REJCTX 2 – Series Review
REJCTX 2 – Series Review
ZEE5 is back with another season of REJCTX. REJCTX 2, promoted as hotter, bolder and more dangerous than season 1, premiered on ZEE5 on May 14th 2020.
The lockdown due to COVID-19 across the globe has caused the economies to crash. Most of the industries and business domains are struggling to cope with the new normal. In the midst of all this, there is still a segment that is doing well. It has caused the majority of people to stay indoors and consume more and more TV and digital content. The urban crowd, these days prefers OTT platforms and digital content over the traditional TV content, where we are getting to see re-runs of yesteryears mega-hit serials like Ramayan and Mahabharat.
Plot
It is a teen musical thriller and a coming of age story that revolves around the lives of seven Indian students studying in The Jefferson World School. These privileged kids are thrust into the exclusive world of the rich, right where they belong. But eventually, they find themselves at the disposal of their own insecurities. The bunch of misfits and rebels make a musical squad and choose music as the form of expression for that restlessness.
My Review
The second season starts off with the mysterious death of Anushka Rao, played by Kubbra Sait. Given Anushka’s recent history, it was obvious that Aarav Sharma (Ahmed Masi Wali) was the prime suspect. Aarav shoot his father, but it is revealed that it didn’t kill him and only injured his arm. Aarav, yet to come to terms with her mother’s death, joins back school to bring in some normalcy back in his life. Kiara, his Ex, tries to help him get through the murky phase.
The first season was full of incidents of fat-shaming, bullying, illegitimate teacher-student relationships, kidnapping and gun violence in school. Over the course of eight episodes, a faceless “X” sets a trap for every member of REJCTX which leads to an attack on a fresher, a porn clip in making and a supposed death of a REJCTX member.
Police officer Rene (Esha Gupta) is assigned to investigate the case. Things take a different turn when Aarav’s doppelganger, a janitor named Jackie, comes into the picture.
Harry’s misadventures put his friend Maddy in a spot – an incident that would haunt him time and again. A student Parnamitra’s revelation about her school mate in reference to a doping charge results in the latter’s death. Sehmat and Misha haven’t committed themselves to each other yet, but they are in a spot of bother when an instinctive reaction leads to a mishap. Officer Rene is leaving no stone unturned to connect the dots.
RejctX is like a fusion of student of the year with a slick Sanjay Gupta movie, high on show, low on content. The aesthetics are top-notch. You never go to watch Student of the Year (SOTY) for its content and yet these movies end up doing multi-crore business, entering into clubs like a 100-crore club, 200-crore club, etc. So, something is definitely working for them that pulls the crowds into the multiplexes. Same is the case with series like REJCTX 2.
The regular Indian audience seldom relates to a story of about a bunch of privileged kids in a larger-than-life setting in Singapore, the filmmaker’s task isn’t easy.
Goldie Behl with REJCTX had packed in a juicy cocktail of teenage angst, romance and crime with season one. The pulpy, pulsating narration, the inoffensive one-note characterisation made it a welcome addition to the Indian digital space. REJCTX tries really hard to imitate shows and movies like Elite, Riverdale, Gossip Girls, High school musical and pretty little liars, which are known for their visual appeal over plot strength.
The show does get something right, the tense vibe. Someone who has invested a lot of time in the series would find it interesting how their lives are intermingled. The end to the show could have been much better, but like most of the series from this genre, you might be disappointed there. However, for another instalment, there are a few subplots that are left open-ended as well. The canvas of REJCTX is still open – hope Goldie Behl channelizes it better next time.
Cast and Crew
Sumeet Vyas, The SRK of the streaming world does an okay job. If you are solely going for Sumeet Vyas then you might better watch any of his previous work easily available on multiple platforms. He could have done a better job in this role and would have helped him
shake his image a bit. The show definitely misses first season’s star performer, Kubra Sait.
But REJCTX 2, delivers on its promise especially with the introduction of the new cast members Esha Gupta and Tanvi Shinde. They do a decent job of their parts. Masi Wasl, the lead actor has still a long way to go.
Verdict
If you are going to watch it for writing quality I would say, skip it. But if you are a SOTY crowd then it has definitely more to offer than the movie itself. For a series where the lead group is a music band, the music is pretty average, which done right could have been the high point of this series.
If you liked this review – You can read my review of ZEE5’s original Rangbaaz here.
Do let me know if you want me to review any series for you in the comments sections. Share your feedback about this review.
