Development In November 2017, filmmakers
Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K. planned to direct a streaming series, with
Akshaye Khanna hired as the lead role. It was touted to be a socio-political thriller, with Khanna initially agreeing to the series after accepting the script finalised by Raj Nidimoru, but due to budget constraints in which Khanna charged a huge amount for the series, the makers replaced him with
Manoj Bajpayee as the lead character in December 2017. Aswani Dutt revealed the story was originally crafted by Raj & DK for
Chiranjeevi. However, Chiranjeevi turned down the project due to reservations about his character having two children. Subsequently, the story was adapted into a series with a different cast, and it garnered favourable reviews. The ten-episode series, tentatively titled as
The Family Man, marked the digital debut of Bajpayee. On 13 June 2018,
Amazon Prime Video, which bagged the streaming rights, officially announced the series, stating it as an "edgy drama-action series with a touch of wry humour, drawing from real incidents". In an interview with
Scroll.in, Raj and D.K. said the series is closely based to
Shor in the City (2011), in terms of its tone, stating, "It is dramatic and edgy with action involved. The humour is the kind of stuff that comes just from working in and dealing with the system or bureaucracy in our country. The series draws from contemporary geopolitical issues, and most plot threads are inspired from newspaper headlines over the years." A
Deccan Chronicle article released in September 2019, stated the series features similarities with actual events. The makers announced a third season in May 2020. Soon after the release and success of the second season, the third season set in North East India was announced to be in development.
Casting Manoj Bajpayee plays the role of Srikant Tiwari, a middle-class man who works for a
National Investigation Agency cell. While he tries to protect the nation from terrorists, he also has to protect his family from the impact of his secretive, high-pressure, and low-paying job. As the storyline spans around various places in India, the makers chose actors from various states such as
Karnataka,
Andhra Pradesh,
Kerala,
Tamil Nadu,
Jammu and Kashmir,
Uttar Pradesh, and
Maharashtra. In an interview with
The Indian Express, actor
Kishore Kumar G was approached by Sumanth, a writer from Y Not Studios, who was writing for The Family Man, to play the role of a Commando in the series.
Priyamani plays the role of Suchitra, Srikanth's wife and also an associate professor in the psychology department. About her character Suchitra, she stated that "She's a typical working wife and someone who is not afraid of expressing herself. She's a multi-tasking woman and someone who, even though she has her hands full, wants to do more."
Sharad Kelkar plays the role of Arvind, an associate professor, who is trying to become an entrepreneur.
Neeraj Madhav, in his digital debut, plays the role of Moosa, a 24-year old
IIT engineer, who gets involved with
ISIS.
Sundeep Kishan plays the role of Major Vikram. The cast members also includes
Sharib Hashmi,
Sunny Hinduja and
Shreya Dhanwanthary in pivotal roles. On 28 November 2019,
Samantha Ruth Prabhu announced her confirmation in the second season of the series, thus marking her digital debut. Samantha plays the role of the main antagonist Raji, a rebel leader, with Neeraj Madhav's character Moosa was expected for a comeback in the second season. Apart from the cast members of the first season, the second season features Shahab Ali, Vedant Sinha,
Mime Gopi,
Ravindra Vijay,
Devadarshini, Chetan, Anandsami and
N. Alagamperumal. In August 2018, Raj and Krishna said in an interview a huge chunk is built in Kashmir, for which they interacted with the people in localities, exploring the livelihood of the people and their perspectives of their world they live in. A scene at the Ballad Estate in
South Mumbai was shot in a single take, with a span of 7–11 minutes. Raj and DK stated the camera is inside the car for half the action sequence. Another sequence was shot in a live hospital located in Mumbai which spanned around 13 minutes. In an interview with
Film Companion, the makers stated "The location was expensive and we got it only for 2 nights. We had to come up with the entire sequence and rehearse and stage everything on the first night and the next night we had to light everything and shoot. I am really proud of the team because you don't really pull off stuff like this in one day." Filming of the first schedule, which took place across
Mumbai, was wrapped up on 2 March 2020, before the
COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in India. Filming resumed in July 2020, adhering to the safety guidelines imposed by the government, in order to curb
COVID-19 spread. Samantha started dubbing for her portions on 28 August 2020, whereas Manoj Bajpayee started dubbing on 14 September. On 25 September 2020, the makers announced that the principal shoot has been wrapped, followed by the completion of post-production on 16 October. The second season focused on the
Tamil Eelam struggle in
Sri Lanka led by late
LTTE leader Captain
Prabhakaran. Although there were protests against the portrayal of the LTTE, the series was broadcast without further issues.
Season 3 In the finale of Season 2, a third season was teased on the topic of the
COVID-19 pandemic in India, set in
Northeast India alongside
Kolkata,
Mumbai, and
Delhi, with a Chinese antagonist. Shooting began in May 2024. == Music ==