General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20265 min read

Tanaav

Tanaav (Hindi for "tension") is an Indian Hindi-language action-espionage streaming series and the official adaptation of the Israeli thriller Fauda, produced for SonyLIV and set in Kashmir, where a state-run Special Task Group (STG) battles insurgents in the Valley¹. Season 1, a twelve-episode run directed and co-written by Sudhir Mishra with co-director Sachin Mamta Krishn, premiered in November 2022². A second season, Tanaav 2, arrived on 6 September 2024³.

Key fact	Detail
Format	Official Indian adaptation of the Israeli series Fauda, streaming on SonyLIV¹
Setting	Kashmir; conflict between the state-run Special Task Group (STG) and insurgents¹
Season 1	12 episodes, November 2022; directed and co-written by Sudhir Mishra, co-directed by Sachin Mamta Krishn²
Lead roles	Manav Vij as retired STG agent Kabir Farooqui; Sumit Kaul as the terrorist Umar Riaz 'Panther'⁴
Season 2	Tanaav 2, released 6 September 2024; directed by Sudhir Mishra and E Niwas, produced by Applause Entertainment³^•⁵
Award	Tanaav 2 Volume 2 won the 2025 ContentAsia Award for Best TV Format Adaptation (Scripted)⁶
Source series	Final volume of the Indian adaptation of Yes Studios' Fauda Season 2⁶

Spoilers

Premise

Season 1 follows Kabir, a special task force veteran brought out of retirement to hunt Umar Riaz, an enemy he believed he had neutralized but who is still alive. After learning that Umar will attend his brother's wedding, Kabir reassembles a special task force and decides to infiltrate the event⁷. The Indian Express review describes the story's backbone as the cat-and-mouse game between the undercover officer Kabir and Umar, whose mission, if successful, would have long-term consequences for what the show frames as the 'freedom' of Kashmir; the focus rests on the two men's intentions rather than their religion¹.

The Print's review gives the lead character's full name, Kabir Farooqui, and his cover: after supposedly killing Umar Riaz 'Panther', he leads a quiet life as an upscale apple farmer in Kashmir with his family⁴.

Season 2

Tanaav 2 premiered on SonyLIV on 6 September 2024, with Kabir and the Special Task Group returning to fight terrorism³. SonyLIV's promotion framed it as Kabir facing his most challenging foe, Al Damishq, in the second installment of Mishra's action thriller¹⁰. The season was directed by Sudhir Mishra and E Niwas, and its episodes were released in two volumes, with Volume 2 streaming from December 2024⁵^•¹¹.

Tanaav 2 Volume 2 won the 2025 ContentAsia Award for Best TV Format Adaptation (Scripted). ContentAsia identifies the series as the final volume of the Indian adaptation of Yes Studios' Fauda Season 2, returning Manav Vij as task force head Kabir⁶.

Adaptation of Fauda

The series transposes Fauda's structure to a new setting. As The Print puts it, the West Bank becomes Kashmir, Israeli agents become Indian ones, and Palestinian militants don Kashmiri phirans⁴. Sudhir Mishra, the filmmaker who directed and co-wrote the series, insisted in a Hindustan Times interview that it is an adaptation rather than a scene-for-scene carbon copy, though the interviewer's impression of the first episodes was of a "frightfully faithful" remake⁸.

Mishra described the show's political stance this way: "It's definitely pro-India, but you try to understand the tragedy of Kashmir." He said the story is about Kashmir, which is India, and about the tension within India over the area, with protagonist and antagonist each, in their own ways, lovers of the nation and the land⁸.

The adaptation sits within a broader strategy. Applause Entertainment, the production company behind the series, splits its story sources into three streams: international adaptations, book-based series, and original writing, according to managing director Sameer Nair. Applause's relationship with Fauda producer Yes Studios also produced the Indian adaptation of the thriller Kvodo, made in 2020 as Your Honour⁹.

Cast

The ensemble includes Manav Vij as Kabir, with Shashank Arora, Rajat Kapoor, and Arbaaz Khan among the principal cast⁸. Season 1 also features Arslan Goni and Aryaman Seth in Kabir's core team, and Sumit Kaul as Umar Riaz¹. Season 2 adds Gaurav Arora as Al Damishq, an ISIS-trained adversary, alongside Kabir Bedi, Soni Razdan, Danish Husain, Ekta Kaul, Satyadeep Misra, and Sahiba Bali, with cinematography by Malay Prakash⁶^•⁵.

Reception

Indian reviews of Season 1 were mixed. The Indian Express found intrigue early but judged that the pace lags halfway through the twelve-episode season, with plot holes and mediocre performances from much of the cast; it singled out Rajat Kapoor, Shashank Arora, and Sumit Kaul as the performers who shine¹. The Hindustan Times called the series well-intentioned but found the execution lacking, saying it starts promisingly and then meanders through a soggy middle without capturing the nuances of the Kashmir conflict¹². ThePrint's review called it a hollow take on Kashmir in which the tension of the title is missing, while noting the series redeems itself in parts⁴.

Aggregated ratings reflect the split verdict: Gadgets 360 lists Season 1 at 4.2 stars and Season 2 at 3.5 stars¹³^•³.

References

Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › South and Southeast Asian serials › Hindi serials and Indian Hindi-language dramas › Crime and thriller serials

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026

Notice something wrong?