Parampara Season 2 review: Naveen Chandra, Jagapathi Babu lend depth to this juicier, racier instalment

The second season of the political drama may use familiar tropes but is well-written and doesn't beat around the bush

Parampara Season 2

Parampara Season 2

Story:

Gopi, despite being arrested for an attempt-to-murder charge, is committed to restoring the authority of his father Mohan in the public. In prison, he wins the trust of an influential man Ratnakar, who sets up a path for his political ambitions. The marriage of Gopi's cousin Suresh and Rachana is in trouble when the latter realises her husband's true intentions. Suresh and Gopi's bitter battle for power continues on a bigger stage while Rachana is keen to know more about her past and her father's mysterious death. Will Suresh put a check on Gopi's growth?

Review:

Not even a year into the release of the first season of the Parampara, the second instalment of the political drama is here. It's rare that a team takes time to introspect on the feedback for a show seriously when it is renewed for a new season. Though Parampara as a show didn't break any new ground as a political drama for the earlier season, it gave viewers a bunch of enriching, flawed characters with riveting conflicts. Yet, the first season came with a lot of issues - inconsistent characterisation, absence of strong power-house performances, all in a pointlessly convoluted, distracted narrative.

Parampara Season 2 is a vast improvement over its predecessor in more ways than one - a couple of aspects very evident are the writing and the slick editing. Given that the conflicts in the drama were well established earlier, the show creators waste no time focusing on the actions of the characters and their repercussions here. While there's old-world dialoguebaazi and the intentions of the characters are spelt out too much than necessity, the narrative is eventful and doesn't beat around the bush. The second season is all about a rebellious son and his attempt to restore the legacy of a reluctant father.

Though it's easy to be distracted by the ensemble cast of the show, it's the writing and the contributions of the technical crew that salvage it. There's ample variety and complexities among the various characters. While Naidu is clearly evil-minded, his adopted brother Mohan prefers to take a backseat and pays heed to the promise he'd made to his father. Gopi wants to see his father Mohan occupy the political throne while his cousin Suresh is a rich, spoilt brat consumed by the lust for power. A woman comes in the way of Gopi and Suresh's ambitions and all hell breaks loose. This is a fight for revenge, legacy, power and love.

While it's convenient to label Parampara as old-school in terms of its treatment, the throwback to the 80s, 90s style drama is a smart choice for the setup. However, there's no doubt that the filmmaking could've been better. Despite the material providing a solid foundation for explosive drama, the execution is simplistic for the major part minus adequate detailing and the dialogues philosophise matters too much. The tension is absent in key junctures and very few events in the show leave you surprised. The storytelling doesn't rise above the regular norms of mainstream cinema and it needed a team that understood the needs of the digital medium and its audience better.

Naveen Chandra is growing from strength to strength with each outing and he remains assured while shouldering a heavyweight drama with maturity. While he's played roles with grey shades in the past too, Parampara gives him the right bandwidth to showcase his versatility. Jagapathi Babu has the aura of a subdued 'beast' in the show and despite his flawed character, you end up rooting for him. Sarathkumar's screen presence lends authority to his portrayal as a crooked figure, but he shouldn't have dubbed for it when he knows the limitations of his Telugu diction. Ishaan hardly makes any impact. 

Aakanksha Singh, within the limitations of the role, performs well while Naina Ganguly doesn't have much to do. Kasthuri's role is established with a lot of pomp and aura though she is sidelined later. Actors Aamani, Surya, Ravi Varma, Teja Kakumanu, Surya, Divi Vadthya, and Kedar Shankar add meat to the proceedings. The edgy cinematography is one of its major highlights but the background score remains strictly generic. 

Verdict:

Watch the brief recap of Parampara's first season and head straight to its second instalment - the essence of the story comes through more effectively in the latter without much fuss. Naveen Chandra's dream run continues in another solid role while Jagapathi Babu gets a well-written multi-layered part that lets him showcase his experience. The political drama adheres to a lot of stereotypes but it's the drama, the slick editing and the impressive cinematography that give it an edge.

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