Starring Shweta Tripathi, Anchal Singh and Tahir Raj Bhasin in the lead roles, the second season of Netflix’s Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein is pretty much a disaster. The shocking, slightly unusual premise might have garnered an audience in the first season, but unfortunately, the show misses an opportunity to deliver something exciting this time around. A girl obsessed with a boy who strongly believed that she always brought him bad luck was a silly premise that did not deserve to or even have the potential to return with another season, and it seems the creators were clueless about how the story should progress. It was a struggle for me to sit through the six episodes that at times made no sense at all.
The protagonist, Vikrant Singh Chauhan, had planned to murder his wife, Purva Awasthi, in season one. But instead of killing her, the contract killer Vikrant had hired abducted her. He demanded a hundred crore ransom to free Purva. Vikrant realized this was rather a boon than a bane, so he decided to increase the ransom amount to three hundred, possibly hoping to take a portion as his commission. He wanted the rescue mission to fail, and he did everything in his power to stop his father-in-law from saving his daughter. The abduction was the main plotline of this season. From Vikrant trying his best to ruin Akhiraj’s every effort to bring his daughter home to him planning an escape upon realizing that he was knee-deep in trouble and was one bad move away from putting himself and his family in danger. Vikrant was not only risking his life but also Shikha, who loved him and definitely did not deserve to be in the mess that her boyfriend had gotten her into. Surprisingly, even after interfering and breaking protocols set by the rescue team, no one dared to confidently accuse Vikrant of wanting Purva dead. Yes, he was a good liar, but there were moments when it seemed a little too strange that no one could join the dots. He vs. an entire team of experts, and somehow he outwits everyone around him! But Vikrant has to survive against all odds for the plot to progress, and so we have to bear with the plotholes!
This season, Gurmeet Choudhary is introduced as Purva’s childhood friend, Guru. Son of a friend with influence, Akhiraj contacted Guru to help him bring his daughter home. Guru seemed to be a member of ‘some’ secret agency in London, but the series chose not to go into detail about it. All we’re told is that Guru is a brilliant fighter equipped with the latest in tech and could storm into a room full of kidnappers alone without any hesitation. He could single-handedly kill all his targets and complete his missions with ease. Guru traveled to India with his colleagues to rescue Purva, and shockingly, he had access to EVERY surveillance device around the city, heck, even the country, I suppose! I am certain that such unlimited access is not granted to any secret agency, but I guess the writers were never truly concerned about logic. The first season too had a few unmissable flaws, and this time everything pretty much happens without any logical explanation. Comparing and matching footprints in a matter of seconds is something Guru’s tech team is capable of, don’t ask how. As someone with limited knowledge about the latest technologies, even I found such extremes a little too much to digest. The thin line between a Netflix series and a television daily soap became blurry at times this season, and I can only imagine it getting worse in the third one if Netflix green-lights it. Even though they took things a step further by setting a few scenes abroad in season two, that didn’t stop the ship from sinking. It’s a shame when even with a decent production, one fails to deliver watchable streaming content.
Do I have anything good to say about Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein season two? Not really. Even if you enjoy watching mindless entertainers, this is not it because there is a lack of self-awareness. It is trying/pretending to be somewhat of a Mirzapur, but it is delivering a B-grade thriller drama. Season two almost felt like a filler season; the most important questions are yet to be answered and the final episode ends in a rush. To keep the audience engaged, subplots are introduced that we can expect will be explored in the third season. Vikrant is not a protagonist to be liked or even trusted. He is so wrapped up in his revenge that he seems to have lost sight of the trouble he have landed his family and Shikha in. While his internal monologues are meant to garner some sympathy from the audience, the point and logic behind his actions are so lost that one can hardly relate to or even understand the pain he constantly keeps talking about. As an engineer, he could’ve come up with better plans than to marry the girl he despised all his life and plot ways to kill her. After season two, I doubt anyone will have any interest in finding out what will happen to Vikrant and Purva; they are just two messed-up characters who are better dead than alive, and it’s perhaps only their death that can end the misery of those around them and also the audience.
Tahir Raj Bhasin as Vikrant Chauhan delivers a forgettable performance. Shweta Tripathi tries to make sense of the madness, and she continues to be quite convincing as Vikrant’s romantic interest, Shikha Agarwal. She is perhaps the only character one can root for. Anchal Singh as Purva Awasthi was mostly blindfolded and gagged this season. Singh is persuasive as the vamp, and she also manages to invoke sympathy for her character. Purva is flawed, but there are moments where she seems to have pure intentions, and Singh successfully conveys the blend of such contradictory characteristics.
Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein season two falls flat. The plotholes, the weak characters, and the lack of an overarching theme limit its potential. Vikrant Chauhan is neither a villain you can wholeheartedly hate nor a hero you can admire. You’re stuck with a nonsensical man who is so blinded by hatred that he literally has no idea what he is doing. After a disappointing second season, we can only hope that the team behind the show, especially the writers, will deliver something worthwhile in season three.
