Laado 2 Review: Strong portrayals buckle the concept

Colors’ Laado 2- Veerpur Ki Mardani focuses on sensitive subjects like women trafficking, abuse, misogyny and female foeticide. The story is based in a small village Veerpur. Amma ji has softened her heart over all these years. She raises her granddaughters Anushka and Jhanvi with much love and care. Veerpur is now ruled by an evil man Balwant Singh, who sells off girls for a hefty price. The situation in the village worsens.

Amma ji wants to keep her granddaughters away from Veerpur, knowing the land is no more safe for them. Veerpur gets dominated by sick minded men. Women are subjected to tortures, abuse and inequality. Amma ji loses Jhanvi. Anushka takes a stand to get her rightful place in the society. Amma ji leads Anushka in their fight against injustice. The second chapter of the cult show Na Aana Is Des Laado brings a totally different avatar of Amma ji.

Main Characters:

Amma ji:
Amma ji is a strong, daring, intense and loving person. She has completely changed over the years. She addresses the sensitive issues of women’s dignity and rights. She is happy raising her granddaughters, far away from her homeland. She gets fierce and stern in the hour of need. Amma ji presents her new side, that of a caring woman with a golden heart. She gives good values to her granddaughters. She takes the sole responsibility of protecting them. It becomes a shattering moment for her when she loses Jhanvi to the bad clutches of Veerpur.

Anushka:
Anushka is a brave, daring and independent girl. She has a mind of her own. She has ability to take strict decisions and adhere to it. She believes in gender equality. Anushka can’t tolerate any injustice or women abuse. She takes a stand daringly for what seems wrong to her. Anushka is fearless, just like Amma ji. She has firm belief in law. She gets guidance from Amma ji. They try to bring a change in Veerpur to protect the women.

Cast:

Meghna Malik as Ammaji
Avika Gor As Anushkha
Palak Jain as Jhanvi
Shaleen Malhotra as Yuvraj
Ankit Raj as Ranbir Singh
Zalak Desai as Komal
Gulfam Khan as Rajoo
Saii Ranade Sane as Meera
Hemaan Chaudhary as Tej Singh
Dakssh Ajit Singh as Rantej Singh
Rituraj Singh as Balwant Singh
Paaras Madaan as Jai Dev

Story:

An old man pays a big amount to Balwant Singh in return of a young girl. Balwant agrees to fetch a girl for him. Balwant’s son forcibly kidnaps a girl Champa, who is travelling along with her family. Champa’s family gets helpless knowing Balwant is behind the kidnapping. Anushka is introduced. She saves a girl from a psycho lover. She takes a stand for the girl. She also scolds the people who got scared seeing the knife and didn’t come ahead to save the girl.

Anushka gets the crazy guy arrested. Jhanvi is completely opposite of Anushka. She gets scared of a honey bee. She calls her grandma Amma ji for help. Amma ji helps her. Amma ji doesn’t want Jhanvi to get away from her. She loves Jhanvi more dearly than Anushka. Anushka calls up Jhanvi and tells her the incident. Jhanvi wishes to visit her dad’s village Veerpur.

Jhanvi doesn’t know the bitter truth of Veerpur. Balwant makes his niece Komal dance and entertain the minister. Anushka tells Amma ji that she is going to Haryana for her college project. Champa is forced to marry the old man. Balwant’s son also likes Champa. He makes a mind to get Champa at any cost. Balwant’s son kills the men who marry Champa, and eventually gets her to his haveli, as if he owns her. Balwant doesn’t get angry on his son for his step. Anushka and Jhanvi leave for Veerpur, since they have heard just the good things about the village. Amma ji has hidden her volatile past from them.

Our Take:

The show puts light on the social issues around infanticide and women trafficking. Colors channel has always been bringing bold shows on strong subjects. This very show can moreover be remembered for the strong performances. The concept is predictable. Initial episodes have set the relevant story line. Amma ji will be seen taking revenge for Jhanvi’s death and also pledging the save every young girl of the village. It gets quite obvious to think which way the show will lead now.

Coming to characterizations, Amma ji and Anushka are two strong lead characters, that would change the face and fate of Veerpur. Meghna Malik has put the soul in Amma ji’s role once again. She impresses by her subtle plus strong portrayal. Avika Gor takes the challenging role of Anushka well. She explores something new with the bold, modern and daring character. The scenes depicting terror are unpleasant and disturbing to watch. It will be intriguing to see how Anushka stands up against the cruel men of Veerpur. Supporting cast is fairly good. Story pace has been average. The show should tone down the notorious acts and violent scenes to make it more watchable.

Overall:

The concept might turn interesting from the point where Amma ji takes back all the controls of Veerpur. Viewers can expect the show to get better with coming episodes. Skipping some gruesome scenes, the show can be applauded for the social issues brought to light.

Our Rating:

2.5 out of 5

Feel free to post your reviews in comments below. All off-topic comments will be deleted.