Review of Avrodh 2: The Hindi debut of Abir Chatterjee is a series that tries very hard to be compelling but is hindered by a lack of nuance and some dubious production quality.
I nearly forgot I was watching a supposed counterinsurgency thriller halfway through SonyLiv’s Avrodh’s nine-episode second season. It sounded more like a government PSA or, worse, an election manifesto with all the references to notebandi and sarkari aspirations for Digital India. And Avrodh 2’s weak point is this identity dilemma. It is a compelling tale about India’s valiant soldiers defending the country in certain parts, yet it meanders in others.
The second season of Avrodh is more of a parallel plot than a true sequel. This season focuses on Army and Income Tax department personnel racing against time to foil an ISI conspiracy including large-scale terror strikes and fake cash, in contrast to the first season’s focus on the story of the Indian Army’s Para SF commandos’ heroic surgical strike following the Uri attacks.
The plot and premise show promise. It adopts a novel strategy by depicting a counterinsurgency narrative from the viewpoint of an income tax officer (Abir Chatterjee), who is not a fighter and whose inquiries into counterfeiting lead him to a perilous terror plot. At least in some of its episodes, the series succeeds in maintaining a captivating sense of realism. The military maneuvers, action, and portrayal are all skillfully orchestrated.
But the show is missing something crucial: a human element. Agents, troops, and government employees can be seen battling terrorists. But we scarcely learn anything about them—their identities, backgrounds, or goals. The show does not devote even a single frame to giving these characters compelling backstories or introducing us to the real them. Without that, the characters turn out to be caricatures and clichés, which detracts from what could have been a terrific show.
Poor production values make the situation worse. You can perceive the fakeness of the aircraft in every scenario that is set in an aeroplane. Everyone is aware that no television program has ever been shot in an actual airplane. However, filmmakers made an effort to portray it as truthfully as they could. The suspension of disbelief was damaged by what appeared to be Avrodh’s attempt to cut shortcuts there. Such sloppy work is unacceptable in today’s culture, where shows and movies go to great lengths to nail every last detail.
Even if all of the Pakistani characters seem to have sprung straight out of a Sunny Deol movie from the 1990s, speaking in hazy poetic poetry and sprinkling strange Urdu words into every phrase, the plot is compelling, which is what makes the program interesting. Avrodh 2 disregards nuance, in contrast to season 1, which was able to depict a patriotic story without being overly nationalistic. With all the criticism of Pakistan and the clichéd portrayals of all the evil guys, it is definitely attempting to play to the crowd. And to be honest, if it had been done wisely as Uri did, I wouldn’t have a problem with it. But Avrodh 2 is not intelligent.
Measured performances go a long way toward saving the show. As the income tax officer who aspires to join the army in order to “really” serve his nation, Abir Chatterjee is convincing and likable (whatever that means). As the National Security Advisor, Neeraj Kabi effortlessly delivers some of the show’s best quips and situations. With her portrayal of an ISI sleeper agent, Aahana Kumra gives the opponents a desperately needed human dimension. However, both Sanjay Suri and Mohan Agashe, who played the leader of the Pakistani terrorist organization, are mainly ineffective. The script alone is to blame for that, not the two actors.
All things considered, Avrodh 2 isn’t precisely a programme about a terrorist plan or fake money. Actually, it serves as justification for demonetization. It advances the thesis that the Indian government was forced to make that decision in order to protect the nation from more serious threats. Go to YouTube for any news debates from late 2016 if you truly want to view that. And there have been a number of great ones if you want to watch a suspenseful thriller about the Indian troops. There is nothing new in Avrodh 2!