The Broken News S2 Review - The Civil War Of Journalism Gets Grittier

The Broken News S2 Review: Vinay Waikul's civil war of journalism continues its explosive news break in the second season of The Broken News. Starring Jaideep Ahlawat, Sonali Bendre, and Shriya Pilgaonkar, the story continues from where we left, and don't worry, it doesn't stretch things till season 3, as you get a fulfilling end with a slight hope of the future, saying, "Dekhte Hai." It's ironic that a web series speaks about honest journalism and exposes many insights into paid and agenda-driven journalism when every single PR, celebrity, and production team are themselves involved in buying fake reviews these days (including this one). So, it becomes a bigger responsibility to get the review done more honestly. Yes, it's fun to see some journalism and reporting tactics on display to give the public a better idea of what goes into turning news into a masala headline. How those political polls and agendas are promoted by some channels and how some are against them. If the exposure of social media memes, trolls, and influencers sees some changes in the public's opinion after this, then, I guess, Vinay Waikul has made a product of a lifetime because it has changed the lives of people. Since I am a journalist myself and a part of this "system," I leave that decision to you.The Broken News S2 starts off after Radha Bhargava's (Shriya Pilgaokar) arrest. She has been rotting in jail for nearly 30 days or so for going against the system. Dipankar Sanyal (Jaideep Ahlawat) offers her help—more like an apology—but she refuses. Amina Qureshi (Sonali Bendre) and her channel are standing behind Radha, and after a lot of hurdles, she is out on bail. It's a funny thing that this bail or arrest is never mentioned after that. SOME artificial writing piece. However, Radha has changed now. She is no longer the same journalist who stood for truth and society. Now, her only agenda is to destroy CM and Dipankar's agendas. Blind in rage, she forgets all the ethics, and that puts her up against her mentor, Amina, and her colleagues too. Her eagerness for revenge takes her away from journalism, and that's quite plausible considering her age and what she has gone through. I mean, she wasn't supposed to be mature and strategic like Amina or Dipankar. Will she be able to defeat Dipankar and CM while her own morals have turned against her?The Broken News S2 has a brilliant screenplay, I must say. Nowadays, almost every web series starts boring you after half the show is over (somewhere around the 5th or 6th episode). Fortunately, The Broken News Season 2 breaks that myth. It's the only the eighth episode that's messy; otherwise, the rest of the 7 episodes are extremely engaging and full of engrossing drama. The series comes to an end with some predictable tricks we have seen over time and again, but the screenplay gives it some nice buildup. Every single episode is a perfect follow-up to the previous one, unlike many other series that run on different paths with different episodes. The dialogues are crispy. He asks, "Kaise?" And the reply is, "Paise!" "Hum journalist hai saale" is a motivation for us. Besides, the conclusion makes good sense, even though it takes a messy root to reach its destination. Several newsroom arguments, taunts, and expressional fights are superb. That hunger for on-field reporting gets hardly one or two scenes, but it is worth it. Amina's moral speeches are truly inspiring. That was expected, though, and then you have a typical formula of two or maybe three different sides: positive, negative, and neutral. Despite that predictable subplot and a few death-boring wannabe romantic stories, things are comfortably placed to keep you hooked throughout the show. Thank God, it didn't go to sex scenes. I mean, that's a monumental achievement for any web series nowadays. Netflix, Prime, and Sony LIV may commit suicide after hearing this.Talking about performances, I won't say this was Jaideep Ahlawat at his best because I believe he has given better performances than this in his career. I could notice slight dull moments from him and take them as unexpected tragedies. Excluding that, he was fairly good. Sonali Bendre is top-notch again. I mean, our editorial heads don't look that sexy, but she is Sonali Bendre after all. Arrest that make-up man/woman right now! I just loved those specs and the way she removed them during intense scenes. Shriya Pilgaonkar has done it again. A few mistakes in the character, but they belonged to the writer, not her. Indraneil Sengupta and Taaruk Raina have done well, while Geetika Ohlyan is the biggest surprise package in the entire cast. Arrest the same makeup man again for a sexy makeover of Akshay Oberoi. I mean, he has never looked so sexy and funky on screen like this. Sanjeeta Bhattacharya, Sukhmani Sadana, Suchitra Pillai, Dinkar Sharma, Jay Upadhyay, Faisal Rashid, and others have been superb in their supporting roles.Technically, it's a well-made series if you don't have any high expectations. The camera work is decent, but it could have been better because I think the story of journalism deserves some of those nerve-cracking frames, close-ups, blackouts, and shaky angles. The sound design is pretty average. The newsroom locations and entire setup are created exactly as per demand. Music isn't that good, but okay, I guess, since we don't look for music in series as much as we don't in films. Vinay Waikul's conviction failed me sometimes, but not entirely. The Broken News S2 can be seen as a dramatic revolution in journalism stories that we haven't had for years. Hollywood was lucky to get the likes of Five Star Final (1931), Scandal Sheet (1952), All The President's Men (1976), The China Syndrome (1979), and Spotlight (2015). The idea of Network (1976) isn't for me. Vinay's on-camera civil war of journalism finds a probable median between Network and the rest of the kinds, so let's just give him a big round of applause for attempting that. The Broken News is very realistic despite its cinematic liberty, and that's the best thing about it. Don't miss this grittier journalism series. We may not get something like this anytime soon.