BOTTOM LINE
Absolute Disaster
PLATFORM
Disney+ Hotstar
What Is the Film About?
Shiva’s quest for revenge takes a new turn with his transformation into Abhimanyu, which helps him get closer to JK and Tara. After Abhimanyu ends his relationship with Tara’s sister Divya, he traps JK in the garb of a business partnership. Mert is desperate to find answers to his brother Shiva’s mysterious death. An older nemesis threatens JK with a key link to his muddy past.
Performances
Of all, if any performance strikes a chord, it is Gashmeer Mahajani’s effort to play Abhimanyu with sincerity minus any exaggerated dialogue delivery and body language. Unlike the first season, Surbhi Jyoti adds little value to her portrayal of Tara. Tanmay Nagar has a good screen presence but a one-note role. Shashank Ketkar, Darshan Pandya and Shezray are strictly okay in caricaturish parts.
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Analysis
Gunaah, an adaptation of the popular Turkish drama Ezel, revolved around Shiva, framed in a high-stakes robbery by his one-time loyal friend JK and lover Tara. During his time in jail, Shiva finds a new ally in an influential man Bhau, who helps him seek vengeance through a newfound identity Abhimanyu. As Abhimanyu, Shiva plans to give JK and Tara a taste of their own medicine.
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While the first season showcases Abhimanyu winning the loyalty of JK and Tara, the latter’s sister Divya, the second instalment hints that the path towards revenge is far from rosy. After dumping Divya, Abhimanyu gets closer to Tara and signs a new business deal with JK. The return of Shiva’s brother Mert and evidence pointing to Michael’s involvement in a murder complicate matters.
It has been a little over five years since the OTT wave took the market by storm, altering the landscape of the entertainment industry completely. Though there’s truth to the statement that everyone’s hooked to the streaming space, the quality of Indian originals has only gone south with time. Gunaah is yet another proof of mediocrity thrives and continues to find takers across seasons.
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It’s all the more surprising how Gunaah is a remake of such a pedestrian story – which makes formulaic Hindi revenge sagas of the 70s and 80s look infinitely better. At least, with the first season – the show, despite its jaded treatment stretched to 25 odd episodes, had a story to tell and kept you engrossed with its twists and turns. The second time around, there’s no such optimism either.
The new season banks on an extremely dated storytelling device – revenge exacted through a protagonist’s renewed identity, where he gives it back to the wrongdoers in the same language they understand. The only remotely interesting aspects this time – Abhimanyu falls in love with Tara all over again (without revealing his true colours) and Mert digs deeper into his brother Shiva’s case.
Everyone in the tale is double-crossing one another. If at all the aim was to make a redemption drama, Gunaah should’ve wrapped matters within the first season – there’s hardly complexity in the plot or depth in characters to keep the viewers glued. The writing is lazy, banking on tried-and-tested tricks and needlessly stretched – the episodes are neither engaging, novel nor have great performances.
Gunaah Season 2 is as forgettable as it gets, an utter waste of resources, money and time. You’ve seen this story a gazillion times on the screen. It doesn’t even try to give it a new interpretation – an old wine in a much older bottle.
Music and Other Departments?
The music is hardly memorable or worth a discussion, possibly because the story is ridden with cliches and lacks strong drama or emotion. Pavan M Gupta’s cinematography is one of the better contributions from the technicians. The narrative is all over the place in terms of its coherence and it’s an ordeal to survive it. Sweta Misra’s screenplay and Shailesh Pratap Singh’s dialogues lack any funk nor do make any genuine effort to improvise on the original.
Highlights?
A couple of plot developments
Crisp episodes – which don’t demand much from a viewer
Drawbacks?
Done-to-death story
Hardly any worthy performances
Absence of strong emotions
Did I Enjoy It?
Not at all
Will You Recommend It?
No
Gunaah Season 2 Review by M9
