We all have been waiting a long time for Jennifer Winget-starrer Beyhadh 2 to air, which finally did this Monday on SET. Right from day one, it is very clear that Jenny alone rules the roost, with other characters only reacting to her actions. Interestingly, none of the other important cast of season 1 has been roped in for the sequel.
The opening scene of Durga Visarjan was shot well in all grandeur. Producer Prateek Sharma seems to be borrowing a leaf from Balaji shows, which mostly always open with religious symbols.
Rich powerful Maya (Jennifer) first orders a hit on the life of Rishi Roy (Rajat Verma) Then she herself saves him, in order to settle scores with his business magnate old man Mrityunjay “MJ” Roy (Ashish Chowdhry). She plays Rishi like a fiddle, acting all scared. Should he not have questioned her bonafides, for if she was nervous, how come she jumped into the sea to rescue him?
Not content with using just one son, she also tried to get close to MJ, targeting his estranged struggling publisher elder son Rudra (Shivin Narang) as well. Elusive, bestselling author Maya uses guile to force Rudra to come begging to her to sign her up. He hates Maya, yet has to sup with the devil for he needs the dough to keep his company afloat, not wanting hand-outs from his dad. They have had a very bad falling out five year ago, which has torn the family asunder.
Rudra’s partner and best friend Anaya (Kangan Nangia) digs him, but he tells her he is not interested.
Maya even keeps physically harming Rudra, for example, a sword jab at his chest during a fencing duel, and pours alcohol on his wounded hand. She even humiliates him and his position, when he finallly approaches her to write for his firm.
MJ smells a rat when both his sons are attacked, asking his Man Friday Aamir (Hassan Zaidi) to investigate.
Ashish, who could not play Baman in Total Dhamaal, is doing a good job as MJ, bringing out a ruthless yet loving father in the same breath.
Shivin is doing justice to his hurt son character. Hope he is given a good-enough line to take on Maya. Rishi’s role, on the other hand, is not really impressive so far, just flirting and looking cool.
Melanie Nazareth, aka Antara, does not look like the parent of a 30 year old (Rudra). To be honest, neither does Ashish; but yes, a salt and pepper beard and hair saves some blushes.
We don’t know much about the Dr. Diya Roy (Nikunj Malik) character, but she surely has something to hide. No wonder, MJ’s frank mom (Rupa Divetia ) keeps taking digs at her.
The casting is complete with Maya’s mother, who laments losing her family.
Jennifer looks a million dollars in those black outfits (a contras to her white-dressed avatar in part 1). She is bringing out the anger and hurt to the T. Her usage of Sanskrit shlokas add heft to her nuanced character.
We still don’t know the reason for Maya’s hatred towards MJ. On the face, it appears that she loved him at one time, but he jilted her. So she has come back for vengeance. Her level of anger crosses all limits, thereby fitting into the title Beyhadh.
If this indeed does happen, it will raise some moral questions as to why will anyone fall in love with a married man – good girls don’t do it, right? Agreed, shit happens, but will the creative team show the greyish part with sensitivity or will all the blame be dropped on MJ’s doorstep?
Also, another big conundrum would be, do they show her killing people, as that would make her a bad person? Agreed, Maya of Beyhadh was violent and crazy, but I don’t she bumped off people.
If they hold her anger back, the plot might weaken, but if she goes all out, she might lose sympathy.
Sony does seem to have confidence in the franchise. No wonder, they are bringing it in place of KBC. Having said that, this honour really raises the bar and the channel might not be happy with just 1 TVR, which Beyhadh averaged out with.
This show is also Jenny’s best chance to make a ratings-wise splash. For, let’s face it, none of her recent shows has boasted of great numbers.
Producer Prateek, who was also part of season 1, has surely pulled out all stops to give a rich thriller. The taking is taunt and the music is eerie and engaging.
All in all, we have had a good start. Hope they maintain the pace and thrill.
3.5/5 is our rating for Beyhadh 2