Bhaukaal season 2 review: One toned story of cop-hero and crime

Rating 2/5

Bhaukaal Season 2′ follows the expanding reign of the Dedha gang in Muzaffarnagar and the police force trying to put an end to the increasing crimes.

Story

Muzaffarnagar is the heart of crimes and violence, ruled by Shaukeen gang and Dedha brothers. Following season 1, there is newfound respect and love for the police force within the masses after the eradication of Shaukeen. People slowly start believing in the police and this threatens the Dedha brothers.

Trying to maintain the Dedha’s “bhaukaal”, the duo (Pradeep Nagar as Pintu and Siddhant Kapoor as Chintu) murder a village sarpanch and his son in front of the whole village. This marks the inception of their reign of terror in all of Muzaffarnagar.

The Dedhas plan to get a hand on automatic arms and this task is to be executed by Ashok. However, their plans are soiled when the police reach the location and seize the weapons though Ashok successfully runs away. Infuriated with the outcome, Dedhas run over Naveen Sikhera’s (Mohit Raina) car, planning the attack with their mole in the force, Sunil. This attack not only harms Sikhera but severely injures his pregnant wife.

Azhar, from the Shaukeen gang is hired by the Dedhas to kill Judge Tavar and abduct Dr Tiwari. The judge is critical and all the trials to find Dr Tiwari end in vain. The media and the people are enraged and the police start facing extreme criticism.

If this was not enough, Dedhas want to take control of Hussainpur as well. They lock all the animals hence cutting the meat supply and livelihood. They are not afraid to step into the MLA Aslam Rana’s house and threaten him.

Dr Tiwari is released by the Dedhas and he calls the media for a press conference where he blames the police for everything that went down and how his life was in danger because of Sikhera. Police have an eye on Dr Tiwari and follow him secretly when he goes to meet the Dedhas. Policemen Pawan and Maruti save the doctor, risking their own lives.

All limits are crossed when the Dedhas go to Shaukeen’s place in Hussainpur and kill anyone at sight. The massacre has everyone astounded. Gurjan, a member of Dedha, goes to the hospital and kills the judge along with the doctors and other hospital staff. Chintu kills Vijayraj and his daughter ruthlessly in the Hussainpur market in front of onlookers.

The chaos and terror caused by the brothers are at their height. Sikhera and his team need to exterminate the Dedhas and make it quick.

Performances

Mohit Raina makes a believable cop and suits the character well. Some of the preachy and unnatural monologues and dialogues become bearable, thanks to the actor.

Actor Pradeep Nagar playing Pintu is quite terrific as well as terrifying. He shines throughout the series. His mere gaze is enough to send a chill down the spine.

Siddhant Kapoor as Chintu is a great support to Pintu as a lanky and passive fellow who is horrifying in his own right. He is an extension of Pintu and seldom takes the spotlight as the main character. The antagonists steal the show in the series and the audience feels appalled and outraged.

While most leading actors performed well, the extras are insupportable enough to pull the viewer out of the story.

Positives

The series advocates respect for policemen and acknowledges their hard work continuously throughout. It does not back down from criticising them also which is expressed by the media’s voice in the story.

‘Bhaukaal Season 2’ touches on a few social topics like young boys being lured towards gun violence and religious wars, though none of them are fully explored in detail.

Every character has their particular costumes and styles that not only reflect their characters but also their social and economical standing. It represents their aspirations, beliefs and values well.

Negatives

The narrative follows a repetitive pattern of murders followed by swearing filled dialogues by the antagonists which are followed by a preachy monologue by Sikhera.

This goes on for the first 6-7 episodes. This formula is replicated several times and it becomes hard to distinguish which are the important parts of the story. The plot starts moving from the 7th episode and everything that happened before this seems like a blur of random murders. Nothing much of significance takes place and several episodes are just the buildup.

Most of the characters don’t do much and stick to doing one or two things. Sikhera is the only character who tackles a few things- handling the goons, taking care of family and giving a motivational speech.

The antagonists only murder and talk in swear words while the good characters either believe in Sikhera and motivate him or follow his orders. All the characters are cliched and one dimensional.

In one scene Sikhera asks a group of transgender/intersex people to help him with some information and in another scene, he calls himself a “napunsak” for not being able to help the people.

He is given bangles by the women of the village as he is not man enough to solve their problems and it is indicated that females are the weaker sex and that men need to be the hero to save society. This is also hinted at in the first season when Sikhera tells one of the gang members that he is not a man anymore.

The overall production quality is also poor including the audio, the editing and the VFX.

Worth it?

‘Bhaukaal Season 2’ is worth a watch if you are looking for a gory story revolving around a cop who is up against the ruthless crimes of a gang.


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