Content feeds my soul, more so when it’s a crime drama. I can never have enough of crime drama series and films. And if it has a strong female lead or leads, that’s just a cherry on the cake. One of my favourite crime drama series is the 2020 Netflix original series She. Created and written by Imtiaz Ali and Divya Johry, directed by Arif Ali and Avinash Das and produced by Ajit Andhare under the banner of Viacom 18 Studios’ Tipping Point and Window Seat Films. The first season of the series released on the OTT platform in March 2020 and now the second season of the series is dropping on June 17. Headlined by OTT regular, Aaditi Pohankar, the web series also stars Vijay Varma, Vishwas Kini, Kishore Kumar G, Saqib Ayub, Sam Mohan, Suhita Thatte and Shivani Rangole. And ahead of its release, I decided to review it to make your life easier.
The Story Of She Season 2
The second season continues the story of constable Bhumika Pardeshi aka Bhumi, played by Aaditi Pohankar. In season 1 of She, Bhumi went undercover as a sex worker to spy on a drug syndicate head Nayak, played by Kishore Kumar G and find out all the dark secrets from the alleys of Mumbai’s dark underbelly as she discovers her sexuality in the process. At the end of season 1, we saw Bhumi own her sexuality as she struggles to pick between duty and pleasure. In season 2 of She, Bhumi’s moral quandary continues as she goes back into Mumbai’s dark underbelly for a final mission. However, this time, she not only owns her sexuality but also uses her sexual prowess to her advantage. Bhumi has a responsibility to fight crime with her police duty but her attraction to the drug kingpin makes it difficult for her to do her duty while both ACP Jason Fernandez, played by Vishwas Kini and Nayak begin doubting her intentions. And TBH, for a long long time, you’ll be wondering where her loyalties really lie.
Cast And Characters
Aaditi Pohankar as Constable Bhumika Pardeshi aka Bhumi: While Aaditi Pohankar looked very uncomfortable in her character in season 1, I believe it was required for her role. In the second season of She, constable Bhumi grows and moves towards sexual liberation and that helps her learn much more about her own self, her life and her potential. Her character growth and the arc are beautiful to watch as she continues to juggle between her work, personal life and her life as an undercover cop playing a sex worker. She gets bolder and braver in this season as she uses her sexual prowess to her advantage. Aaditi Pohankar looks much more comfortable in her role and manages to effortlessly slip into her role in this season, guess it comes with practice. She perfectly depicts the confusion and moral quandary of constable Bhumi while maintaining mystery around her true intentions. But the one thing that was missing in this season was that we didn’t get to see much of Bhumi in her uniform. And her dressing sense has changed or I’d say developed for the better TBH.
Vishwas Kini as ACP Jason Fernandez: Vishwas Kini does a good job but it’s really not impactful but then again, come to think of it, She is not about him and he doesn’t really have the centre stage but just the fact that this man sits there and calls constable Bhumi his “discovery” is extremely annoying. So, I guess Vishwas does his job well.
Kishore Kumar G as Nayak: This season also gives us an insight into Nayak’s life and why and how he became who he is. We see Nayak as a drug kingpin who works away on his computers to manage his complex drug pipeline while protecting his identity but in this, despite being a good action Kishore Kumar G seems to be struggling to look and seem sinister and build fear with a little charm and emotions.
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Shivani Rangole’s Rupa and Saqib Ayub’s Hemant also have a character arc that made the series more fun and crisp to watch but their sub-plot seemed like sloppy writing and was underdeveloped. The rest of the supporting cast honestly did not bring much to the table. IMHO, the rest of the supporting cast is practically forgettable except for Sandeep Dhabale’s Lokhande who brings an interesting twist to the series.
Verdict
To begin with, the series has too many sub-plots that cause too much confusion combined with the main plot. And most of the sub-plots are underdeveloped and half-baked. It’s like the show is holding multiple strings attached to Bhumi but each string goes in a different direction and then gets lost. Another thing to note is that Aaditi Pohankar’s Bhumi seems to have forgotten all about her uniform and you hardly see her in it throughout the 7 episodes. TBH, it just looks like she goes to work for the sake of it and not because it’s her job or duty. The police procedure is nothing short of a joke in this season as it lacks procedural accuracy.
Coming to the most important thing that I want to talk about is the fact that people have been calling this series something that panders to the male gaze but the fact remains that this thought roots from a place of sexism. This story is about a policewoman who has a sexual blockage but discovers her sexuality during a mission and then goes on to explore it further in ways that may not fit well with our morality but what’s wrong with a woman’s sexual awakening? Why does it scare us to talk about a woman who not only owns her sexuality but uses it to her advantage to further her agenda? Most would call it the wrong idea of an empowered woman but who are we to judge what’s wrong and what’s right for a woman who is battling for her survival. Moreover, in our society, a woman owning her sexuality and using her sexual prowess is looked down upon.
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This season is about Bhumi as she further explores her sexuality while understanding and accepting her dark side as she tries to find a balance between duty and pleasure. But amid all of this, the danger lurks closer and Bhumi must find a way out of her moral quandary. TBH, there’s no way to know what side Bhumi is on except to watch this series and Aaditi Pohankar’s character will have you sitting on the edge wondering what she’s going to do next and if she will be able to save herself. Keeping in mind all the flaws which IMHO are digestible, I’ll rate this series 3.5 out of 5 stars because let me put this out there – this show is not about the police chasing a crime lord or an undercover agent but more about a woman discovering her sexuality and accepting and owning it in the cruel realities for the world.
