She (Season 2) review: Aaditi Pohankar-starrer outdoes itself

At a time when a lot of Hindi web-series are given multiple seasons just for the heck of it, director Arif Ali’s She is an exception. The Netflix show starring Aaditi Pohankar has a proper storyline with some genuine twists. 

Written by Imtiaz Ali, the first season of She was about Mumbai police constable Bhumika Pardeshi aka Bhumi (Pohankar) who is sent on an undercover mission by her superior, assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Jason Fernandez (Vishwas Kini), to expose the drug racket in the city and, basically, nab the cruel underworld mastermind Nayak (G Kishore Kumar). Bhumi is made to pose like a sex worker in order to gain the attention of Nayak, whose face is revealed in the latter part of the season. 

At a deeper level, the first season was about Bhumi's sexual awakening after entering Nayak's world. The season ends with the undercover cop offering to be Nayak’s mistress and his most trusted aide. 

In the second season, we see Bhumi gaining Nayak’s trust and getting access to all his illegal activities. She keeps passing key information about the gangster’s activities to Fernandez, but at the same time, she can’t help but get drawn toward the criminal emotionally and physically. Although her boss is happy with Bhumi’s work, there comes a time when he becomes unsure whether he can trust her completely. 

The idea of making Bhumi pose as a sex worker in the first season wasn’t completely convincing. This aspect, thankfully, isn’t seen much this time around. 

But the bigger eyebrow-raiser this season is how easily the cunning Nayak trusts Bhumi and quickly he exposes her to the inner workings of his criminal empire. Bhumi also buys expensive items for her residence but her family doesn’t question her about how she was able to afford them despite her modest salary. 

Apart from these issues though, the latest season of the show is more enjoyable than its predecessor. While the first season focused a lot on Bhumi’s family and her stressful divorce, this one is more like an engaging crime thriller taking place in the dark underbelly of Mumbai, with not much focus on the protagonist’s domestic life. 

Apart from a crime drama, the second season of She also doubles up as a psychological saga. Various characters are seen playing mind games with others. This season also delves deep into the psyche of Bhumi and makes you feel for what all she has gone through in her life, especially her broken marriage and having to bear the brunt of being frigid in bed. 

This season demanded a lot more from Pohankar and she is up to the task. After convincing performances in the MX Player show Aashram, the young actress has now proven herself one of the finest performers to have emerged from the Hindi web medium. As she displays the various shades and emotions of her character, you can’t help but appreciate her.  

Nayak is as important as Bhumi in this season. G Kishore Kumar succeeds in not being a typical gangster. He is also shown as a vulnerable and emotional being. His unusual chemistry with Pohankar is the icing on the cake. Vishwas Kini picks up where he left off in the first season.

Resh Lamba excels in the role of an eunuch. Rohit Kokate, a new entrant, provides a convincing performance of a pimp with a speech impediment. Shivani Rangole and Suhita Thatte, who play Bhumi’s younger sister and mother, once again provide good support. Vijay Varma essays the drug dealer Sasya with the same flamboyance, although his screen time is limited in this season. 

The last episode, which is pivotal, wasn’t required to be narrated in a flashback manner as this spoils things to an extent. Nevertheless, the finale sees a major development in the tale, which makes you anticipate the completely justified third season.

She (season 2) is being streamed on Netflix