Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Dimple Kapadia, Kriti Kamra, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayub, Sunil Grover, Sarah Jane Dias, Gauhar Khan, Sandhya Mridul, Dino Morea, Anup Suri, Paresh Ahuja, Tigmanshu Dhulia

Directed by Ali Abbas Zafar

BLUF:

Samrat Pratap Singh is a popular youth icon and also the son of the Prime Minister of India. Power-hungry and arrogant, he sets up the stage to be the successor to his father, only to have that dream snatched away from him. This is the story of the political manipulation and power grab in the corridors of New Delhi.

THE MEAT AND THE POTATOES

Saif Ali Khan’s Tandav is his play all the way. As Samar Pratap Singh he weaves a House of Cardish vicious political ploy. Though the content is simple and quite predictable in many avenues, it is the execution of the story, that makes the series a winner.

The strength of the story is the character development and their chemistry with each other and the director does not waver from that reality for even a frame.

IN THE ZONE

The production and execution of a simple, predictable plot is world-class. The strength of the story is its superior quality of production, its cinematography, its actors, screenplay, and dialogues. Never for a moment does Ali Abbas Zafar let his focus waver from the momentum of the plot and the multiple subplots weave themselves in with breathtaking pace. All in a spectacular thriller mode that the filmmaker is quite a pro at.

FWAR

Tandav is a great product with good quality political fare told from the galleys of power in New Delhi. For those of you not familiar with the politics of New Delhi, the interplay of relationships, caste, party, student politics, and the story may seem as if it has been told earlier. But if you have not, it is an interesting season of setting up for season 2 of intrigue, drama, and engagement. We look forward to the next season.

WHAT WE LOVED

The cast, the writing, great dialogues the technical experience of the storytelling.

WHAT WE MISSED

Some more unexpected twists and turns.