Showtime Part 2 review: Scandalous, dramatic yet cliche arcs makes this a one time watch at best

Showtime Part 2 is interesting in parts and our review discusses what works for the show and what doesn’t.

Showtime Part 2 review: Created by Sumit Roy, the second part of Showtime picks up from where it left us 3 months back. Raghu Khanna (Emraan Hashmi) and Mahika Nandi (Mahima Makwana) still have their rivalry going on in full force. The two half siblings are constantly trying to one up the other. Mahika’s film 1857 is in shambles after the hero, Armaan (Rajeev Khandelwaal) is caught cheating on his wife, Mandira (Shriya Saran) with another actress. Meanwhile Raghu’s own life is losing its trajectory after he was rather harsh on Yasmin (Mouni Roy) when she lets him know about her pregnancy. And to top it all, both Raghu and Mahika have to deal with the whims of producers they collaborate with and the dirty politics that come with the world of showbiz. 

Just like the first part, the second installment too has nothing that we already don’t know about. We have seen actors getting caught in cheating scandals, how brutal producers can be on actresses, how dark the industry can get to the point where it deeply affects someone’s mental health. We know how movies, stories and actors can be changed overnight in a project. We know it all but the difference is that IRL, PR agents actually know how to keep things hush hush and in the world of Showtime, we get to see how artists deal with things in their personal lives. After all, the show is partly inspired by true events from the industry and if you look closely, it is really not that difficult to guess whose arc is adapted from which actor’s real life. The city of Mumbai and the movies show you the ‘magic’ of cinema but Showtime shows you how it's nothing more than business for the ones who work behind the scenes.

Also Read: Showtime review: The series shows the good, bad and ugly inner workings of Bollywood behind closed doors but lacks soul

This series is an insightful take into the rat race between production houses to be at the top and how they walk over a lot of innocent people to get to that place. Emraan Hashmi as Raghu Khanna is as complex as a character can get. He reeks of toxic masculinity in his personal life but then at work there are moments where you feel like he is ready to give it his all. Emraan plays this gray character rather convincingly and is one of the major reasons why you are hooked on to the show. Vijay Raaz, as usual, aces his nonchalant yet serious role as a father who wants to launch his son in Bollywood with some good old nepotism. Just like the first part, Rajeev Khandelwaal brings a unique twist to the show as Armaan, giving off the self obsessed actor energy that we often do see in real life as well. But Mahima Makwana, Vishal Vashishtha and Shriya Saran’s characters just do not connect with you. Maybe they aren’t impactful enough compared to the rest of the strong headed  roles in the screenplay.

While the show interests you in parts and makes you wonder if Bollywood really is this chaotic and messy, there are also times when you feel like you’re watching a soap opera. Over the top dialogue delivery and some really cliche arcs makes Showtime Part 2 a one time watch at best. The first part had four episodes and the second part consists of three; releasing the show in two halves definitely does not work in its favor. A show of this nature needs to be binge watched. Showtime has a good concept but doesn't bring us anything out of the ordinary.

Showtime Part 2 is currently streaming on Disney+Hotstar!

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