Netflix’s crime thriller delves deeper into the world of phishing and fraud with bigger scams but ends up being a mediocre watch with many faults.
Jamtara - Sabka Number Aayega was a unique show when the first season came out. There hadn’t been a slick web series on the phishing empire run in India from the backwaters of this tiny Jharkhand suburb. And naturally it captured people’s imagination.
The challenge for the second season was to maintain that intrigue and again offer something new.
Jamtara, as you would remember, is the capital of phishing and credit card fraud in India, run by boys who come across as rank amateurs but can clean up your bank account with just a phone call.
The show’s second season takes off from the season 1 finale. Gudiya (Monika Pawar) is contesting the Assembly elections against her former tormenter Brajesh Bhaan (Amit Sial).
The show uses demonetisation beautifully, setting season 2 in the middle of that time, highlighting the 'problems' faced by scammers due to the sudden step.
This sets up the second season quite beautifully as the scammers are, for the first time, behind the law and must catch up and innovate.
It’s a changed landscape that offers so much promise. The trouble with Jamtara is that the show tries to be smart and ends up being too clever for its own good.
Jamtara 2 takes an interesting route with demonetization and introducing the innovations scammers come up with, in order to counter it.
The show has a few tricks up its sleeve there, but it has its fair share of faults as well. In the end, it draws and engages the viewer, giving somewhat of a payoff but never really becomes a great watch, just a decent one.