Home loan, car loan and espionage – Srikant Tiwari’s life in The Family Man

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Let’s just admit that The Family Man series doesn’t belong to a particular genre. How do you even fit ‘action-thriller-espionage-comedy-family-drama-romance-workplace-hassle’ into one genre? The unique thing about this Manoj Bajpayee-starrer is the relatability quotient of the middle-class protagonist who also lives the secret life of an intelligence officer.

Few minutes into The Family Man 2, you find Srikant Tiwari gasping for air inside a fancy corporate office being pulled by the CEO for arriving late to work. The boss gives a sound break up of Mukesh Ambani’s income-per-minute to make Tiwari value time as a priceless commodity for corporate success.

Srikant’s ‘dalliance’ with corporate life

When the boss reminds Srikant , “In this new world, it’s not enough to do bare minimum. You don’t want to be that ‘minimum’ guy, do you?” you may get a sense of déjà vu because we’ve all been there, haven’t we?

While the spy-world created by Raj & DK (directors) naturally gives you the adrenaline rushes, it’s in the day to day struggles of an ordinary middle class man serving the chaotic and overstretched  9-5 corporate job that you find greater solace in.

From ensuring monthly payment of home loan and car loan to meeting the rising expenses of kids education, Tiwari’s hustle personifies every city dweller’s dream to ensure a comfortable life in a metropolitan city.

Middle-class problems

Back in season 1, Tiwari’s first meeting with his boss reminding him about a long-overdue home loan is quite indicative of the fact that highly respected secret agents don’t earn like their brothers in the software business. Hence, Tiwari is finally seen settling for an IT job in the second season. This is somehow seen as the gateway to a bigger car for the kids and a timely home loan for the family’s dream abode.

Tiwari’s passion for his intelligence job is obvious. But his utter need to quit it for a safe and high paying IT job is symbolic of so many Indians sacrificing their dream careers for a job stable enough to pay timely EMIs. This is precisely the reason why most of us (or our families at least) see sarkari jobs as the undisputed king of stability.

Jibes for doing government job

Remember the first season of The Family Man when Tiwari’s son casually asks him the reason for doing a boring government job? Prompt comes the reply from his daughter, “Kyuki govt job me kuch karna nahi pdta na, isliye“.

The makers of The Family Man 2 have, however, taken the cinematic liberty of pushing Srikant Tiwari back into the role of a secret agent at TASC in the show. But the inevitable struggles of a middle-class man trying to live his passion, act as a dutiful father, a lovable spouse and an ideal family man – all at once is depicted in a brutal yet real fashion.

Combining the two worlds of espionage and domestic life never seemed so real before. This series is as Indian as it gets.