The wholly predictable political drama is all style and very little substance
LEADING Bollywood filmmaker Ali Abbas Zafar makes his web serial debut with this recently premiered nine-part Amazon Prime drama, set in the heart of Indian politics.
He has assembled an impressive cast of mostly big screen stars for a serial that seems to have taken news headlines and stitched them together into a story of warring leaders trying to out manoeuvre one another.
What follows are parallel stories that dip their toes into a sea of Indian politics and student protests, instead of taking a deep dive and properly exploring the subjects.
It is perhaps no surprise that a serial with a high budget and a relatively strong cast suffers from lightweight writing because that has pretty much informed the Bollywood career of Tandav's creator and director Ali Abbas Zafar.
Like all of his films, Tandav is more style than actual substance and comes across as a missed opportunity. It attempts to tick commercial boxes with a star cast, nice outfits, a decent setting and rousing dialogues, but doesn't have enough to keep full attention from start to finish.
On the positive side, there is sharp camerawork and some decent performances from an accomplished cast, who attempt to inject life into the predictable writing.
Bollywood legend Dimple Kapadia is outstanding in her role, and there are terrific turns from a strong supporting cast, including Gauahar Khan. Lead star Saif Ali Khan kind of goes through the motions and his role would perhaps have suited a younger actor better.
Overall, the characters come across as hollow and don't possess the realism seen in serials like Mirzapur and Pataal Lok.
What remains is a drama serial that doesn't meet up to sky-high expectations and is one you would likely watch if there was nothing else available, much like most movies that have been helmed by Tandav’s driving force Ali Abbas Zafar.
Starring: Saif Ali Khan, Dimple Kapadia, Zeeshan Ayyub, Sunil Grover, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Gauahar Khan Director: Ali Abbas Zafar