Kathmandu Connection, was clearly one of the most underrated web shows last year with a fantastic story and multiple twists and turns sharp enough to leave the viewer in awe. After ending on a high note with an absolutely unexpected climax, the second season promised a lot, but as has been the trend, doesn’t create as much impact as the original. Still, the SonyLIV thriller manages to pack a punch with brilliant performances and tight storytelling.
Amit Sial’s cop loses everything after being painted as a terrorist in the first season. Not keeping his nose out of strange matters and his urge to clear his tarnished image brings him back in the second season. He yearns for acceptance from his daughter and does all he can to win back his lost honour. Jailed criminal Sunny Sharma (Anshuman Pushkar) is paying the price for his love for a journalist until she contacts him once again in order to unearth a dangerous conspiracy. The show is set in the backdrop of the 1999 IC 814 plane hijack and the Indo-Pak peace summit with several characters coming together in Kathmandu to do what each one of them is supposed to do.
The show starts well in the first half as the creator sets up a terrorist attack at the Indo-Pak peace summit but soon becomes repetitive and predictable with a story told too often. With all OTT platforms flooded with shows on averting terrorist attacks, Kathmandu Connection does its bit in adding more meat, but I still miss the thrill Family Man season 2 served in a similar backdrop. Intertwined lives of pivotal characters keep the entertainment quotient intact until the last minute and it only helps not to stretch the storyline more than the existing runtime. A few glitches do not go unnoticed but the overall theme lets us move over them.
{{/usCountry}}The show starts well in the first half as the creator sets up a terrorist attack at the Indo-Pak peace summit but soon becomes repetitive and predictable with a story told too often. With all OTT platforms flooded with shows on averting terrorist attacks, Kathmandu Connection does its bit in adding more meat, but I still miss the thrill Family Man season 2 served in a similar backdrop. Intertwined lives of pivotal characters keep the entertainment quotient intact until the last minute and it only helps not to stretch the storyline more than the existing runtime. A few glitches do not go unnoticed but the overall theme lets us move over them.
{{/usCountry}}What I love about the series is how the protagonist and the antagonist undergo role reversal with more than one climax. The second season doesn’t match up to the thrill of the first one but is still worth a watch despite slightly predictable story. The runtime of the six-episode series also works in its favour as the crisply edited show doesn’t let one bat an eyelid. Serving same old tea but with a perfect taste is key.
The performances too keep the boat afloat. Amit Sial looks lost and dishelved without a uniform and convincingly plays the part of a man who has lost it all. Anurag Arora as his former colleague shines yet again with a bigger and better part. Aksha Pardasany, too, does a decent job as a determinant journalist especially in her last scene. Anshumaan Pushkar as Sunny Sharma has too much going on and doesn’t disappoint and you can also catch Panchayat’s Binod in a decent role.
As the creator teases yet another overused theme for the next instalment, a novel script with more twists and turns would be the need of the hour. And with a team like this one, that shouldn’t be an impossible task. Until then, this one can be passed off as a one-time binge watch.
Kathmandu Connection season 2
Director: Sachin Pathak
Cast: Amit Sial , Aksha Pardasany , Anshuman Pushkar, Prashant Narayanan , Anurag Arora, Harleen Sethi
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