Vikram Bhatt’s love-sex series Twisted has set a bench mark with respect to desi thrillers. After being shocked and awed by Nia Sharma’s extremely bold avatar in Season 1, the curiosity to see more of Nia in the sensuous avatar of the attractive model Aliyah Mukherjee has always been there!!
So how have Producer and Writer Vikram Bhatt and Nia taken the character to the next big level in Season 2? This was the big question that lingered on our minds as we sat to watch Twisted 2.
Checking out the episodes, now streaming on VB on the Web, we could surmise that it follows the template of most American shows, where subsequent seasons always began on a high.
Aliyah Mukherjee (Nia) who had fooled the law in Season 1 with her masterstroke plan of killing Ranbir Raichand (Namit Khanna) is now shown in trouble. Cop Aryan Mathur (Rrahul Raj) who could not nail her then is a totally frustrated soul, an alcoholic too.
Here starts the game between Aliyah and the cop turned loner Aryan, wherein the latter is hellbent on putting the former behind bars for a crime she has not done!! Hence, he plans and plots the death of Aliyah’s drunken boy friend!!
The best part is that Aryan announces the clash when he confronts Aliyah and reveals his motive!! The scene was indeed special…
The big change in Season 2 is the role of the female cop Arunima (Dilnaz Irani) who is actually a new introduction!! A tough role to play this, as she is a good friend and sympathizer of Aryan, but when it comes to her work, is a tough task master!!
As Vikram Bhatt’s team has been saying time and again, this makes for a crime triangle of sorts, where we have Aliyah who has escaped the law after killing many people (Season 1), Aryan who has commited a crime himself and Arunima who is put on duty to solve this high-profile case.
The story and screenplay are catchy and gets us quickly into the cat and mouse game!!
Initially what starts as a game between Aryan and Aliyah, turns when the two of them shake hands with love hitting them wild!!
Yes, for all the viewers who missed a steamy love story in Season 1, this is the biggest plus!! Though Ranbir and Aliyah provided for some hot sequences in the earlier season, there was no basic plot underlining love. So this comes as a breath of fresh air.. However the love story defo gets twisted, as the basic foundation has been laid around deceit, revenge and eagerness to put the other behind bars.
Must say, Aryan and Aliyah (who never ever were on the same page in Season 1) suddenly get to see love for each other… Their chemistry simply raises the bar, as we are provided with quite a lot of sensuous smooch, bed-scenes etc. But everytime the duo made love, we were forced to think who will double cross the other!! Well, that’s the beauty of the plot, must say…
But does anyone get double-crossed? Considering Aliyah’s twisted nature, we believed that she will be the one who will cross the lines of love and again go towards vengeance. Must say, the story takes a very interesting turn here…
And all that is left for the lovers is to put in the factor of belief and trust into their love story. Will Aryan and Aaliyah be able to do this? We do not want to reveal the end for those who have not watched it yet….
The name of the game is linked more to the shock value!! And get ready for lot of those here.
Nia looks super hot in her portrayal of a lady who keeps her poise, when the chips are down. Must say, Nia excels in Season 2, and sets a new benchmark for herself!! She gives her best to the romantic scenes as well as the ones where she is shown playing her mind games.
We are extremely impressed with the dare that Nia has shown in presenting this complex character of Aliyah. We hope other TV actresses could pick a leaf from Nia’a book and drop their on-screen inhibitions and play dare bare characters with elan.
Rrahul Raj who had his own restricted movements as a cop in his last outing has come out of the shell really well in Season 2. As the alcoholic whose aim to put Aliyah behind bars suddenly turns into obsessive love which later hits the calm shores of being in love, Rrahul has put in his best!!
A special mention here for Dilnaz Irani as she has carried out the role of Arunima to the best of her abilities… She’s strong, she’s a stunner herself, and she confronts and hits back at the Aryan – Aaliyah plan with elan!! The only thing we found repetitive in her act was her facial expression, every time her investigation hit a roadblock. And how we wish she could have used a lesser intimidating color on her lips!!
Actors Veebha Anand as Rashi, Ambrish Srivastava as the side-kick officer Iqbal, Neeraj Malaviya as Sanjay have done a good job as well!!
But the one thing that Season 2 fell short of, according to us, was in the extent of complexity the basic plot had. After all, we tend to compare it with Season 1, wherein the web of complexity between all the characters was deeper and more intriguing. At one point of time, with Aryan and Aaliyah joining hands, the face-off was rather clear and transparent, with the game being only against the law and police.
One more thing that turned us off was the constant use of the ‘F’ word in some scenes. Had it been used once or twice, it was fine but here it seemed jarring to the ear!!
Vikram Bhatt’s a past master of thriller genre; no wonder the cinematography seemed perfect, with the scenes flowing easily. And yes, you don’t look at the clock and get eager to watch the next episode pretty soon!! The Director Anupam Santosh Saroj has come of age with Twisted 2, we must say!! Not that he did not do his job well in Season 1… but the way he has executed the final product here has been commendable.
Twisted 2 has opened up to a great response notching more than 2 million views in the very first week of its streaming. Word of mouth and the curiosity of viewers to know where the story proceeds in Season 2, will only double up on the views in the near future…
Lastly, the ending was certainly unexpected, but when it came, it brought a smile on our faces!! And the way it ended, seems like it has laid a good enough platform for the Season 3 to be built upon…. Again we have forced ourselves to not give out the ending. For those who have not yet watched it, do watch it…
IWMBuzz.com would rate Twisted 2, 3.5 out of 5 stars.