Asur 2 -The Rise Of The Dark Side, The Arshad Warsi-Barun Sobti Starrer Mythological Thriller Will Keep You Hooked Till The Last Minute

- Director - Oni Sen 

- Series Creator - Gaurav Shukla

- Cast - Arshad Warsi, Barun Sobti, Anupriya Goenka, Ridhi Dogra, Amey Wagh, Vishesh Bansal, Abhishek Chauhan, Gaurav Arora, Meiyang Chang, Atharva Vishwakarma, Barkha Bisht Sengupta

- Available to watch on - Jio Cinema 

- Run time - 8 episodes 

The mythological drama series, Asur 2 premiered on 1st June, 2023 on the Jio Cinema platform.

Asur 2 Story – “Asur” Is Back Again With His Lethal Plans To Wipe Off The Human Civilisation 

“Lagaav hi peeda hai, karuna hi kroorata hai, aur ant hi praarambh hai”  We hear “Asur” aka Subh recite these very powerful lines a number of times in the thriller series. It translates to the meaning that attachment is pain, compassion is cruelty, and the end is the beginning. However, without emotions, attachment and compassion, humanity ceases to exist. And this is what our villain wants in this crime thriller series! Asur aka Subh is back yet again with his notorious plans to destroy the world. 

The first season of Asur premiered in the year of 2020, and saw a great hit! The gripping storyline and the excellent acting powered with skilful cinematography and direction earned a lot of name and fame among the cine critics! Three years later in 2023, director Oni Sen with Gaurav Shukla and Vibhav Shikdar is back again with the sequel of the first season. But, is the successor of the blockbuster hit of 2020 really worth your time? 

Directed by the talented Oni Sen, the Asur 2 episode 1 begins from where Season 1 left off! The incidents which unleashed at the end of Season 1 took a toll on the entire CBI team. While we saw Lolark dead in the final scenes, the real intention of Rasool was also uncovered. The blood-curdling stare that Rasool gives to DJ in the final season was surely one of the best moments in the film!

The Season 2 picks up where the previous ones were left off! Based in the mystical city of Varanasi, the first episode unleashes before us a failed Dhananjay Rajpoot, aka DJ (Arshad Warsi) who now lives in a monastery after losing his wife in the first season to the serial killer Subh. On the other hand, we see a depressed Nikhil Nair ( Barun Sobti) who lost his daughter while working on the case. His wife, played by the ever-charming Anupriya Goenka files for a divorce from Nikhil post the death of their daughter. The first episode uncovers before us the hardships faced by the CBI team members who have now lost all hope to trace down the “Asur”! In the subsequent episodes, we find Subh aka Asur mercilessly killing several innocents in the name of purifying the entire creation. “ Pralaay ka aarambh hone ja raha hai” points us to the gruesome murders smoothly planned by Subh who believes that good and innocent people must be killed -  because humanity is a “beemari”, a disease which needs to be wiped off! He thinks of himself as the “Kali”, and he believes that by killing the innocents, he will invite the Kalki to fight with Subh aka Kali aka Asur! Will the CBI team members join hand to hand again to stop the ruthless killings in the country? For that, you need to watch the Asur 2-Rise Of The Dark Side on the Jio Cinema Platform. 

While the 2020 season 1 showed us how Subh aka Asur mercilessly murdered his father, Season 2 catches up on the subsequent murders smoothly executed by the “Asur”. Each and every episode begins with a flashback from Subh's horrific past and the traumas he has dealt in his childhood. This forces the audience to think – are we born into this world as an “Asur” as quoted by Subh’s father, or do we gradually grow to become evil soul when forced into life-threatening situations? 

The story skilfully creates a connection between ancient Indian mythology, technology, and human psychology. The further addition of the Kali vs Kalki myth from the ancient Hindu scriptures added yet another interesting element to the drama series. The strong storytelling, gripping dialogues blending ancient myths to the modern world geo-political situations deserves a special mention. 

Asur 2: Performances 

The DJ-Nikhil duo is back again to uncover the mysteries of the dark world! Although DJ aka Arshad Warsi has a much-limited role to play in Season 2 as compared to Season 1, he did exceptionally well! The fearless leader, Dhananjay Rajpoot added the much-needed interesting element to the film. 

