Manoj Bajpayee reveals Srikant does not have his swag anymore in Family Man 3

Srikant Tiwari’s fans are eager to meet him in the third season of The Family Man. But as soon as we sit down for a chat with Manoj Bajpayee, who plays arguably India’s most loved spy in the Prime Video series, he makes it clear that his character has changed in the four years since the second edition ended. “Srikant is not in his top form right now. He’s a little wobbly,” starts the actor. 

Despite being a spy thriller, a huge part of the series’ appeal lies in creators Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK’s treatment of the family dynamics. Bajpayee reveals that the opening episode will establish how the protagonist is in a rocky place with his family. The actor explains, “Any common person derives their strength from the family. Even if there is a quarrel in the family, the day is messed up. So, he is not the Srikant Tiwari with his swag and sharpness. His job is gone; he is trying to get his strength and mojo back.”

A still from ‘Chittagong’

It helps then that the drama is elevated by Jaideep Ahlawat, who plays his nemesis in the series. For Bajpayee, it was a delight to reunite with the actor after Chittagong (2011) and Gangs of Wasseypur (2012). “We would keep meeting on and off,” says Bajpayee. If an on-screen face-off between the two powerful actors sounds like a cinephile’s dream, Bajpayee agrees that they both elevated each other’s work. “Jaideep badhiya actor hai! When you work with brilliant actors, you feel great as an artiste. You feed off each other.”

For the latest season, Raj-DK have taken the story to Northeast India. Considering we all witnessed the conflict in Manipur last year, we ask Bajpayee how much of the local politics makes it to the show. “A lot of it does, but the show is primarily set in Nagaland. Not all the states in the Northeast are going through [conflict]. Entertainment is always our primary motive, but that hint of what we want to say shows in the story.” 

Did you know?

Manoj Bajpayee first teamed up with Jaideep Ahlawat for ‘Chittagong’ (2011). The historical drama saw them work with Ahlawat’s Film & Television Institute of India batchmates Rajkummar Rao and Vijay Varma.