By Akshay Acharya Mumbai 28th August : “Jab jab aapko lagta hai , aap Bihar Samajh Gaye Hai, Bihar aapko jhatka deta hai (Everytime you think you’ve understood Bihar the state proves that you are not),” says Pramod Pathak’s character of Satyendranath Mishra in Season 2 of the political drama streaming show “Maharani”.
The dialogue serves as the opening line for the new season as well.
Season 1 featured Bheema Bharti being detained after a scam.Season 2 moves the story forward and tells a story that is filled with twists and turns of the political spectrum and unfolds like the game of chess in which one mistake could alter the game completely, taking every bet off the board.
Season 2 sees Bheema out of prison as he is trying to sway the MLAs who are under his wife’s direction to create an entirely new political party.However, he is amazed by how quickly his wife has mastered the rules of politics.
The show places both spouses in the opposite end of morals and ethics.
Every move of Bheema’s is geared towards securing the chair of the Chief Minister and the mysterious power that is associated with it for Rani only goal to ensure his position is serving the Bihar people.
of Bihar -slightly over the top , but an exemplary version of an ordinary Indian politician with no secretive ties.
The series draws inspiration by what transpired in Bihar in the 1990s, when the then Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav made his wife who was a homemaker Rabri Devi his successor following he was named the chief suspect in the fodder fraud.
This time, the series perfectly addresses every aspect of the political and social that has impacted the state, whether it’s the jungle raj, the open danger to the life of a person, the scourge of corruption that appears in every single file of Bihar administration and the inquiry commission that follows the murder that was portrayed as an untimely death or the ‘Verma Commission which is a subtle nod to the Mandal Commission as the series makes use of the creative license in a generous way.
New alliances that are unlikely are formed friendships and loyalties are tested, and political killings sprinkled with an abundance of collusion of political power and administration as the race to be Chief Minister’s post gets more momentum.
Season 2 fares better than its predecessor, and it’s hard to forget the outstanding performance of Huma Qureshi, Amit Sial, Pramod Pathak, Vineet Kumar and Dibyendu Bhattacharya who never fail to impress, always!
aa/kvd
