Selection Day Season 2 Review – Better, Surreal and Darker

BOTTOM LINE: Better, Surreal and Darker

Rating: 6.5/10

Platform Netflix

Genre Drama, Sports

What is the Story about?

The second part of Netflix’s Selection Day – based on the eponymous best-selling book by Arvind Adiga – is certainly a step up vis-à-vis the first part. Even though it doesn’t work on the whole, it definitely manages to make an impact by taking a surreal and darker route with its narration.

The story continues to shine the spotlight on prodigal cricket brothers Manju and Radha and how they slowly grow out of their ruthlessly confident father Mohan’s grips and take control of their lives. While keeping the focus on the race towards the Selection Day, when hundreds of aspiring cricketers compete for three positions in Mumbai’s U-16 team; the show strips bare the bond between Manju and Radha and what differentiates them.

Performances?

The second part of the show belongs to Manju, played by Mohammed Samad, who battles his own demons as he comes to terms with his sexual orientation. As someone who’s unsure of the reality around him, Samad managers bring out the confusion of his character convincingly. It’s a very complicated character to play but Samad owns it effortlessly and manages to deliver very earnest performance.

Yash Dholye as Radha Kumar is decent and succeeds in playing a character that has to depend on his brother to prove himself fittingly. However, he doesn’t get to shine like he did in the first part as the story in the second part focuses more on Manju, and how he helps his brother realise his true potential.

Rajesh Tailang as the father is aptly cast and his performance as the mostly heartless and conniving father aids the show in venturing into some dark territory. Mahesh Manjrekar as the coach serves as the father figure to the boys is decent and so is Rathna Pathak Shah as the principal, who makes for a really cool character.

Analysis?

If you’re a fan of young adult shows, Selection Day would make a decent watch. After a really disappointing first part, the show really redeems itself to a large extent by taking a very dark detour and that’s what makes the otherwise bland experience quite refreshing. The show if not beautifully but somewhat to an appreciable extent explores the inter-personal dynamics between the brothers and makes a very valid point on good versus bad parenting and the impact it can have on teenagers.

The show also makes Mumbai a pivotal character in making us understand the characters. The story pits all the characters against the metropolitan city and the outcome may not be wholesomely satisfying but really makes the second part of the show mostly interesting.

Highlights?

Performances of the ensemble cast
Better cricket matches portion

Drawbacks?

Underdeveloped sub characters

Will you recommend it?

If you’ve watched the first part and were disappointed, this might change your opinion

Selection Day Season 2 Review by Haricharan Pudipeddi