Mohanagar 2: Exploring the ghosts in the system

After dropping in mid-2021 on the online streaming platform Hoichoi, Mosharraf Karim-starrer Mohanagar season one, with Ashfaque Nipun at the helm, created a lot of buzz, both in Bangladesh and West Bengal.

Some people were even quick to jump to the opinion that it was probably the best Bangla web-series to date. 

Some nicely knitted characters, combined with performances of the highest calibre, made the first season truly a show to remember. 

Still, there remained some naysayers, questioning the necessity of yet another crime thriller with a police officer as the protagonist. 

They had their reasons too. Crime thrillers revolving around cops with intriguing character arcs have become somewhat of a cliche in the last one decade or so. 

Not only the Bangladeshi or Indian ones, but some of the best American, British, Australian, European and even the scandi-noir shows have also followed the same plot tropes. 

Thus, the audience familiar with Ashfaque Nipun's earlier works were left a bit disappointed with what unfolded in Mohanagar 1. 

Frankly speaking, it felt like Nipun was compromising with his trademark style of dealing with socially-conscious subject matter for the sake of impressing a new host of audiences, especially from the other side of the border. 

And this brings us to the point why Mohanagar season two, shifting from an outright crime thriller to a subtle socio-political commentary, can really hit the right chord with the acclaimed director's cult following and new viewers alike.

Granted, Mohanagar season two is still a kaleidoscope tale, and the storyline is heavily scattered. But the most striking part is its graduation to a more serious and business-like approach, without sacrificing the simplicity that always lies at the heart of Nipun's storytelling. 

The story of the season kicks off right from where it left in the previous one, with OC Harun (Mosharraf Karim) 'detained' by members of an unknown force in plain clothes. 

He is taken to the interrogation room, and soon it is revealed that he is being probed for another case that occurred two years ago, when he allegedly released the prime suspect of a high-profile case.

We get to see flashbacks from two years back in Harun's own account. But it is very difficult to determine which part of his narrative is true, and which one isn't. 

And that's what makes the season a very interesting watch. It's like a fiction within a fiction, which makes one's consciousness unable to distinguish reality from a simulation of reality. 

But at the core of the story is the bleak picture of reality in Bangladesh. As OC Harun rightly says, "There are ghosts in every nook and cranny of this system." 

Nipun, with this series, takes a bold step in bringing some of those ghosts to light, one at a time; though carefully avoiding to make it look like he is really intending to do so. 

With utmost grit and courage, Nipun incorporates some regular but unrepresented events (on the mass media) of this country to this seemingly "yet another crime thriller", which is very commendable, and at times evokes genuine surprise.  

The Bangladeshi audiences are bound to get goosebumps with the references of every single event from recent memory, related to the state's cranky system. 

However, one quarter of the Indian audiences, ignorant of what is going on in their neighbouring nation, will have a hard time perceiving the inside jokes, and whatever statement Nipun is trying to make with this story. 

On the performance front, Mosharraf Karim delivers yet another top-notch act, even if this time he had to shoulder double duties. 

While in the flashback scenes, he is close to his true self (like what we saw in the first season), but he is more like a cornered tiger in the current one. 

Needless to say, the veteran actor excels in both roles in equal measure.

And this time around, he is well supported and complemented by Fazlur Rahman Babu, another master actor our industry has been blessed with. 

The scenes involving Mosharraf and Babu – playing the role of an investigator – as well as their verbal back and forth, is a treat to the eyes. 

In fact, it is the dialogues that do the heavy lifting throughout the series. Kudos to director Nipun once again for the crisp dialogues, demonstrating the metaphorical significance par excellence.

And they can also ignite tension and excitement like no other. 

Shamol Mawla, the 'OTT king' of the country, also delivers a solid performance as Afnan Chowdhury. Even though his character and story take somewhat of a backseat here, he still remains one of the pillars that bridges the two seasons. 

However, the absence of Moloy, played by Mostafizur Noor Imran, was greatly felt. He was the breakout star of Mohanagar 1, and one can only wonder if the decision to omit him from this season was a right one. 

Technically too, Mohanagar is a very sound series. 

Its background score is good enough to create an unsettling atmosphere, or sometimes lend a comic relief, in accordance with what the story demands. 

And the cinematography is just about right as well, depicting the night life of both the metropolis and a mofussil city, as well as the interiors of a police station and the headquarters of that undisclosed force, to near perfection. 

Overall, Mohanagar season two is a great sequel to its previous instalment, foraying into a territory unexplored in any Bangla content previously. 

On most occasions, series creators in this part of the world fail to live up to the expectation in the returning seasons, but Mohanagar is a glorious exception. 

If you liked the first season, you will probably find the second one even better. And it wouldn't be much of an exaggeration to say that this Ashfaque Nipun creation is indeed one of the best things to ever happen in the history of Bangla content industry.