Exclusive review – Samantar 2 – An excellent tale about the battle between destiny, fate and actions

Is it all written in the destiny?

Can you work towards the change in fate?

Do actions take precedence over destiny and fate?

These are some of the questions that are raised in this well written web series Samantar, the second season of which has been unveiled on MX Player. By all means, this is just the right amalgamation of some solid content coupled with entertainment that keeps the interest alive in each of the 10 episodes that have duration of 25 to 30 minutes each.

Of course, to watch this web series, one needs to catch the first season as well since there is definite continuity that you can’t miss. The core plotline is super exciting as well. What if a man wrote his life story in a diary each day at a time, and then another man had the same ‘haathon ki lakeerin’ (and in the process, same destiny)? Would this mean that whatever has happened in the life of the first man would happen in exactly the same manner for the second man as well? In that case, will going through the diary result in one knowing the future?

This is what happens in the life of Swwapnil Joshi who is informed by a palm reading ‘swami’ [Jayant Sawarkar] that his life story will unfold in the same manner as that of another man, Nitish Bharadwaj. The twist in the tale? This man had showed his palm to the same ‘swami’ 30 years back, which means the two lives will now run ‘samantar’ (in parallel), albeit 30 years apart.

While the stage was set quite well in the first season itself, it’s the second season which turns out to be far more intriguing, in-depth, dark, entertaining, and full of twists and turns. Director Sameer Vidwans does well to keep the drama restricted to a handful of characters, and each of them has a definite part to play in the proceedings with adequate depth. The one to whom your heart goes out to is Tejaswini Pandit, who plays the supremely understanding wife of Swwapnil. 

The one who carries dark shades of grey is Sai Tamhankar who makes her entry in the second season. She has an interesting part to play as just like Saif Ali Khan in Love Aaj Kal, she features as a similar character in both ‘kal’ and ‘aaj’ of the lives of Nitish and Swwapnil. Her intentions and character sketch are similar as well, though she is shown to belong to different stratas of society. If in the past she is shown as a struggling model who doesn’t quite have a lifestyle to boast, in the current times she is shown as a high society woman, albeit corrupt.

It’s the series of events that unfold in the lives of the two key protagonists [Swwapnil and Nitish] which makes Samantar 2 an intriguing affair. Also, good credit to the director and the editor who make sure that the current times and the flashback sequences are not at all confusing, and you follow the ‘samantar’ narrative. What is further exciting is that the scenes that unfold in the two time zones are not exactly the same but with some bit of similarities, which makes the proceedings interesting.

It is good to see the two actors coming together in this web series, since both have played Krishna on-screen. It could well be a ‘samantar’ moment for them as well, since in real life too they were separated by few years in playing the same part. Swwapnil is good and confident, though one wonders why he was made to mouth cuss words. In this family outing, this was just not required. It is fun to watch Nitish Bhardwaj because other than reminding of his cool-n-composed part in Mahabharata, he is also shown as someone who has a lot going on in his mind.

The heart of the show is Tejaswini Pandit as other than being truly into the character, she is also the sole noble soul in the story. She doesn’t strike a wrong note even once. Sai Tamhankar practically portrays two different characters not just in terms of look but also the way she speaks, walks and acts. Jayant Sawarkar plays the mysterious part of Swami quite well.

As a director, Sameer Vidwans has done well to put together the second season of Samantar, which would have been a complicated narrative to portray on screen. Do catch the web series as this should satiate your need of watching a truly unique story unfold in front of you.