Asur season 2 review: Arshad Warsi, Barun Sobti, Ridhi Dogra's crime thriller screams masterpiece

3.5/5

Story: Asur season 2, starring Arshad Warsi, Barun Sobti, Ridhi Dogra, and Aupriya Goenka in pivotal roles, is the continuation of the first part that sees a young man calling himself Kali, the destroyer of Kalyug, on a mission to eradicate humanity as we know it. The mythological crime drama series witnesses brutal serial killings by the self-proclaimed Asur. The CBI and forensic experts are now trying to catch the criminal to avoid a major apocalyptic event.

Review: The first part of Asur sees the cops and forensic experts trying to understand the serial killer's pattern, the reasons for all the killings, and a potential suspect for all of this. The 2020 series ended with a shocking cliffhanger that revealed Amey Wagh's Rasool Shaikh as one of the disciples of Shubh Joshi, the self-proclaimed Asur.

Asur season 2 begins by showcasing that Warsi's Dhananjay "DJ" Rajpoot has taken exile in a monastery to find solace after he lost his wife as well as friend and investigative officer Lolark Dubey (Sharib Hashmi) to the killer. On the other hand, Nikhil Nair (Sobti) tries to take his own life after he and his wife Naina (Goenka) lost their daughter.

While the first part took time to grow among the viewers with the introduction of the pivotal cast and the plot of the show, Asur season 2 thankfully doesn't go into the nitty-gritty of it and begins where it ended last time. Creator Gaurav Shukla, along with writers Niren Bhatt, Abhijeet Khuman, and Pranay Patwardhan, makes sure to not break the momentum of the show or complicate it with excessive twists and turns in the beginning itself. 

Moving on, the series observes that soon Dhananjay and Nikhil pick themselves up and become adamant to save the people of their country as well as avenge their dear ones. Unlike last season, Asur 2 sees both forensic experts working towards a similar goal but on opposite paths. While Nikhil works within the rules with the CBI and another covert investigating team under the direction of Paul (Meiyang Chang), DJ goes rogue and teams up with Nikhil's wife Naina, who is an excellent coder.

Meanwhile, this season gladly answers all the questions that were raised in the last part, including the real identity of Asur, his motive, and how and where it all began. Director Oni Sen crafts the mythological tale with new-age technology quite crisply yet uncomplicatedly to make it an easy watch for the viewers. 

Not to forget, the filmmaker takes the suspense up a notch, which keeps the audience on the edge of their seats. However, his work appears visually thrilling and compelling due to some other ace pivotal actors, such as Warsi, Sobti, Dogra, and Goenka, alongside Wagh and Gaurav Arora, who play negative characters. 

Although it's the lead antagonists who win hearts this time, including Vishesh Bansal and Abhishek Chauhan, who play the younger and older "Asur" Shubh Joshi, respectively, both of them just bring the perfect amount of cunningness, horror, and calm to their faces, which makes them look vicious and just apt for the role.

Spoiler Alert! All's well that ends well, except it's not the end. Toward the climax, the show feels dissatisfying and incomplete until you witness a huge and quite interesting cliffhanger that confirms that Asur will return with the third season.

Verdict: The story, direction, suspense, drama, and performances scream masterpiece as Asur season 2 engrosses you completely in its dark world. You must watch it on Jio Cinema for free.