Rana’s New Resolve

There ain't a problem that Rana Naidu can't fix. After all that was the core premise of this show's first season. He returns this time with a steely resolve and determination to leave his hotshot yet dark profession behind, only to find himself sucked deeper into it. 

As the plot thickens, the stakes become personal for him. We are finally introduced to his vulnerable side - where he can't pull those magical strings and get a vice like grip of shit around him, or much less a foothold.

The Fixer for the Powerful

As we know, Rana is a 'fixer' for the rich and powerful. Cricketers, movie stars, politicians, businesspeople - his client list would make several boutique and mid-sized consulting firms jealous (sorry but not sorry). 

Like a few people that you might have dealt with - your landlord or developer for example, Rana also has a flexible moral compass when it comes to making money and living the 'top-dawg' lifestyle. And he is more than happy to oblige and do all sorts of shady stuff for his paymasters without blinking twice.

A Trail of Lawlessness

The key motif of this show is relentless bending and breaking of the law - often to the point that India emanates some serious banana republic vibes. 

The show has managed to weave psychological tropes such as trauma from childhood abuse, Parkinson's and PTSD into the storyline, albeit in a slightly trivialised manner.

Adultery also makes a rather hackneyed appearance - urban high societies might have mastered 'situationships' long before the word actually existed (did they?). 

Action sequences do not appear well thought through and feel very 1990ish. Although cinematography and camera work seems professional, S1 had a better soundtrack - especially 'Meherbaan' and 'Mohabbat Hai Jannat' numbers.

Cast Performances

What powers this season forward is the supporting star cast around Rana Daggubati who of course plays the titular role. 

Surveen Chawla (wife), Venkatesh (father & a top tier ass*ole), Abhishek Banerjee and Sushant Singh (siblings) all reprise their roles from the previous season, and each is shown to fight their own battles.

Surveen's character is given an angle that she fails to carry with conviction - she is a much better actor than what the show will tell you. 

Venkatesh and his load of innuendo filled lines in a forced Dakhni accent feels needlessly overboard at times. Abhishek and Sushant - well they play their parts fine and without hiccups in the limited screen time they get.

This season also introduces several new characters - we see yet another don from Mumbai's Koliwada, Rauf Mirza (Arjun Rampal) who plays the primary antagonist and he is out for blood from the get go. Even criminals prefer SoBo over Borivali or Thane is it?

Dino Morea is unconvincing as a side hunk - man has half-assed 20+ years in Bollywood and still struggles to put in a decent acting shift. 

Kriti Kharbanda is quite the eye candy - rich heiress with a sensuous voice and a trophy husband but guess what, no affairs (what are the odds huh?). Honestly, she could also do with some acting classes.

Standalone Appeal

For those who missed S1 - you can still watch S2 as it is a spiritual sequel and can be done standalone. Also the show normalises debauchery like a fundamental duty - so you might want to keep your family out while you are at it.