She is a psychological crime mystery thriller focusing on Bhumi, an undercover agent assigned to bring down the biggest drug operation in Mumbai.
Story
Bhumi is an undercover agent who is sent on a mission to bring information about a drug mafia boss, Nayak. Acting as a call girl, she gets picked up by Nayak and is brought to an unknown place. Her power is her bold sexuality and confident communication.
Nayak starts trusting Bhumi because of her impeccable commitments and eventually falls in love with her. He tells her everything about his life and plans to Bhumi that she passes on to the Mumbai Police Department.
However, the information passed on by Bhumi is partially true. ACP Fernandez and the entire police department take action according to Bhumi’s information as well as personal suspicion. This leads them to uncover vast operations and supply chains of drugs all over India.
The story further uncovers Bhumi’s control over her own body and thoughts and her independence to choose sides. This eventually contributes to the evolution of Bhumi’s character from a puppet of the Mumbai Police to a powerful name in the Mumbai underworld.
Performance
The lead actor Aaditi Pohankar in the role of Bhumi Pardeshi has done a remarkable job of melting into the character. From dialogue delivery to physical performances, she has been convincing every second with an outstanding screen presence.
Especially after the first season, Bhumi’s character evolved extensively in season two. The swift shift in the persuasion of the character mindset is very well performed by Aaditi. This time, Bhumi had fierce confidence in her face, and that’s what we, as the audience get to see.
Kishore Kumar G also delivers up-to-the-mark performance in every scene and acquires a good screen presence. There is a creepy calmness in his expressions that does the job that the character demands.
Other characters played by Vishwas Kini, Shivani Rangole, and Sam Mohan are also deserving of appreciation for their decent performance.
Positives
It is not possible to watch an Imtiaz Ali creation and not like something about it. She season 1 was slow and weak as a story, but season 2 has emerged as a better and stronger part.
The story is intriguingly constructed and sustains the suspense till the end. The writing was good and holds the capability to engage the viewer till the very end. The back story of Nayak and his further operations was thoughtfully crafted.
The shots were generic but pretty good. Shots were especially beautiful when Nayak’s backstory was visualized on the screen. The set design remained almost the same as season one, with additional designs for Nayak’s apartments.
A landmark character of Imtiaz Ali’s creation is the presence of a fortune-teller or storyteller who performs as a preacher in the narrative giving rise to poetic deliberation. And, every time, it proves to be a gem with very carefully woven dialogues.
Similarly, the character of an unknown man who lives on the street is a friend and listener to the protagonist. This character contributes much to the far-sightedness of the narrative with random phrases at a random time. A personal favourite.
Negatives
Bhumi is a very strong character, but the origin story of this strong character fails to impress. Season 1 establishes Bhumi as a weak woman because she fails to sexually impress her husband. With the development story, Bhumi became sexually impressive and thus, acquired more confidence.
While in season two, Bhumi has total control over her sexual preferences and plays the game according to her mood. However, the story significantly failed to derive the fact that Bhumi is a strong woman because of her thoughts and communication rather than a sexually appealing body.
Most of the plot is developed around unreasonable sex scenes. Sex is used as an unnecessarily too powerful tool in the entire narrative, which is proved by the dialogue by Nayak when he confronts Bhumi on info leaks, “I understand that you had sex with me to save yourself.”
The character of the trans woman was developed, but ultimately it held no significance.
Lastly, when Nayak is developed as a smart and intelligent character, he is not cautiously constructed. Why did Nayak believe in a call girl’s commitments? Because she said that she would become his informant and has sex with him. This is way too cringe to be believed.
Verdict
She season 2 puts forward an engaging narrative that succeeds in sustaining the suspense till the end, but it still fails to overlook the need for sexual catering to spice up a story. It remains inside the cocoon of the limitation of the male gaze.
Rating: 3/5
Also Read: She season 2 summary and ending explained