Applause Entertainment’s “Tanaav 2” Volume 2 – the final volume of Indian adaptation of Yes Studios’ Israeli thriller, “Fauda Season 2” – premiered on Indian streaming platform Sony LIV today, returning Manav Vij as task force head Kabir with Gaurav Arora as a terrifying new ISIS-trained adversary bent on wreaking havoc in Kashmir.

In the run up to the premiere, director Sudhir Mishra said the new season focused on the theme of the nation coming first and explored “the complexities of the human condition, the blurred lines between good and evil, and the resilience of the human spirit”.

“Tanaav 2 Vol 2 is not just a continuation of the story – it’s a powerful reminder of the sacrifices made for the greater good,” Mishra said.

“Tanaav”, greenlit by Applause Entertainment, debuted on Sony LIV in November 2022. The first six episodes of the second season streamed in September 2024.

The series is part of the seven-year-old Applause Entertainment’s founding strategy to split story sources into three: international adaptations, book-based series and original writing, says managing director, Sameer Nair.

Applause’s multi-title relationship with “Fauda” producer, Yes Studios, also includes the Indian adaptation of thriller, “Kvodo”, which was made in India in 2020 as “Your Honour”. The series is about a judge who crosses moral and ethical lines in order to save his son.

Nair says he had his eye on “Fauda”, which premiered on Netflix in 2016, from the start.

“This is a story about land and ownership of land, and who has a claim on the land… We don’t have the same cross border issue, but for us Kashmir is still disputed territory,” he says

The team pitched their concept to “Fauda” creators Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff in Tel Aviv just before Covid.

Nair says the “Fauda” story line is not one that can be adapted just anywhere. At the same time, the core of the story – a conflict over land – is universal.

“You need the right geographical and cultural context. We sold them on the idea that we also have a unique geographic situation in Kashmir. It's not just about having a border dispute, you have to have a dispute that goes back centuries, that is part religious divide, part cultural divide…” he says.

“Tanaav is a story about Kashmir, which is India, and about the tension within India over the area… both protagonist and antagonist are in their own ways lovers of the nation and the land. They have their own ideology but both are Kashmiris. They are the same people, different sides of the same coin. The theme is about the fight within”.

Season one completed in 2021 and was acquired by Sony LIV, by then the home of Applause’s “Your Honour” and original series, “Scam”.

The name, “Tanaav”, which means “tension” in Hindi, was suggested by Danish Khan, Sony Pictures Networks India’s EVP and business head for Sony LIV/StudioNext. The original name was “Firdaus”, which means “heaven” in Urdu. “The idea was that all this stuff happens in a region that only looks like heaven, but is struck with tension and undercurrents. So it looks like peace but it’s anything but,” Nair says.

The focus of “Tanaav” is less about politics than about “the gray between right and wrong” told as an action-packed military thriller.

Complex characters are true to the “Fauda” mold, led by Manav Vij as Kabir, a highly committed, motivated individual who is also a bit of a loose cannon and a maverick, with difficulty following orders. “He takes off and does his own thing, jeopardises his missions. He is often responsible for his comrades getting injured or killed…. Not your regular ‘yes sir’ kind of person,” Nair says.

Season one was well received on Sony LIV and the season two greenlight included turning up the volume on multiple levels.

A difference between “Fauda” and “Tanaav” is the setting and the addition of DOP, Quais Waseeq, an Afghani-Australian now working in India, who brought a new eye for detail to the show. Nair says all the richness of the Kashmiri landscape has been highlighted, particularly in season two.

Nair has every intention to keep adapting global IP for India, and says the approach to scripted formats is not to “preach to the converted”.

“For most people who see "Tanaav", it’s a brand new story and feels completely authentic to Kashmir. We cast Kashmiri actors, include a lot of Kashmiri language. There’s so much Kashmiri nuance and influence,” he says.

“One challenge that has come up in recent times, and which is a good challenge, I think, is that there has been a downward pressure on cost,” he says.

This follows seven or eight years of streaming-driven production euphoria – years that Nair describes as “a sort of golden period”.

“Things have settled down… I think the party is over, and everyone has woken up, and some have a hangover and some are feeling fresh as a daisy. Either way, there’s agreement that content has to be produced at a more effective cost, even though we still continue to pursue the same high quality,” he says.

“I don't think anyone is compromising on quality. They just want more bang for their buck. And in many ways, that is works out quite well for us”.