Asur 2 review: A mythological thriller that looks like it's beating an empty drum too loud if you look close enough!

Asur 2 review: It keeps you distractingly busy with its loud twisting antics, high-octane drama but doesn't understand the depth of its brilliant message!

Asur 2 review: No matter what might have been the reason behind Jio Cinema's sudden release of all episodes of Asur, the fans who waited three years for Asur 2 and the answer to 'Who is Shubh' are surely rejoicing! But after watching the almost one-hour-long eight episodes and listening to 'anth hi parambh hai' only a gazillion times over, I cannot help but think about how the show only works if you're busy paying attention to its enticing twists and turns. Take that out of the equation and it's just a highly dramatic show that has basic knowledge of the things it's talking about. It just dresses up well and pretends it knows everything.

Considering that Asur came out in the pre-pandemic era, season one was quite good. Hats off to Gaurav Shukla and Oni Sen as creators for keeping in sync with the two seasons and not changing it up given the time difference which saw the boom of OTT and the rise in good content. They play it smart, they know that the knowledge that they have most people wouldn't have. So the entire show is so busy impressing you with the information it's giving you and throwing you off that you don't care about how it doesn't make logical sense. They feed you information either all at once or none at all. But how long can you keep on doing the same thing without people noticing? Because after a point of time, one cannot help but notice the flaws in Asur 2's design even though the mythology part of this thriller keeps it interesting.

How does a CBI forensic officer work in the field and solve cases? Like what exactly is Arshad Warsi, Barun Sobti, Riddhi Dogra's job? I still don't know after watching two seasons. And there are many questions like this - ATF, CBI everyone is involved but what do these guys actually do? How do they know everything and get access so fast? And if they're so well informed then how do they not know what is coming ahead? Also, the show is so fast paced and action-oriented that to keep up with it you end up sidelining these questions.

There is so much going on onscreen that you feel satisfied with whatever they may be doing. For instance, to show the digital era and essentially a technological war, a vast tech setup with too many wires, computer systems, and gadgets is used. Similarly, shots of manicured hands constantly working on the keyboard to portray hacking, big medical words are thrown off to show forensics, loud background scores which sometimes overpower dialogues too, twist overlapping another twist, and proof overlapping proof are present throughout. All of this makes your need for explanations and logic take a backseat and somehow leaves you satiated too.

Also Read: #KetchupNow: Netflix drops the first look for the much-awaited anthology series, Lust Stories 2!

Even the character development is a straight-line path without any deeper insight into them. No wonder all the actors have one expression throughout. Dhanjay Rajpoot (Arshad Warsi) and Naina (Anushka Goenka) opt for being vigilantes after going through intense injustice done to them. Nikhil Nair (Barun Sobti) is grief-stricken but only till bodies start piling up again, Nusrat (Riddhi Dogra) is still a side-piece. Kesar (Gaurav Arora) has no job left to do. And even our darling Rasool (Amey Wagh) is interested only for a while. Even the so-called cop chasing a serial killer trope isn't enticing enough. But it's the criminals or rather the ideology of the criminals that make up for everything else. Mind you it's not a character-driven story given that so little space is given to its characters.

But not when it comes down to the serial killer Shubh urf Kaali (Vishesh Bansal and Abhishek Chauhan). It's one character and by extension the only thing that makes Asur a very interesting show to watch. His entire journey, from childhood to adulthood, and his belief that he is an avatar of Kaali whose sole purpose of being born is to bring an end to this world so as to bring in a new world order is portrayed well. Shubh alone brings in the mystery of who the killer is and how he's doing all this. The mythological connection to explain the chaos of the modern world, making people choose in a Matrix-style red or blue pill, Sanskrit verses, devilish drawings, shudh Hindi, and more than anything else, Shubh's ideology are what make Asur a soaring success.

Shubh presents a unique perspective just like Joker to Batman in Dark Knight. The idea that Kaali will bring anarchy in this society to such a peak with technology as its astra which will turn people against people and reign the era of Kalyug where Vihsnu's last avatar has to be born to kill it and hence bring in a new world order is so heavenly engrossing. His one true belief is that moral values are a facade, and once when put to the test and face the music, people will behave exactly as he anticipates - turn on each other. In that sense, he is doing the world a favor by showing them the mirror and meeting with the real truth. To do this, he uses artificial intelligence that involves social media discourse, assaults privacy through technology, and almost causes a civil war so much so that to stop him, a so-called god is created by humans. All of this happens to keep the point that eventually Kaali and Kalki are both inside of you. It's you who has to choose how you want to behave.

It's like if Batman didn't have morality, he wouldn't be too different from the Joker. But the problem here is that only Joker is interesting whereas Batman doesn't make sense at all or isn't even worthy of Joker. And for dramatic tension, the inability in utilising this extremely riveting concept to its highest potential makes me disappointed. Sure, Asur puts forth a great religious discourse and makes you think. But its end is most likely to bring in a new season because as Shubh states, "every end is a beginning". And I, for one, am not too excited about it, especially after a tedious two seasons and limited take on storytelling.

Asur 2 is streaming on Jio Cinema!

For more entertainment, follow us on @socialketchupbinge