‘Kohrra’ Season 2 series review: Mona Singh pierces through the mist of motives in this intriguing police procedural

There has always been a gap between the Punjab we watch on screen and the one we actually experience off-screen. Of late, there has been an attempt to look beyond the lavish weddings, bhangra beats, and bucolic humour. Carrying forward the Maachis that Gulzar lit in 1996 and Gurvinder Singh nurtured over the years, Sudeep Sharma’s Kohrra is one such significant attempt to pierce through the miasma that hangs over the mustard fields.

After a drug-fuelled wedding murder opened a can of caste divide in the first season, the second season opens with blood in the barn, and the investigation gradually unravels layers of exploitation of farm labour. Those who follow the fine print in the news must have heard stories of debt bondage in farms and brick kilns in the pind, and Sudeep gives this search for the lost migrants from Bihar and Jharkhand a compelling context.

When NRI Preeti Bajwa (Pooja Bhamrrah) is found brutally murdered next to her brother Baljinder’s (Anurag Arora) bellowing buffalo in Dalerpura, the needle of suspicion moves like a casino roulette in slow motion.

Suvinder Vicky gives way to Mona Singh as the no-nonsense cop Dhanwant Kaur, who, like her predecessor, carries the pain of unresolved trauma. She is trying to work her way through it, but finds grief is like a bad penny, it returns unannounced at the neighbourhood roundabout.

Barun Sobti returns as the sharp, witty sub-inspector Amarpal Garundi and charms with his grounded charisma. Garundi has moved on from his native village, but the familial ghosts he left behind continue to haunt him and threaten his ‘silky’ relationship. As the two damaged souls turn the pages of Preeti’s past, family fractures, patriarchal structures, and social tensions surface, revealing unsettling truths about the times we live in.

The haze holds many interesting stories and compelling characters. Be it Preeti’s too-good-to-be-true husband (Ranvijay Singha) or her ambitious dancing partner in reels, Johnny Malang (Vikhyat Gulati), nobody seems aboveboard. Whether it’s the son (Prayrak Mehta) searching for his father, who left their village in Jharkhand in search of greener pastures, or Malang’s influencer girlfriend, the supporting cast has credible faces and voices. There are henchmen with solid backstories that remind one of the police atrocities of the insurgency period, spread across the narrative as red herrings.

The law might grant daughters equal property rights, but the reality on the ground is different. And it is not just brothers who feel threatened when a daughter shows up at the door; the mothers and sisters-in-law who had sacrificed their rights to sustain patriarchy or goodwill also hold a grudge. This is a complex situation, and Sharma, along with co-director Faisal Rehman, brings noir home.

In terms of form, the show builds on its strengths: the misty rural Punjab gives it a distinct texture, and the dialect doesn’t sound rehearsed. As the characters speak Hindi with different Punjabi inflections, it adds to the rooted appeal. The Punjabi of Muskan Arora, who plays Garundi’s wife, flows like a river, while Anurag, a familiar face these days, chews up his ego and accent. Unhurried pacing and an eschewal of flashy twists in favour of character-driven drama make the series feel like lived reality.

The problem is that, in the long form, you get attuned to the creator’s signature style, and even if you appreciate it, the surprise element and the raw appeal begin to ebb, and the slow burn starts to blow out. Unlike the first season, where the balance between character study, commentary, and the crime investigation at hand felt raw and natural, here the mystery feels staged once the personal stories take over. You can tell the makers are throwing an emotional hook to connect with our deepest feelings. The effort shows, but when the narrative eventually connects, it grips, and the living wounds bleed and heal in a rhythmic pattern.

There has always been a gap between what Mona can offer and what filmmakers have offered her. Here, as a grieving mother in police uniform, she is a powerhouse ready to implode. In a series that offers a lot of pathos, it is Dhanwant’s fractured relationship with her alcoholic husband (Pradhuman Singh Mall’s portrayal of a man reduced to a shell is excellent), who drowns his guilt in drink, that provides the most poignant and honest moments that help you find yourself in Kohrra.

Kohrra Season 2 is currently streaming on Netflix

Published – February 12, 2026 08:29 pm IST