Kohrra 2 Web Series Review: The year was 2023 when Kohrra came, redefined whodunits, created conversations and conquered. Three years later comes its sequel. The larger template pretty much remains the
same. The murder of an NRI. The ‘everybody did it’ trope. A village in Punjab. Winters. Extramarital affairs. Classic red herrings. Inner demons. Sure, it’s nuanced, complex, grimy, gritty and humane. But what works against it is the timing. It loses its edge in an overcrowded landscape of weekly whodunits, where familiarity almost dulls its impact.
This time around, the action shifts to Dalerpura, a fictional mofussil in Punjab. The makers waste no time and dive right into it. One morning, Preet Bajwa, an NRI, is found dead, stabbed with an iron scythe, in the barn near her house. Her body is discovered by her mother during her morning walk. Enters Dhanwant, a senior cop, and her subordinate, Amarpal Garundi, to investigate the brutal murder. We eventually learn that Preet has fled her husband’s home in Canada, leaving her children behind, after she finds out that Tarsem may be having an extramarital affair.
She was currently staying with her mother, brother Baljinder and his wife Twinkle. Once in Punjab, prior to her death, she was cheated on by Johnny Malang, a dancer, who took a hefty sum of money from her to open a dance school. All hell breaks loose when she learns that he already has a girlfriend. Needless to say, all fingers point at Johnny. But he isn’t the only suspect. The suspect could also be her sister-in-law, who suddenly finds it hard to swallow that now Preet is asking for her share in the family property, and Tarsem, from whom Preet has taken lakhs and lakhs of money from to give Johnny.
But Kohrra 2 is so much more than just an investigation to discover the murderer. Amarpal, who is now happily married to Silky, has his life turn upside down when his sister-in-law, who he had an illicit physical relationship with in the previous season, comes to stay with them after her husband turns cold. Silky, unaware of Amarpal’s past, takes her in and takes care of her like her own sister. Dhanwant, on the other hand, is dealing with a troubled relationship with her alcoholic husband.
Their son Nihal had died in an accident for which Dhanwant blames her husband. They don’t speak to each other and quietly deal with neglect. But she tries hard to have another child through IVF to make up for the void in their lives. And then, the series explores the systemic oppression of the economically disadvantaged, embedding its crime narrative within social inequality, shedding light on modern-day slavery and its shocking and far-reaching implications. All of it looks absolutely brilliant on paper.
What had worked in favour of Kohrra now seems to work against its successor – the pace. Yes, it’s a slow-burning thriller. But in its pursuit of nuance, the measured storytelling often stretches tension thin rather than deepening it. Its insistence on restraint comes at the cost of momentum, making parts of it feel unnecessarily protracted. The trio of writers – Sudip Sharma, Gunjit Chopra and Diggi Sisodia – unfortunately also doesn’t quite succeed in bringing in a fresh or taut material to the table.
The mood and atmosphere-building is top-notch, rendering the narrative a lot of character, unease and claustrophobia. Cinematographer Isshaan Ghosh’s lens leans into muted tones and shadowed frames, allowing the landscape to mirror the emotional coldness of its characters. During the chase sequences in the dark alleys, the camera moves with a quiet urgency as if you, as an audience, are also tiptoeing through fog and fear alongside the characters.
But while Kohrra cut deep into its social and emotional terrain, Kohrra 2 merely traces familiar contours (parts of which we’ve already seen in Soni, Delhi Crime and the recently released Daldal) despite remaining technically competent. Maybe this is what happens when a predecessor sets the standards and expectations too high. Nonetheless, this franchise wins. It wins for its excellent deep-dive into the human psychology amid societal rot, reiterating that people are shaped as much by circumstances as by choice. By the end of its, you realise that much of the violence here stems from repressed anger, shame, guilt and fear.
Loneliness and emotional isolation too drive many decisions that unravel into crime. In fact, there’s more than what meets the eyes when it comes to crimes. Power, control and conditioning often translate to cruelty as duty and tradition and the guilty seek atonement in flawed, sometimes destructive ways. Kohhra 2 too blurs moral boundaries and that remains its strongest link. Rather than justifying social and moral evils, it tries to cast empathy on how trauma can turn victims into agents of it.
It also handles extramarital affairs with notable empathy, refusing to reduce them to simple moral failings. Intimacy, an unignorable aspect of human life, is used as an important plot device here. This season, unlike the first one, focuses on its consequences and the upshot of the lack of it. And once again, the performances will stay with you. This time around, Barun Sobti’s Amarpal stops being hard on himself and lets go. Restraint is his biggest weapon and he exercises it seamlessly here.
Sometimes, he’s a typical Punjabi boy throwing in one-liners here and there, and then he’s caught in the crosshairs, possibly ruining the life that he built with so much love, care and sacrifice. Barun is brilliant. Last season, the writers – a bunch of men – was lauded for their intricate portrayal of women, who despite being victims of patriarchy, had an agency. This time, there’s Mona Singh. As Dhanwant, she delivers a layered performance, convincingly balancing a character dealing with domestic struggles and motherhood dreams with the demands of professional excellence.
Her quiet frustration is palpable. The other cast members – Pooja Bhamrrah, Rannvijay Singhha, Anuraag Arora, Mandeep Kaur Ghai and Prayrak Mehta are impressive too. Kohrra 2 may not be the most perfect sequel and maybe even a let-down after a brilliant, novel first season. It has its intent in the right place and is earnest too while doing so, but its uniqueness and sharpness somewhere gets diluted. You may as well choose to rewatch Kohrra this weekend and leave the second season for another day.
