Where the reluctant family man goes up against the real one: Raj and DK on their hit show

NEW DELHI: A family man versus a reluctant family man. That's the conflict at the centre of the third season of "The Family Man" where Manoj Bajpayee's Srikant Tiwari takes on Jaideep Ahlawat’s Rukma. One a spy hero balancing work, children and wife and the other a drug and arms dealer forced to take care of a child.

"There is one reluctant family man who does not know that he's a family man and he doesn't want to be one either," Krishna DK, who has created the popular show with Raj Nidimoru, told PTI in an interview.

Nidimoru added that Rukma's character, who confronts unfamiliar feelings of paternal affection for a young boy after his girlfriend is killed, was a tough one to crack and for a while was completely different from what they show finally.

"At some point, it became the shadow of a family man... We didn't want to underline it... But it's an approximate idea that it's been forced on him. We just knew that we had it (the character) at that point. And the kid (Riyan Mipi) is such a good actor. He (Rukma) hates this fact that he has a kid now that's been thrust on him," Nidimoru said.

In the new season, Tiwari is tasked with cracking the mystery behind the derailment of peace talks in the Northeast. His family comes under attack as he combats the formidable Rukma who believes Tiwari is responsible for his girlfriend’s death.

There was a gap of almost four years between the second and the third season, which started streaming on Prime Video from November 21. The first season, released in September 2019, became an instant hit and the duo followed it up with an equally popular second season in 2021.

The third season has become Prime Video's most watched series of 2025 in its launch week and trended in the Top 5 in more than 35 countries. Its cliffhanger ending has audiences speculating on what next, feeling a little cheated and waiting eagerly for the next chapter.

It was intentional, say the creators.

"We have a bigger plan in mind and this was like a pause at the midpoint," Nidimoru said.

Will season four come sooner than later then?

"Looks like we will have to," DK added.

Tiwari's children Dhriti (Ashlesha Thakur) and Atharv (Vedant Sinha) and wife Suchitra (Priyamani) get more attention this season. Both Nidimoru and DK say they wanted to spend more time on exploring family dynamics and the camaraderie between Srikant and his friend and colleague JK (Sharib Hashmi).

They believe now that the children are grown up, they have become more independent and that makes for an interesting watch.

A scene where the teen son Atharv explains to his befuddled father Tiwari the preference for the “they-them” pronouns by his sister must have struck a familiar chord with many fathers. It is also funny and DK's favourite scene in the series.

Nidimoru added that tried to make the story crackling and sometimes scenes evolved organically from their everyday observations.

"It made sense. I've seen this at our friends' places with their kids where the father is struggling and says 'I don't understand what's on your bio'...

"When initially people started putting it in their bios, everybody had to explain to another person what it meant because nobody knew. It's a generational gap that we put a light on."

Tiwari is shown as a little more out of depth with his family this season as secrets about his job, which his children thought was a boring government one, come tumbling out.

According to DK, Tiwari may be one of the best officers when it comes to tackling threats to national security but is not that great as a family man and that's something a lot of people relate to.

"To a large extent, he doesn't talk about it, right? It's a secret job. The fact that he doesn't spend so much time at home, the fact that he doesn't interact with kids so much, I think they're surprising to him... It feels natural that he has no idea what's happening in their lives."

Nidimoru said the conversation between Tiwari and his almost adult daughter where he explains to her the nuance of what’s happening in his marriage comes from the realization of his failings as a family man.

“He is probably close to retirement or struggling with his job and he is not in the best of his physical prowess and he hasn't had a great run as a husband. So, it is a moment of reflection where he sits with his daughter and finally has a conversation like an adult," he said.

"It's also coming from this guilt and responsibility that he's putting their lives in danger, right? I mean, he cannot put their lives in danger and be dismissive about it as well. So, somewhere he's feeling that weight," DK added.

"The Family Man", though fictional, takes a lot of its inspiration from real-life geo-political happenings and DK describes it as "the DNA of the show".

"The story is built on real incidents, real events, real geopolitics. The story itself is fictional. And that's how it's been from season one and season two and season three. The idea is when you see the story, even though it's fictional, it should feel like it could happen in real life.

"And sometimes what we put in the show, a version of it or a part of it even ends up happening in the news later. And we kind of joke about it," DK said.

The director duo, who started their career with movies such as "99", "Shor in the City", "Go Goa Gone" and "Happy Ending" before moving to streaming, are returning to their roots with a new film but want to keep the details under wrap for the time being. Raj and DK have also directed OTT shows "Guns & Gulaabs", "Farzi" and "Citadel: Honey Bunny".

The series also stars Nimrat Kaur, Gul Panag, Shreya Dhanwanthary, Seema Biswas, Darshan Kumar, Vipin Sharma, Pawan Chopra and Jugal Hansraj among others.