What Is the Story About?
Sara, her love interest Harsh and brother Oscar co-own a top-notch horseracing team in Goa and make a killing out of the money they earn from the races. Oscar is suddenly fired from the company for swindling funds amounting to crores, despite him claiming innocence. The nearly bankrupt company is rescued by Aditya who offers Sara a business partnership despite disinterest from Harsh. Oscar, meanwhile, is leaving no stone unturned to find the person who’s framed him against his sister. Aditya’s growing prominence in Sara’s life is an aspect of concern for Harsh. Is there something more to this than meets the eye? What is Aditya hiding from Sara, Harsh and Oscar? Poison 2 is a redemption saga with various twists and turns.
Performances?
It’s good to watch Aftab Shivdasani back in action, but one wonders what made him choose Poison 2 – it’s another addition to the many horrible choices he has made as an actor. As Aditya a.k.a Jaiveer, he is so passive, cold and near emotion-less in his dialogue delivery and doesn’t strain his acting muscles at all. Raai Laxmi gets a full-length role where you notice her fashion sense more than her performance. Asmita Sood fares reasonably well, and so does Rahul Dev, though actors like Zain Imam, Gaurav Sharma, Vin Rana, Sakshi Pradhan and Pooja Chopra don’t add any value to their roles. Tanuj Virwani in a blink-and-a-miss appearance shows why the sequel needed someone as enthusiastic and livewire as him to bring some flavour or charm to the old-fashioned dialogues.
Analysis
Poison 2 is a much better show than its predecessor that released a year ago, but that still isn’t saying much about how the writer of this review had to literally ‘endure’ it for five and a half hours. This is a redemption saga that tirelessly manufactures one twist after the other in the story like a twist-production factory. By the end of it, you’re drained and sincerely hope to witness a character with some integrity. The show is full of people who double-cross each other like nobody’s business. The audiences are taken for a ride in terms of logic. Much like the title, you come out of the show with a feeling of having watched something toxic and bitter.
The director of Poison 2, Vishal Pandya borrows a leaf out of veteran filmmaker duo Abbas-Mustan’s narratives and tosses it up with the 80s styled melodramatic dialogue-baazi, squeezing few sequences where the actors can flaunt their well-toned, chiselled bodies, skimpy costumes. The storytelling is so haywire and convoluted, the characters switch loyalties at the drop of a hat. One doesn’t watch a show for a lesson on morality, but the absence of a strong emotional hook for a significant portion of Poison 2 makes it seem so cold and lifeless. There’s a B-grade quality to the making and voyeurism is a constant feature across all the episodes.
The germ idea for the show isn’t bad at all, the convoluted characterisation unnecessarily creates ambiguity. Non-linear storytelling has gained precedence in the digital space and Poison 2 is an example of how not to use it as an excuse to provide cheap thrills. Much like the recently released Telugu thriller Nishabdham, this is another outing that makes voiceovers sound like cricket match updates. The portrayal of the police department, political machinery is as ridiculous as it can get. Poison 2 isn’t an extension of the first season, though some of its characters resurface at different points in the narrative.
Poison 2’s advantage, if there is any, is its pacing. Each episode doesn’t last beyond 30 minutes and somewhere the eccentricity in the proceedings is weirdly entertaining too. If killing time is your only priority and are in a mood where you don’t find lines like ‘diamonds ki roshni ne tujhe bedard aur andha bana diya’ and ‘kaam bhi pata hai aur kamasutra bhi..’ offensive, you may as well watch it. Don’t tell us that we didn’t warn you before.
Music and Other Departments?
Given the fact that the show has been shot predominantly during the pandemic, the visual limitations are obvious in the result and yet the work of cinematographer Ravi Walia passes muster. Sharad Chandra Tripathi’s dialogue reeks of double entendre and strangely all characters mouth a similar slang and speak the same way, shifting between cheesy punchlines and painful melodrama. Rehan Khan’s story does have merit but the screenplay is all over the place and lacks focus. The narrative isn’t cohesive, thanks to jerky edits that don’t help the show’s flow at all. Srijan Vinay Vaishnav’s score is slightly over the top, more so like the show itself.
Highlights?
Moves at a good pace
Has a decent story
Drawbacks?
Messy screenplay
Mediocre acting
Improperly timed twists
Did I Enjoy It?
No
Will You Recommend It?
Not at all
‘Poison Season 2’ Web Series Review by Binged Bureau
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