Mahabharat Murders part 2 review: Saswata Chatterjee brings his 'Dhaakad' side to this Bengali series

3/5

Pabrita Chatterjee (Saswata Chatterjee) gets involved in what looks like the Mahabharat Murders. Thanks to his involvement, Rukhsana (Priyanka Sarkar) gets some leads but is thrown off the case instantly. The murders don't stop, and it is tough to tell if Siddhartho (Arjun Chakrabarty) and Rukhsana are close to finding the culprit of the Mahabharat Murders.

Mahabharat Murders part 2 is an extended introduction of the lead characters. The viewers already have an idea about who is who and has what at stake and this time, even if the makers succeeded in raising the suspense to some extent, it still isn't completely edge-of-your-seat thrilling.

This time around, Mahabharat Murders focuses on Saswata Chatterjee's character, Pabitra. Priyanka Sarkar and Arjun Chakrabarty have smaller roles in comparison, even throughout the series. In the same scene, Kaushik Sen impresses from his first scene as Abirlal once again.

Debashish Mondal is also back, but he still isn't very scary. This time, the series begins with Nakul's murder. Somehow, Pabrita knows he's the last target, the Yudishtir of the story, which is one of the moments that capture your attention this time around.

Arna Mukhopadhyay as doctor Bipul is rather impressive this time around after he was dead in the first show. Satyam Bhattacharya as Joy is back, and he performs fairly well this time.

Rishav Basu's Vicky Patel has toned down many notches this time. He has become very normal, which is way off for his character. That part holds for most characters, except Bipul and Pabrita. This time, their time has come and it is pretty evident through their role and the way they executed it in the Mahabharat Murders.

The visuals in this show are a delight this time around. Although there has always been action sequence, this time there is a chase scene too, and that too on a bike. When the usually busy streets of Kolkata go quiet at night, that is when this was shot, and it captures the beauty of the place a bit.

The fickle work culture is explored in this part of the series. A major change takes place, and like always, a woman suffers. This time, somewhat, at the hands of another woman.

Some secrets are unveiled, but seeing how the series has unfolded, it doesn't come as too much of a shock. Mahabharat Murders tries to build some suspense this time around too, but since you already understand most of the story, there is very little in the name of thrill.

Almost all the characters have toned down in the second part of the Mahabharat Murders. While the story is a little interesting, it is also pretty predictable and almost all the cards are already on the table. Although you should not skip any episode of Mahabharat Murders if you want to watch the whole series (and it is slightly worth it), this one deserves to be viewed at ease, over the weekend, not for fun per se but so you can move on and closer to the third part, which might pick up the pace again.

One thing I like about the series this time is that it starts a discussion. While women are generally treated with respect in and around Kolkata, there is also another side—the competitive side. In Mahabharat Murders, it explores how competition can sometimes be toxic, especially when it is one woman hurting another (here, professionally) beautifully.