Jamtara Season 2 review: An angry and vengeful extension of its oddball debut; thrilling nonetheless

3.5/5

STORY: Of course, the wild chase between small-town criminals Sunny (Sparsh Shrivastav) and Rocky (Anshumaan Pushkar) is still on in all its glory. But, in Season 2, Jamtara: Sabka Number Ayega focusses primarily on inculcating new elements to keep the audience hooked, who, the makers know, could very well lose interest past this point.

REVIEW: It comes as no surprise that the nail-biting moment where a bullet pierces through Sunny's (Sparsh Srivastav) fragile body, which was the cliffhanger in season one, did not render him dead after all. The ambitious young lad, harbouring big dreams whilst living in the small hamlet of Jamtara, is back to his old phishing-scamming ways and I legit love to despise him. This time, though, the freshness of the concept-based storyline has lost its sheen but the performers find new (welcome, sure) and innovative ways to keep us all invested. 

The raging success of Jamtara Season 1 must have instilled newfound confidence in director Soumendra Padhi to scale up and experiment in Season 2, which was, quite frankly, an apt creative step to take given the outlandishness of the story sounds all too familiar at this point of time. Sunny and Rocky's toxic frenemy-dynamic spills over to this season; again, lays a solid foundation for what follows soon after, with the ambitious Gudiya (Monika Panwar) nursing her heartbreak from some personal losses she had to incur because of the show's anti-hero Brajesh Bhaan (Amit Sial). 

The first season introduced the audacious (yet true) idea of this bunch of rustic teenagers scamming millions out of people with fancy degrees and advance knowledge of phishing scandals, all while working out of a makeshift coaching center in rural Jharkhand. Phishing, an aggressive form of cyber attack, was an intangible concept that we knew existed but had very little knowledge of its inner workings untill Jamtara: Sabka Number Ayega came along. Naturally, the curiosity around this subject, coupled with some spectacular performances, made the debut season a crime-drama enthusiast's must-watch show. 

The second season uses phishing more as the core of the series, in order to retain its original essence, and delivers new characters and a bolder narrative arc to not only cash in on the popularity of the old, but also allow flourishment of the new.

In season 2, Jamtara's romance with phishing is made more evident, and the stories around them are more intimate. Unlike some loud and self-serving crime dramas, there's no 'free ka gyaan' in Jamtara Season 2. In fact, we are enlightened about this lesser known fact that the web of phishing stretches beyond local politicians and policemen alike: even the children of a phishing town fish. It is beyond appalling that cyber crime can be an entire town's main source of livelihood.

What I enjoyed the most about Jamtara Season 2 is its personal touch: the characters are dejected and fuming with anger. Although the eight-part series is not Gangs of Wasseypur-esque vengeful, revenge is definitely an undercurrent here. 

All the Sials and Shrivastavs and Bhattacharyas of the Jamtara universe have made the characters they play their second skin. The veterans do what veterans usually do best in the show—imbibe experience with cue. The younger lot is thirsty for work and recognition, and rightly so, and they all come back with all guns blazing. 

Jamtara Season 2 is partially wacky and partially tacky for reasons better left unexplained. But it is entertaining, in full.