Kohrra Season 2 review: Mona Singh proves she can do anything in this haunting noir anchored by Barun Sobti’s brilliant arc

Kohrra Season 2 is a haunting, gritty masterpiece. With stellar turns by Mona Singh and Barun Sobti, this Punjabi noir excels as a deep character study that hooks you until the very last frame.

Mona Singh and Barun Sobti in a still from Kohrra Season 2

Kohrra

Kohrra Season 2 story:

In the second season of the gritty Punjabi noir Kohrra the narrative shifts to the Dalerpura Police Station, where Assistant Sub-Inspector Amarpal Garundi (Barun Sobti) attempts to make a fresh start while grappling with the ghosts of his past. Under the command of his strict and no-nonsense new superior, Dhanwant Kaur (Mona Singh), the duo is pulled into a chilling investigation following the discovery of a young woman’s body in her brother’s barn. As the thick fog of Punjab lifts from the village, the spotlight falls on the victim's NRI husband (Rannvijay Singha), exposing a volatile web of domestic abuse, property disputes, and long-buried family secrets. Moving away from the broader societal themes of the first season, this installment offers a "micro-character study" of the investigators themselves, exploring how their pursuit of justice forces them to confront their own unresolved grief and moral contradictions.

Kohrra Season 2 review:

While several series have been renewed after a bang-on first season, many have failed to match the fresh stories brought into the world of OTT by prolific filmmakers. Having said that, in 2025, we saw the return of Paatal Lok with a second season, which surprised many as it was on par with its first season (which premiered in 2020). This put Sudip Sharma in the spotlight, and he was heaped with praise for knowing the assignment and getting it done amazingly well. Then, in 2023, he came out with the Punjabi noir series Kohrra which changed the face of streaming just when people felt a saturation point had been reached. Now, after nearly three years, he is back with the second season of the hit Netflix series—but does it match or surpass the benchmark the original series created? Let's find out...

First things first: 2023 was a dark phase for me, and watching such a gloomy and gritty series felt like too much, so I skipped Kohrra Season 1 and put it on my watchlist for later. However, "later" never became "now," and I still haven't watched the first season. Thankfully, when I found out that the second season is set in a new world altogether, with just a residue of the previous season, I heaved a sigh of relief that it wouldn't affect my viewing experience. Well, I must say, I'm slightly glad that my introduction to the series is with the second season because I'm truly blown away.

ALSO READ: Kohrra recap: Who killed Paul Singh? Revisiting the Jagrana case and that tragic ending before Season 2

The tight six episodes got me so engrossed in the screen—and after a long time, too—that it felt like an experience I have been yearning for from streaming for a very long time. The series begins with the face of the victim, Preet (Pooja Bhamrah) who is found dead with a sharp knife piercing her body from the back, indicating she was thrown onto it. But was she a victim only when she became a corpse, or even before that? That unfolding makes up the whole series, and how!

The second season brings Barun Sobti back, reprising his role as Amarpal Garundi. The transfer of his character to Dalerpura places this season in an entirely new setting. It's a known fact that he is a morally dark character who is sarcastic at his job and doesn't believe in being a good family member, per se! The first season revealed his affair with his sister-in-law, of which his brother was aware. Eventually, he gets married to Silky (Muskan Arora), and they start a new life where he doesn't want to think about his past and is also hiding it from her.

Here, Garundi meets his new superior, Dhanwant Kaur (Mona Singh), a hardcore cop with a no-nonsense persona who talks less but works like there's no tomorrow. Both Garundi and Dhanwant Kaur team up, and despite Garundi's initial hesitation to follow her orders, he eventually complies, albeit with several excuses. Moreover, he also understands the fact that she's a woman in a man's world but keeps her work at the forefront while her personal life is crumbling.

With both cops coming together to crack a complicated case, they also introspect without hindering the investigation. There's a reason why the Punjab setting and the whole narrative make that aspect so important, making the geotag a character in itself. There is a common belief that the state has an exorbitantly high rate of drug addiction. Even when dismissing the issue, a character confidently tells the cop that his son doesn't do drugs. This cracks up Garundi, and he sarcastically tells the character that this behavior deserves applause.

Meanwhile, the series brings the narrative to the fore: when there's an unexpected murder, it opens a can of worms, and there's no escape from it. I didn't understand why new characters were being introduced every now and then, but I finally figured out that the world shown is not just about a woman being brutally murdered.

Even after Preet was killed, her intentions were questioned, with accusations of her having an extramarital affair, leaving her husband and kids behind in the US to live in her maternal home in Punjab, and stealing money from her husband. She is far from being an "ideal woman," but that is all that is discussed even after she is dead, with no respect given to her whatsoever.

Every region has its own significant flaw, with the wealthy positioned at the center, illustrating how the world is detrimental to the underprivileged. The hard-hitting news we hear constantly reveals that the rich believe they show compassion when they feed the poor, but it is just a facade. Well, it's a well-known fact that the rich believe the world is theirs and everyone else is their servant.

Moreover, the flaws are evident in both the lead characters and the victim, as everyone battles their inner demons while the world around them continues to unfold, reminding them of their place from time to time. The setting is foggy most of the time, but the beam of light comes with the performances, especially Mona Singh. If time had permitted, I would have focused this piece solely on her, as I have not witnessed such perfect casting onscreen in a very long time.

In her complex role, she portrays a bereaved mother with an estranged relationship with her husband (also played excellently by Pradhuman Singh) and an investigative officer who, despite being brutally beaten and facing a dead end, continues to pursue the truth. If you start watching her in the series, your eyes will yearn for her to be in the frame the whole time.

While Kohrra is a standard police procedural drama, we know that the whodunit is the ultimate goal, but it's the path of eggshells they have to walk to reach it that matters. That said, maintaining momentum in today's streaming world requires innovative approaches.

Yes, after watching numerous films and series over time, viewers can give up on a show in just a fraction of a second if the creators do not make it engaging enough to retain their interest. However, Sharma appears to have taken on the significant responsibility of considering the viewers' needs and finding ways to keep them engaged, even when the story is as straightforward as a whodunit with easily identifiable suspects.

Another incredible performance comes from Barun Sobti; the transition from being a morally corrupt man to correcting himself to fit into the new world he has been put in is commendable. Here's a man who is so loving as a husband and respects his wife so truly that you can't believe how he led his life in the previous season. However, he is far from perfect, and Sobti does such an incredible job that his personality might still continue to irk you but won't let you cancel him entirely, as he takes it upon himself to change for the better. Where else do you see such a slow and steady arc with a character still striving to learn to be a good person even when his dark past follows him like a shadow?

I have so much more to write, but Kohrra makes for a better viewing experience than a written one, all because the grim world sucks you in immediately and you don't feel like leaving it anytime soon. To be honest, I felt like I was having withdrawal symptoms while watching the final frame. I so wished it would just keep going on and on. Mind you, this sensation is the exact opposite of the "thank god it's over" feeling which I have been getting while watching so much stuff for a very long time.

Kohrra Season 2 verdict:

Kohrra Season 2 is a masterclass in Punjabi noir, proving that a sequel can match—if not surpass—its predecessor’s brilliance. While the whodunit core is gripping, it’s the profound performances by Mona Singh and Barun Sobti that truly anchor the series. This is gritty, atmospheric, and deeply engrossing series that demands your attention. If you’ve been waiting for a reason to return to high-stakes streaming, this is it.

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