Review: 'Duranga 2' has Drashti Dhami demanding everyone to take notice of her acting abilities

Duranga 2

Second seasons are always tricky. And even more so when the said show is a mystery thriller. Duranga on Zee5 had a thoroughly bingeable first season powered by impressive performances from Gulshan Devaiah and Drashti Dhami primarily. And here we are with Duranga 2. 

The stakes are higher, and the mystery is deeper, assisted by the addition of another big name, Amit Sadh.

Ira Patel (Dhami) knows about her husband, Abhishek Banne/Sammit Patel's (Devaiah) mystery, but not entirely. Abhishek struggles to prove his innocence to everyone as more killings happen and past demons haunt him. And Sammit Patel/Dev Sahani (Sadh) is breaking hell loose. 

Having had the chance to see the entire eight episodes of Duranga 2 beforehand, here is what I thought about it-

A Big Web Gradually Unravelling

From the looks of it, Duranga 1 ended on a cliffhanger, which was always setting things up for Season 2. In hindsight, Season 1 was just the groundwork for creating and showcasing characters so that you are connected and invested in them. With Season 2, the mystery now unravels gradually, and that is one of the most intriguing factors of Duranga 2. 

Having been invested to a large extent, you enjoy the moments and hoops that the storyline goes through, especially as a plethora of unanswered questions from Season 1 are answered. What is more fascinating than other things is how Amit Sadh's character of Sammit Patel, in spite of being dormant for the entire first season and being at the centre stage with the second season, still feels that it was more a part of the first one itself. The little reveals, the old connections, the unknown shockers - all culminate for some captivating motion presentation. 

Drashti Dhami - The Show Stealer

Devaiah is now that actor who just can't have a bad performance, it seems, and it stays true to Duranga 2 yet again. After being at the forefront in Season 1 as a seemingly devious guy, the shades have entirely changed for him here, and once again, the actor delivers his best.

But, I would be remiss not to applaud the phenomenal actor that Drashti Dhami is and that not many people are noticing it yet. In Duranga 2, Dhami is a lot on the backseat but never out of the central focus, where she probably has the most complex shades to portray, and she does so with finesse. As a loving wife, as a worried mother, as a formidable cop and just as a human being with compassion, Dhami nails being Ira Patel to the T. She gets one more fun action sequence to do here, but this time, it is all about the emotions she shows on her face, with her eyes and then with her lines. 

Underwhelming Climax & Amit Sadh

When whodunnits become howdunnits or whydunnits, it becomes an uphill task to keep the viewer glued for about 200 minutes. While Duranga 2 keeps the primary storyline gripping, the parallel plotlines, a few characters making preposterous decisions and the new central conflict aren't as appealing as they would have wanted them to be. Once you know who was what and why they are doing it, the attempt to keep it gripping by adding twists and smaller developments seems forced. I mean, the characters of Rajesh Khattar and Divya Sheth as Sammit Patel's parents, are probably some of the most under-written and have stupid character graphs.

Then, we have the introduction of Amit Sadh. I was incredibly excited by Sadh being the face of Sammit Patel in the Season 1 cliffhanger and so many possibilities it would lead to in Season 2. To my disappointment - not only is Sammit Patel's character one-toned but borderline unimpactful. Having the storyline of a psychopath and showing his backstory is such an old trope that it needs to be hugely interesting actually to make a difference, That isn't the case. Like Devaiah, I thought Sadh was also incapable of a bad performance, but Duranga 2 might be one of his most underwhelming acts. He chooses to be caricaturish, cliched and even weird at times, playing the troubled murderer. It is almost like he was trying out things from the book of all the characters that were psychopaths in the past and only chose the most obvious and done-and-dusted tropes.

The Verdict

Duranga 2 doesn't top its first season in any manner, but it still continues to be quite binge-able. Interestingly, it almost walks the rope of giving the feel of being a comfort watch without being overly intellectual like many mysteries are but keeps the personal story more important than other things. The bond and on-screen chemistry between Devaiah and Dhami is undoubtedly the best part of the show.

Rating - *** (3/5)