Web Series Review: Taaza Khabar Season 2

Star Cast: Bhuvan Bam, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Jaaved Jaaferi

Director: Himank Gaur

Synopsis: TAAZA KHABAR SEASON 2 is the story of a man who has a 'vardaan' and yet, is facing a huge debt. After the events of the first part, Vasant Gawade aka Vasya (Bhuvan Bam) gets a notification on the 'Taaza Khabar' app that he is going to die in a few hours. He tells his friend Raja Chaturvedi aka Peter (Prathmesh Parab) about it. Peter advises him to do some good deeds before dying. Accordingly, Vasya donates large amounts of money to the poor. Suddenly, he gets shot. Vasya dies hoping that his loved ones will start afresh. Sadly, at his funeral, Vasya's family members are confronted by Yusuf Akhtar (Jaaved Jaaferi). He lost a large amount of money thanks to Vasya's betting mischief. He takes revenge by usurping the house of Vasya and the bakery of his aide Mehboob (Deven Bhojani). Vasya's father Ashok Gawde (Vijay Nikam) and mother Alpana Gawade (Atisha Naik) move in with Peter and his wife Julie (Tamanna Sharma). One day, Ashok is hospitalized. His loved ones fear that he has suffered a heart attack. Vasya miraculously arrives to meet his father. His family members are overjoyed but also wonder how he didn't die. Meanwhile, Yusuf also learns about it and he threatens Vasya to pay Rs. 500 crores to him in a week to compensate for the losses and his loss of reputation. How Vasya managed to stay alive and how he scrambles to find a huge amount of Rs. 500 crores forms the rest of the series.

Taaza Khabar Season 2 Story Review: Aziz Dalal, Abbas Dalal and Hussain Dalal's story is decent and could have made for an interesting watch. Aziz Dalal, Abbas Dalal and Hussain Dalal's screenplay, however, is not exciting and this time, it’s quite dark. Aziz Dalal, Abbas Dalal and Hussain Dalal's dialogues are hilarious and contribute to enhancing the humour quotient of the show.

Himank Gaur's direction is alright. The biggest strength of the show is that, unlike many web series, it doesn’t needlessly drag and gets done in just six episodes. The show is grander than the earlier season, adding to the effect. A few scenes stand out like Vasya revealed to be alive, Vasya and Madhu (Shriya Pilgaonkar) at the diamond merchant’s (Ashwin Mushran) house, Vasya at the garbage dump etc. There are some interesting unexpected moments as well in the show.

On the flipside, the show suffers as it's too depressing and tragic this time. The earlier season worked as it was full of comic moments, and that appealed to the audience. This factor is lacking here. The humour is there but not in sufficient doses. Vasya, this time, faces a lot of challenges and roadblocks. Also, all the characters in Season 1 came together beautifully and all of them added to the show in some way. But in the second season, Reshma’s (Shilpa Shukla) track is lacklustre. The track of Kismat (Mahesh Manjrekar) is also hardly there. Moreover, the two months from Vasya’s ‘death’ to Vasya emerging in the hospital is rushed. Also, it's bewildering why Vasya is expected to pay Yusuf the share that was usurped by Kismat.

Taaza Khabar Season 2 Performances: Bhuvan Bam plays the part of the hero well. He keeps the act subtle and also plays to the gallery as required. Shriya Pilgaonkar delivers a fabulous performance, although her screen time is limited compared to the previous season. Prathmesh Parab yet again impresses and adds to the fun and even emotional quotient. Deven Bhojani is dependable. Jaaved Jaaferi gives his best shot but he’s let down a bit by the writing. The same applies to Shilpa Shukla. Mahesh Manjrekar is wasted. Vijay Nikam is sincere but hams in some scenes. Atisha Naik is fine. Tamanna Sharma is lovely while Chetan Hansraj (Ikka) leaves a mark. Nitya Mathur (Shazia) and Sharad Joshi (Waseem) are fair but their break-up angle is forced. Ashwin Kaushal (Raman Mukhopadhyay), Gauri Pradhan Tejwani (Swati), Denzil Smith (Swati’s father), Vipul Deshpande (Inspector Rathore), Ashwin Mushran and Shahbaz Khan (whale vomit dealer) are decent.

Taaza Khabar Season 2 music and other technical aspects: 'Laut Aane Ka', 'Aaj More', 'Ghoomta Phiru', 'Bulbul Sa' and 'Paisa' are well-placed in the narrative. The theme song, played during the opening credits, is very catchy and has a cinematic feel. Saurabh Lokhande and Jarvis Menezes' background score is apt.

Remy Dalai's cinematography adds to the scale and grandeur. Tariq Umar Khan and Nadiri Tariq Khan's production design is satisfactory. Shivangi Shrivastava's costumes and Vikram Dahiya's action are realistic. Harshit Sharma's editing is slick.

Taaza Khabar Season 2 Conclusion: On the whole, TAAZA KHABAR SEASON 2 suffers due to a weak script and lack of happy and exhilarating moments, compared to the first part. However, due to Bhuvan Bam’s insane popularity, it’ll manage to find an audience.

Rating – 2 stars

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