar Aa Mahi’, Prateek Gopinath’s ‘Holding On’, Swaroop Khan and Purvi Kautish’s ‘Hichki 2.0’ and Shankar Mahadevan’s ‘Sur Hi Parmatma’ have worked to set the tone. The good thing is that all these songs fit into the story very easily.

Your musical understanding also increases while watching season 2. In this, the arguments regarding the use of data science from a new age perspective, the mathematics behind the tunes and the long-standing debate about music are interesting. Sheeba Chaddha’s character Mohini has beautifully expressed the feeling of musical accompaniment in this episode through ‘Sangeet Sangat Se Hi Banta Hai’.

All the actors have done excellent justice to their characters in the series. Ritwik Bhowmik captivates you in the role of Radhe, while Shreya Choudhary has played the nuances of Tamanna’s character brilliantly. Sheeba Chaddha, Rajesh Tailang and Atul Kulkarni bring depth to their roles, while Divya Dutta wins hearts as a powerful Western music teacher.

overall, ‘Bandish Bandits 2’ may seem a bit slow at places and long due to its sub-plots, but still it has hit the right notes and beats to reach the hearts of the audience. This is something you’ll want to watch not only for the story, but also for the music.