‘Inside Edge 2’ Review

Amazon Prime Video is back with the second season of Inside Edge. After a successful first season released way back in 2017, the second outing promises to be a worthy watch. It has been produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar under the Excel Entertainment banner.  

Inside Edge 2 introduces us to Yashvardhan Patil (Aamir Bashir) also known as Bhaisaab who was just a voice in season one. He unfolds the latest season in a rather menacing way.

The focus of PPL shifts from India to South Africa with Vayu Raghavan (Tanuj Virwani) becoming the captain of Mumbai Mavericks and Arvind Vashisht (Angad Bedi) forced to lead Haryana Hurricanes out of a deal with Manohar Lal Handa (Manu Rishi Chadha), the owner of the team.

The auction scenes and bidding process for selection of players in PPL are very well written and executed by creator director duo Karan Anshuman and Aakash Bhatia. The over bidding strategy adopted by teams is well captured and looks very realistic.

Yashvardhan Patil promotes his daughter Mantra Patil (Sapna Pabbi) as owner of Mumbai Mavericks while Zarina Malik (Richa Chadha) retains her position as co-owner. Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Therefore the stage shifts from glistening board rooms to murky corridors of politics with Bhaisaab as President of the cricket board. He has more sinister game plans up his sleeve to tweak the game of cricket for his own selfish gains. 

Zarina now an expert in spot fixing continues her overambitious plans after garnering the support of Bhaisaab. She is such an opportunist that she goes to an extent of using him to get her sagging acting career elevated by blackmailing her producers. Image Source: Amazon Prime Video

Richa Chadha gives out her best as a wily woman with various shades. Zarina’s bold outlook and never say die attitude are portrayed by her quite admirably and effectively.

Sayani Gupta proves her mettle as Rohini Raghavan, the analyst of Mumbai Mavericks who makes her mark. Particularly in scenes with her father Makarand Deshpande and in the scene where she parts ways with Mumbai Mavericks following a tiff with Vayu, her performance is noteworthy.

A great chunk of cake when it comes to acting invariably goes to lead players Angan Bedi and Tanuj Virwani who steal the show. Bedi played the character of Arvind with remarkable ease and intensity. The flamboyant Virwani does well as a hot headed Vayu Raghavan. However, compared to first season, it’s a bit of a let down as far as his acting is concerned. 

Vivek Oberoi returns as the infamous Vikrant Dhawan to teach Bhaisaab a lesson. His character too is not as fierce as in the first season but Oberoi pulls off a sterling performance nonetheless.

Aamir Bashir as Bhaisaab with his stony expressions is not as ominous as he should be. But the googly by him during the end is a real anti climax to the season 2. Obviously it’s an underlying hint that there is going to be a third season.

The creator and directors Karan Anshuman, Aakash Bhatia and Gurmeet Singh have done a wonderful job in developing Inside Edge 2. Hats off to the whole writing team for the amount of research and homework done to present the details of cricket, be it Yo-Yo, Control Measure, Paddle Sweep or Sabermetrics (a technique adopted by Northamptonshire to win T20 Blast Championship in England).

Even the ugly picture of match fixing and the illegitimate betting business which is thriving worldwide along with the bad influences of PEDs (Performance Enhancing Drugs) is also depicted in an equally earnest way.

The cinematography is spectacular with those eye catching top angle shots which are a real treat to watch. Even the cricketing action has been captured brilliantly to give that actual feel of experiencing the sport in its true form.

Though season 2 of Inside Edge is less gripping and low in thrills, all cricket lovers inadvertently should watch it for its sheer magnanimity. No doubt you are going to get hooked onto it. Keep cheering!