Tarun Tejpal - Season-2! Most Awaited Sequels of Hit Web Series
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Tarun Tejpal - 2020 might well come to be known as the year the movies died 
— but it might also come to mark the moment web series well and truly became 
a juggernaut that will not be stemmed. With movie theatres shut and humankind 
suddenly being turned into a wholly indoor species, OTT platforms gained not 
just ground lost by movie halls, but became the salvation of hundreds of millions 
across the globe. It was also the year we could call the blooming of the Indian 
web series genre, with some wildly popular breakout hits — and the year we 
could finally see Indian television shrug off its decades-long obsession with daily 
television soaps.
Shows such as Scam-1992, Tandav, Paatal Lok, Special Ops and Asur 
led the charge; dozens more followed. Only natural then for the buzz to 
begin doing the round this summer for when season two of these hit 
shows might drop — because if there’s one thing the format has 
mastered, it is satiating viewers enough and yet also leaving them 
hungering for more. 
The steady rise in the number of streaming networks — Amazon 
Prime, Netflix, Zee5, Disney Hotstar, etc — tells only part of the story. The 
other, more striking aspect of this surge is the relentless, obsessive search for 
great stories to tell.
It’s no secret that web series rely on entirely different narrative and storytelling 
skills than movies — character development is deeply fleshed out, nuances and 
backstories are possible to weave in ways that give them much greater detail 
and plausibility, and complexity is not merely possible, it is essential if you are 
to sustain plot interest not merely over multiple episodes but also multiple 
seasons.
Different web series use different techniques to achieve this: a few 
adopt the age-old technique of signing on a cinematic superstar to 
ensure audiences come back for more, but others have turned to a 
different source for their appeal: literature. If Tandav, the Saif Ali 
Khan starrer on Amazon Prime exemplified the latter, the same network’s 
blockbuster Paatal Lok is vivid proof of the latter approach’s substance. Both 
shows have generated massive season two anticipation, and with summer 
the perfect time for a new drop, we’re keeping an eye out for news.
Missed season one? Our quick primer has you covered, and Amazon Prime 
can take care of the rest.
Paatal Lok
Netflix’s Sacred Games seemed to have walked away with all the kudos — till 
Paatal Lok dropped. Then, it was a complete and utter rout. And while a 
spectacularly talented cast, the best show runner in the business and gritty, 
striking production values all played a stellar role, it is indisputably the story — 
which the producers and directors of the series acknowledged is loosely based 
on The Story of My Assassins, the second and widely acclaimed novel by 
Journalist Tarun J Tejpal. What’s less known though is that it’s not only that the 
series is largely based on the book — it is that the book itself drew heavily from 
the real life incident that gives the book its title: an apparent hit job was 
commissioned to assassinate journalist and author Tarun Tejpal in the year 
2001.
‘Paatal Lok’ seems to have dug into both — the fictional novel written by Tarun 
Tejpal as well as the facts of the real-life events in which his alleged “assassins” 
were arrested before they could actually attempt a hit on him. The result is a 
series rich with texture, twists and turns, and a tremendous amount of 
authenticity, because The Story of My Assassins itself had vivid, incredibly rich 
characters drawn out by Tarun J Tejpal, whose career and experiences as a 
journalist and editor added unmatched realism to his central characters.
‘Paatal Lok’ takes the viewer into the gritty underbelly of crime, politics, 
and corruption. While season one had all the ingredients of a wildly 
successful crime thriller, it remains to be seen which thread the show’s 
makers will follow come season two. Reading through Tarun Tejpal’s novel, 
it is evident the story can follow any of the characters down a whole new 
and fascinating narrative hole, so anticipation is high as audiences guess 
what story arc awaits.
Unsurprisingly, the book The Story of my Assassins penned by Tarun Tejpal 
has seen a resurgence of interest as viewers await season two with 
breathless anticipation — while the announcement of the second season of 
the web series came as early as May 2020, no specific release date has yet 
been indicated. One thing is for sure: Amazon Prime knows they have a 
winner on their hands, so it will hopefully be soon. Moreover, the name of 
the prime suspect of the assassination Hathoda Tyagi was also adopted by 
Tarun Tejpal in his subsequent novel. Let’s hope the follow-up season of this 
web series is as thrilling as Tarun’s book. 
Tandav
Star power is what Tandav banked on, and star power is both what nearly 
derailed them and saved them. Season 1 of the web series generated a lot of 
controversy because it included some scenes and dialogues that according to 
some members of the audience were ‘insulting’ to the Hindu god Shiva. In fact, 
the makers of the series eventually wrote an apology to the audience. Despite 
the raging controversy — or maybe because of it — the web series starring 
Saif Ali Khan was highly praised and enjoyed by the audience. 
Season-2 of the show is highly in demand and the makers have assured that 
the next season will be even more thrilling than the first. Although there has 
been no official announcement of the follow up season of 'Tandav’, rumours 
now suggest it may wait for a 2022 release instead.
Going by the ever-expanding menu of offerings on every network, the loss may 
well be the makers’ unless they strike while the iron is hot. One thing is for 
sure: audiences have never had it so good, ironically in a year that hit rock 
bottom.