Music, drama & smash hit panorama

When ‘Bandish Bandits’ streamed on Prime Video in 2020, it was a breath of fresh air wrapped in melody and a master class in classical music. As it enters the second season, there is good news and a bit of bad news. First the downside: what it did not succumb to in the first season, it has done so in the second outing and turned into an ‘Indian Idol’ of sorts. Here, the major part of the series is devoted to the India Band Championship. Of course, on the sunny side, it is still an ode to music, now of various hues, and the master class continues. You will still learn more than a thing or two about ragas. Only, this time, we get to hear and see the exponents of contemporary music too.

Tamanna’s (Shreya Chaudhry) quest to be a better singer takes her to a music institution in Kasauli. Here, apart from a bunch of new colleagues, we meet her teacher Nandini (Divya Dutta).

If one part is still about taans and alaaps, on the other side there is a need to improvise and move beyond parampara. And in between home truths are auditions and rounds of the India Band Championship, where former lovers Radhe and Tamanna are likely to spar.

Radhe is desperate to save his Rathore gharana, which has fallen into disrepute thanks to a scandalous book on his late grandfather. Needless to say, his search, too, will lead him to the competition. And we see undertones of ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’ in the family band he manages to put together. New romances, new jugalbandis and some dramatic twists make up for the feel-good and heartening eight-episode show where drama meets music and is as much a jugalbandi between drama and music as of classical and modern.

Editing by Tanupriya Sharma ensures seamless transition from one musical moment to another. If the musical score in the first season by Shankar Ehsaan Loy was compelling and was on your playlist for days at a stretch, there is more than one memorable composition here too. ‘Nirmohiya’ by Prithvi Gandharv and Suvarna Tiwari haunts. ‘Ghar Aa Mahi’, composed by Ana Rehman and sung by Digvijay Singh Pariyar and Nikhita Gandhi, a blend of pop and classical, is exceptionally good and ‘Yeh Raat’ by Asees Kaur and Akashdeep Sengupta makes you misty-eyed.

Filling your senses with more than one musical genre, the musical score truly makes you realise how music makes the world go round.

The actors are still in top form. It’s not just Shreya’s character of Tamanna who rediscovers herself, so does the actor in her. She dazzles with her looks and performance. If Radhe is in control of his sur, Ritwik Bhowmik as Radhe aces his assured act with an understated relatable charm. And it’s heartening to see Sheeba Chaddha’s character of a diffident Mohini finding the big stage she truly deserves. Rajesh Tailang as Rajendra and Atul Kulkarni as Digvijay bring gravitas, while Kunaal Roy Kapur as Arghya adds the necessary chutzpah. Reprising their parts, all three are impressive. In particular, the loser Rajendra finds redemption.

Among the new entrants, Divya Dutta makes quite an impression. From an abrasive teacher to one who mentors her institution’s band, she plays many shades with aplomb and offers pearls of wisdom on what music really is. Musical insights are very many and even its algorithms are discussed. And none of the mathematical interpretation sounds like an anomaly. Even Rage and Raga band leader Mahi’s (Paresh Pahuja) thoughts on music — “there is music for soul and then for kitchen” — are not entirely unwelcome.

Of course, certain plot points are not as organic and appear a bit too convenient, even predictable. Yet, invariably, dramatic interjections and romance in the air, too, are music to the ears. Needless to add, there are no surprises for guessing which two bands shall certainly make it to the grand finale. Only the winner is not as you would hope or imagine. Once the winning team rocks the stage, you are simply overwhelmed. In fact, the series is packed with more than one tear-inducing moment.

“Art is a blessing and a curse… but there is no escaping it,” says Nandini in the context of artists. And as viewers, there is no reason to escape this series, suffused with the true language of love: music. Providing yet another romantic interest in the musical series is the dashing Arjun Rampal in a delightful cameo. If music has never failed to move you, nor would ‘Bandish Bandits’. Go for it.