What Is the Story About?
Aarya Season 2 picks up the threads of the story from season 1. Aarya Sareen (Sushmita Sen), who’s living under a witness protection programme in Australia, is compelled to return to India to testify in court against the kingpins of the Rajasthan drug mafia – her father, Zorawar Rathore (Jayant Kripalani), brother Sangram (Ankur Bhatia) and Uday Shekhawat (Akash Khurana). Once back in dangerous terrain, Aarya is viciously targeted by enemies from all sides – the Narcotics Bureau, a vengeful public prosecutor, the Russian mafia, Shekhawat, and her own family. Aarya must once again turn into a ferocious lioness to protect herself and her three kids from harm.
Aarya Season 2 is written by Sanyuktha Chawla Shaikh and Anu Singh Choudhary, directed by Ram Madhvani, Vinod Rawat, Kapil Sharma and produced by Ram Madhvani and Endemol Shine India.
Performances?
Sushmita Sen is at her blistering best in Aarya Season 2. She delivers a refined and restrained performance in the sombre parts, and comes out all guns blazing in the more flamboyant sequences. Sikander Kher once again renders a solid turn as Zorawar’s cool henchman, Daulat. However, he’s been handed a curtailed role this season. Vishwajeet Pradhan takes over the meatier henchman part as Shekhawat’s Man Friday, Sampat, and does a fabulous job of it. Akash Khurana, Jayant Kripalani, Ankur Bhatia give commendable support. Maya Sarao, as Maya, is a scene-stealer this time around too. Vikas Kumar excels as ACP Khan. Shataf Figar is wasted in an inconsequential role. Geetanjali Kulkarni, as the corrupt cop Sushila, is miscast in a role clearly unsuited for her.
Analysis
Aarya Season 2 starts off slow and not quite steady. The opening episode lacks flair and flourish. In fact, it is deadly dull and monotonous, floundering in plot and pacing. Thankfully, the story picks up somewhat in the second episode, only to collapse into tedium again in the next. The buildup of the narrative can be called erratic at best. Nothing much happens in the first half of the show. The first five or six episodes – 45-50 minutes each – are simply wasted on inconsequential sequences – Sangram’s track, for instance. It is overdone, overdrawn and downright boring.
Sundry uninteresting characters saunter in and out of the story – a 21-year-old girl (Shweta Pasricha) who helps corrupt cop Sushila sell “300 crores” worth of drugs; the manager Kabir (Junaid Khan) at Sangram’s hotel; Adi’s (Pratyaksh Panwar) young friend and his father (Shataf Figar), who shares a late night dinner of Khichdi with Aarya; among several others.
Undue celluliod is wasted on Aarya’s daughter Aru (Virti Vaghani) and her dimwitted shenanigans. Honestly, hers is one of the most unlikeable character arcs in Aarya – both seasons combined. Funnily, none of Aarya’s kids blame their unscrupulous, now-dead father (Chandrachur Singh) for the mess the family finds themselves in, while Aarya is made to spout dialogues such as ‘I am a terrible mother’ – not once, but several times in the eight episodes. Ironic for a show with the purported theme of depicting an empowered woman who isn’t afraid to kick ass.
Precious runtime is squandered on building up the nauseating track of vengeful public prosecutor (Dilnaz Irani), who will go to any lengths to ‘nail the bitch’, that is Aarya. Irani repeats the phrase ad nauseam in her time on screen – a testimony to the unimaginative dialogues and writing. By the time the narrative is done with her character, we are on the verge of pulling out all our hair in frustration. The character is easily one of the most revolting ones of recent times. Dilnaz Irani’s performance matches her part – she gets on your nerves.
The twists in the plot are nothing to write home about too. They are predictable and done to death. When Zorawar’s wife Rajeshwari Rathore (Sohaila Kapur) tells Shekhawat that she’s harboured a secret all these years, you right away know what it will be – one of the commonest tropes there is. Coming to the myriad attempted killings and murders in the story, the writers try hard to keep viewers in suspense over the identity of the perpetrators of each. But the tracks are so uninspired, tedious and flimsy that you couldn’t care less when the plot reveals the suspense.
On the whole, Aarya Season 2 is a not-so-great follow up to the debut season of the show. The new season suffers partly from the ‘second season curse’ – the bane of sophomore seasons that invariably pale in comparison to their successful debut seasons. That said, Aarya Season 2 is entertaining in parts. Fast forward the boring bits and you might get invested in the drama unfolding on screen. To sum it up, Aarya 2 repeats the follies of the last season – an excruciatingly slow pace throughout, tedious middle portions, and a late flourish towards the end of the season. If not for Sushmita Sen’s charismatic screen presence and impeccable acting skills, Aarya’s new season would be worth giving a miss completely.
Aarya Season 2 does one thing right, though – it ends with a spectacular flourish. The last two episodes more than make up for the lacklustre rest. You can sense Aarya coming into her own – in her expressions, her words, her body language. By the time she strides confidently into the finale scene of the season – into a plume of Holi colours, face splattered with fiery reds and brilliant oranges – she’s a woman transformed – a woman no one in their right mind would want to mess with.
Music and Other Departments?
Sudip Sengupta’s cinematography is good, though Season 1’s was better. Khusboo Raj and Abhimanyu Chaudhary’s editing is excellent. Vishal Khurana’s musical score is apt for the gritty mood of the story.
Highlights?
Sushmita Sen
Sushmita Sen
Sushmita Sen
Drawbacks?
Slow pace
Tedious middle portions Unimaginative dialogues
Predictable plot
Over-stretched tracks
Did I Enjoy It?
Not as much as I would have liked to
Will You Recommend It?
Watch only for Sushmita Sen
Aarya Season 2 Web Series Review by Binged Bureau