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‘Taaza Khabar: Season 2’ Review: A Series That Has Lost Sight of its Own Strengths
The Bhuvan Bam-led series in its second season is weighed down by sloppy writing that can’t be salvaged even by a talented cast.
Director: Himank Gaur
Writers: Hussain Dalal, Abbas Dalal, Aziz Dalal
Cast: Bhuvan Bam, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Prathamesh Parab, Deven Bhojani, Jaaved Jaaferi, Shilpa Shukla
Language: Hindi
Streaming on: Disney + Hotstar
I have fond memories of the first season of Disney+Hotstar’s breakout hit Taaza Khabar. I liked that the Bhuvan Bam-led series was essentially a larger-than-life masala movie told over six breezy episodes. I liked that it had all the core beats of an underdog gangster story with a magical twist. I enjoyed watching the “Rocking Star Yash-ification” of Bhuvan Bam, who I find immensely watchable. I enjoyed the show’s simplicity and straightforwardness — a rags-to-riches greed story that was conventional and comfortable. But, above all, more than the journey of his character Vasya, I was taken by the “rise and rise of Bhuvan Bam” narrative.
It’s hard not to root for him. One of India’s leading digital entertainers taking the leap into show business usually means being cast as the “quirky best friend” in a flashy Dharma rom-com. But Bam refused to conform to convention, and aspired for more, deciding to take things into his own hands to forge his path.
In 2021, he made his first narrative series for his YouTube channel, which resulted in the ludicrous, slapstick smash hit Dhindora. It was only a matter of time, then, before a leading platform looked to capitalise on the creator’s popularity and jump on the buzzing Bhuvan bandwagon, leading to his popular 2023 Disney+Hotstar series Taaza Khabar, which he starred in and produced.
An unapologetic star launch vehicle if ever there was one, Taaza Khabar was a showcase of Bam as a performer, to prove that he can bring the attitude and swag, muster emotion and make us laugh too. He even got a few slow-motion action scenes thrown in.
And now, Vasya — AKA “Mumbai ka king”, “Wadala ka wolf”, “Thane ka tiger”, “Chembur ka cheetah” — is back. Last season gave us his origin story as a manager at a public toilet in Mumbai, who’s only ever dreamt of making the big bucks and wished for a better life for his loved ones. His prayers are answered when he realises he has the ability to get breaking news alerts on his phone about key events before they happen, which he uses to get unimaginably rich, primarily through sports betting.
If last season was the fantastical rags-to-riches rise, this chapter brings Vasya back down to nothing. He's alienated his loved ones, has lost all his wealth, and owes money to all the wrong people as he scrambles to get back on top. But, with this sophomore season, creators Hussain, Abbas, and Aziz Dalal seem to have lost sight of the show’s strengths and appeal, and everything that made it a fun, breezy watch in the first place. Forget going deeper or wider or evolving; season two even struggles to offer more of the same. There’s very little that actually works here.
As we see right from the opening episode, this second chapter is ambitious, scattered, convoluted and repetitive. Take the head-scratching structure, for example. A key character is shot in the opening scene, in what feels like it should have been last season's cliffhanger ending.
This time, we also get cold-opens with each episode that are little more than random flashbacks, and add nothing to anything. The simple, accessible, linear storytelling that once was is now full of frustrating jumps back and forth in time, which fracture the narrative.
Then, there’s the big bad guy this time around. The plot revolves around ruthless businessman Yusuf Akhtar, played by Jaaved Jaaferi, who Vasya owes a ton of money. Yusuf should, in theory, inject fresh energy into the proceedings and elevate the stakes. But he’s a lethargic, forgettable, one-note villain who borders on so-bad-it's-good territory. Between Yusuf’s tiring, tedious threats and ultimatums to Vasya and his family, we get a stagnant narrative that seems to be going in circles.
Vasya has hurt everyone around him. Vasya tries to make it up to them. A desperate Vasya sucks them into his dangerous get-rich-quick schemes again to repay his debts and rise above a life of poverty, not giving a damn who gets hurt in the process. Also, sometimes, he’s large-hearted and wants to help others. Vasya again hurts everyone around him. Vasya again tries to make it up to them. Rinse and repeat.
What the show is trying to do (I think) is present a morally-complex character study of a desperate man with his back against the wall, and how far he’s willing to go to provide for himself and his family. It’s also an examination of how money corrupts and that those born into wealth can do whatever they want without consequence (I think). But the messaging merely comes across as heavy-handed and contrived. I miss the swag of the last season. But here, those masala elements seem to have been sidelined in favour of shrill, manipulative melodrama about majboori.
It’s also not exactly a good-looking show; I can’t quite put my finger on it, but somewhere between the cinematography and colour correction, the show looks shabby and certainly not what you’d hope the second season of a hit series on a major streamer would look like.
As Vasya, a show-carrying Bam continues to be engaging to watch with his industrial-sized attitude, and he’s also surrounded by very talented actors like Shriya Pilgaonkar, Deven Bhojani, Prathamesh Parab and Shilpa Shukla. But that just isn’t enough when the writing is both everywhere and nowhere. These are characters who all are just...there.
Season two of Taaza Khabar isn’t a bumpy ride, as much as it is a blurry emotional rollercoaster that finds the unfortunate sweet spot between everything and nothing happening at the same time. If the first season was a movie star launch project, this new chapter feels like a forgettable star vehicle that’s made merely to feed the fans. A star trying to renew, reassert and rely on their stardom, rather than remind us why it exists in the first place.