Once the knowledge that a series is a remake kicks in, the remake is always looked on with weary suspicion. You can safely leave all misgivings and cynical readings behind for Applause Entertainment’s _Tanaav_ on SonyLIV. Stretching tensely into twelve episodes, Tanaav explores the culture of terrorism in Kashmir from both sides. While we see the Task Force, comprising a fairly impressive array of trigger-happy actors navigated by the incurably gruff Manav Vij ’s Kabir, a soldier so consumed by his job of bringing down terrorists that his marriage also seems to be coming down. It is a commonly played trope in cop dramas: the khaki hero who loses his wife’s love and support in the pursuit of his job. Here there is no khaki but a lot of red and blue as rage turns into grief for a man who can’t seem to get either his personal or professional rhythm right. The other roles of the Special Tactics Group(STG) are largely well-cast: Toshi (Sahiba Bali), Uday (Satyadeep Misra), Danish (Arryaman Seth), Kunal ( Arslan Goni ), Muneer (Amit Gaur), and Bilal (Rockey Raina), except for a couple of actors who seem to have strayed onto the wrong location: google map, anyone? Tanaav is a partly-haunting, partly-jolting dream-turned-nightmare drama authentically shot on locations that replicate the original paradise-lost terrain. The action scenes are first-rate focusing on loss of life rather than glamorizing the gore. The language also slips into colloquialism without warning. But there is never any moment of doubt in the clenched war of nerves. Some of the more memorable interludes include a devastating terror attack where a newly widowed woman who loses her bridegroom on her wedding day plants a bomb in a crowded café as revenge. The chaos of a mind that no longer knows wrong from right and the uncaring world outsides, is beautifully balanced . At times the balanced narrative, the series’s USP, tilts towards jingoism. Most of the time series creator Sudhir Mishra(for whom exploring the dark territory is a familiar playground) and his director Sachin Krishn who is also the series’ cinematographer manage to keep the drama from toppling over. The peg for counter-militancy is a terrorist named Umar(played by Sumit Kaul) who strikes at unexpected places and with a ruthlessness that makes us wonder how this killer can be such a living husband and a devoted won to his ailing mother(Zarina Wahab). Umar dodges STG quite deviously making me wonder if the writing knows its heroes and villains as well as these anti-terror sagas are meant to. Hardly anyone smiles in Tanaav…occupational hazard? The one charming woman who exudes sunshine in every frame, loses her life early in the war against terrorism. ‘Happy Kashmir’ is as traditionally demystified as ‘Happily married’. _Tanaav_ is the official remake of the Israeli series Fauda. Having seen both, I can confidently conclude that remakes are not always a cut-and-paste job. This one does a creative conversion of militancy in Israel to Kashmir without skipping a heartbeat. Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based film critic who has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. He tweets at @SubhashK_Jha. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Tanaav is a partly-haunting, partly-jolting dream-turned-nightmare drama authentically shot on locations that replicate the original paradise-lost terrain. The action scenes are first-rate focusing on loss of life rather than glamorizing the gore.
Advertisement
End of Article
Written by Subhash K Jha
Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based journalist. He's been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. see more