Barun Sobti as Nikhil Nair is a joy to watch on the big screen. With his effortless and natural performance, he has been able to grip the viewers till the last minute. The DJ-NIKHIL duo comes together in the second season to track down the evil Subh from executing his gruesome murder plans. 

Naina, played by Anupriya Goenka has definitely levelled up a lot in the second season. While the first season didn’t really see much of the capabilities of Naina, season 2 is completely the opposite. Here we can see the coding capabilities of Naina, who uses her computational and programming skills to hack Asur's system. Although she had a very small role to play in the sequel, her performance deserves special mention. 

In comparison to Anupriya in Season 2, Ridhi Dogra as Nusrat didn’t really do much for the series. Compared to her strong portrayal of her character in Season 1, Season 2 could not actually use Ridhi Dogra to her full potential. Much of the film shows Nusrat following her team members like a robot, without having any opinion of her own. Overall, her performance was not that praiseworthy! 

Paul Shangpliang, played by Meiyang Chang did a fabulous job in the Asur 2 series. Playing the dashing role of an ATF officer, Meiyang once again succeeded in breaking the stereotypical roles assigned to North Eastern actors in the B-town industry. Although his performance could have been better, still, he did very well in the drama series. A fierce and strong ATF officer, Meiyang Chang added an interesting element to the crime thriller series. 

Ishaani, played by Adithi, although did a fab job, but the makers could not actually utilize her fullest potential. The strong Ishaani, who had an opinion of her own, could not actually impact the film to a greater extent. Her moves were quite predictable, unlike a CBI member! 

The winner in the series is Vishesh Bansal, aka the teenage Subh. The way he delivered a fantastic performance at such a young age is indeed praiseworthy. The ease with which we performed complex scenes is worthy of applauds. While on the other side, we see Abhishek Chauhan playing the role of adult Subh who was an utter disappointment. He could not bring in the fierceness and cruelness to his look which Bansal did fantastically! 

The miracle boy, played by Atharva Vishwakarma, though had very less time on the big screen, did manage to deliver an excellent performance! His calm attitude, with a beautiful smile, was a charm to watch on the screen. 

Talking about the direction and technical aspects, the Asur 2 team did a great job. The writers Saurav Shukla, Niren Bhatt, Abhijeet Khuman and Pranay Patwardhan deserve a special mention for their phenomenal creation. The gripping storyline, with strong dialogues and all-round suspense, were the major hit of the season. The writers did a great job of creating a connection between ancient Indian mythology and AI ( Artificial Intelligence) to create the most thrilling series of all time. 

Coming to the director Oni Sen, he did an exceptionally good job with the sequel. The way he blended technology and mythology and related it to present-day geo-political situations is just outstanding. 

The Music Director Dharamraj Bhatt is also deserving of a special mention for his beautiful work. The impactful music not only spurred suspense but also added a great impact during the nail-biting moments! 

Ramanuj Dutta with his cinematography skills delivered quality work throughout the season. On the other hand, editor Charu Takkar could have performed better. 

What Was Asur 2 All About? 

What was Asur 2 all about? Was it only a war between humans and the AI? Not really! Asur 2, through its thrilling stories and merciless murders also teaches us about the importance of mental health these days! If one traces the traumatic events faced by Subh, where he was mentally and physically harassed by his father, who believed that his child was an “Asur”, a demon, a negative figure, one would surely grasp the idea of why Subh later turned into an evil soul! The show further makes us aware of the rising trend of AI in recent years. While Artificial Intelligence is beneficial, there are several ill effects of the same as seen in Asur 2! The tampering of privacy by AI, and instigating a war through AI help points us in one direction – excessive dependence on AI would only lead to the destruction of human civilisation!

The Final Verdict 

Much like its prequel, the Asur 2-The Rise Of The Dark Side also ended with a cliffhanger! The makers left an open end to the film, which possibly points in the direction that we might expect a Season 3 soon, which is good news for the fans. 

If you have watched Asur season 1, you will surely enjoy watching its sequel on Jio Cinema! Asur 2 delivered quality work with its logical storyline, excellent performances and good direction with great VFX work. But, it was not a successful successor to the 2020 hit! 

Rating – 4.5/5. 

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