Apharan 2 review: Arunoday Singh's series suffers from pressure of creating a franchise

2.5/5

Story:

Rudra Shrivastava (Arunoday Singh) has to kidnap the most-wanted criminal, BBS. Knowing his life, he leaves on a mission which turns out to be his most memorable so far.

Review:

Apharan is known for being raw and rugged. However, season 2 of the show begins in a rather grand manner, going the complete opposite of what season 1 was. Given the plot, that was required but that isn't necessarily appealing to the story and vibe of the show.

The first dialogue comes within a minute of the series' start and it promises to have the same, raw impact but dialogues aren't enough for that. The songs, like always, help enhance the plot.

Arunoday Singh's entry as Rudra Shrivastava appears forced. There is absolutely no reason for the scene to be the way it is. His slow motions, especially, take you back to the 70s action movies which make no sense today.

His character becomes better as the series progresses and the first step is when he beats up an organizer for trying to act smart while in the wrong. Rudra is also a die-hard romantic which is evident from the first episode in this season.

By episode 2, he gets back in character. Rudra manages to make you laugh with how he deals with life and how it deals with him. His life is messed up even this time, mainly thanks to all the characters around him.

The iconic bridge from season 1, where Ranjana (Nidhi Singh) was kidnapped is back. The makers have ensured to keep that in the focus for a few seconds with regards to introducing Rudra's character and it works.

The antagonist this time around is more deadly and in-the-face. There is a special reason for doing that. He is literally eerie in some places, like smiling after killing someone.

The camera work in this series is not perfect. Sometimes it gives an effect even before the scene begins (the jeep moving scene after Rudra's entry).

Nidhi is introduced in a pretty powerful way. Despite being a housewife, she is seen smoking her worries out. She also physically assaults her husband Rudra. This scene is quite debatable since it doesn't particularly promote healthy human behaviour. Her character even otherwise is quite bizarre.

Saanand Verma as Satyajeet Dubey will make you laugh from his first scene. His equation with Rudra is especially sure to grab your attention.

Snehil Dixit Mehra surprisingly has a huge role this time around and she is impressive. While not particularly a progressive character, she is cute and funny at the same time, which is somewhere required for the show.

The action in this season is pretty good but it is brief and does not feature the lead actor Arunoday Singh. He also has an action sequence where he doesn't disappoint. Thereon, he just appears in action to a point that you feel the makers are dragging it because it is the one good thing going on.

The supporting actors do not perform well but that is mainly because most of them are not even Indians. To add to that, the music just dramatizes every scene.

Indian actor Sukhmani Sadana really tries to and she is the one gem among stones, which impacts her role and performance too. She plays the lead female antagonist who can easily fool you both as a foreigner and an Indian.

The show is pretty sexist as it ends up calling Snehil 'chota haathi' because of her weight. Not just sexist but the show is also racist as it calls a black man 'Barack Obama ke chote bete'.

For some weird reason, there is an orgy in the series. You even get to see a couple f***ing from the window glass for no good reason. There is absolutely no justification to why the scene was placed and the way it was but it happens to be a part of the series.

Within the first three episodes, there is a twist that will intrigue you. There is a huge surprise in this season. It will confuse you, raise many questions and solve them all, one-after-another.

The real story begins from there - when Rudra attempts to come face-to-face with reality. However, destiny has something else in store for him. The story isn't novel or interesting per say but Arunoday's execution of the character is pretty good.

It takes ages for Jeetendra's character to make a cameo appearance. He looks adorable and yet scares as a man with bad itentions.

The climax goes the typical 'burning raavan' way. If that wasn't enough, you also see a person returning from the dead. The show already makes you lose interest in many places with its execution and the last scenes do not help Apharan 2 get back on track either.

Verdict:

Do not expect Apharan 2 to be anything like season 1. It has gone grand, bizarre and commercial. If you are a fan of that kind of 70s cinema, then go ahead and enjoy the show or else skip it to save five hours of your life.

Overall, this series suffers because it has the pressure to match up to the first season. The makers wanted to go grand this time around but that is not what Apharan is known for. It was loved because it was rooted and yet, made the viewers laugh with the execution. Neither of that applies in this season or at least not to a great extent.