Pitchers 2 will give you a sunny hangover to hold on to

Created By: The Viral Fever

Director : Vaibhav Bundhoo

Story and Screenplay: Vaibhav Bundhoo and Biswapati Sarkar

Cast : Naveen Kasturia, Arunabh Kumar, Abhay Mahajan, Gopal Dutt, Ridhi Dogra, Ashish Vidyarthi, Abhishek Banerjee, and Sikandar Kher

The much awaited show of year Pitchers 2 is here and it’s safe to say that it’s here to be heard. “We can’t become big until we start thinking big,” says Naveen, the leader of the startup to his two friends and co-founders. Pitchers season 2 took seven years to come back to the pitch but the wait is all worthwhile.

The season is thriving on socio-discerning writing and a potpourri of emotions rather than a complex plot or tough messages. While season 1 was about the four friends quitting their nine-to-five jobs to bring their idea into a reality, season 2 has raised the bar and the storyline is more mature and developed just like the things have changed in the past seven years.

Season 2 kicks off with a hunt for saving the startup as it is now a sinking ship. Pragati as the startup is called is lacking funds and it’s tough to sustain. This has caused great unrest to this startup and there’s a lot at the stake now including the friendship of the guys, which hints that the airiness of the journey is challenging. The five episodes of this season follow the three friends through their struggles, from convincing the investors to fund their startup to stand in the storm and understanding endurance.

Naveen, (played by Naveen Kasturia), is at the forefront in the pitch and leading ‘Pragati’. He is smart and ambitious, wishes to make the startup not just India’s but world’s best. He is the one who takes all the major decisions and can do anything to save pragati. Naveen understand the situations far more consciously than the rest of the two. Yet like any other human, he too has behaviour error which make things difficult for the team as a whole.

Mandal ( played by Abhay Mahajan) is the core element of the show. Outstanding performance not just as chief marketing officer of the startup but as the backbone of the show as well. He is very practical and take things a bit too seriously. He completely gets into the skin of the characters and it’s a delight to watch his every move.

Coming to the third friend, Yogi, played by the TVF’s founder Arunabh Kumar, is the team’s emotional armour. After quitting an MBA, he joined hands with the two friends in the journey of the startup. He is mostly a sweetheart of the team, always trying to help the employees and act as a family for each of the twenty-four members of Pragati. Interestingly, he is that one character who has a certain depth, and the writers have beautifully carved out this nuanced one.

Ridhi Dogra as Prachi, venture capitalist to the startup is phenomenal in the show. She genuinely shines and the detailing of her character actually speaks volumes about friendship in today’s times. Prachi sees through the situation and with her practical approach, is able to bring the hard-hitting reality in front of Naveen. However, Naveen misunderstand things and becomes over-ambitious.

The cast and crew of the Pitchers season 2, put up a fair show. Things become absolutely smooth when the casting works okay and in the case of pitchers, it is perfect. The three friends make everything seem relatable- their dilemma seem like everyone’s, their emotions feels like echoing what everyone else goes through while struggling.

In a nutshell, the show is real and raw. It is not just a show about these ambitious men trying to make their startup shine brightest but it is a show that echoes louder and do not shy away from talking about big yet untouched aspect of the work culture that is gender roles and stereotyping. In one of the episodes, the three friends attend an event where the guests who are mostly big and successful startups sat down to discuss the recipes of success. The conversation begins with the host of the event asking an entrepreneur, “What do you feel about it as a female founder?” which clearly brings the issue of gender stereotypes in even as progressive as the business domain is.

Then Bhati, one of the inspirations of Naveen in the startup world says, “Money has no gender.”These minute yet important details of the show are worth noting. The writers have remarkably made what would have otherwise be a dense messaging into a simple code through beautiful and quirky dialogues.

During the entire journey of saving the sinking ship, the friends go through a lot and even their friendship is put on test when the driver of the ship, Naveen, blames the other two men of being irresponsible.

Yet the show doesn’t make it seem as though we are watching a buddy-comedy, in fact, theseason 2 stands out. It is the intelligence with which each episode unfolds that keeps us hooked on to the show. All the five episodes deal with a certain challenge and ends with a lesson.There’s not a moment when we feel that anything is pretentious. Nothing is overdone and the show also refrain from taking the cliched route. While there is an array of shows that are dealing with similar themes, what makes pitchers season 2 win the race is the freshness with which subject is dealt with. Pitchers hit the right chord in this regard and becomes a shoulder for every struggler.

Flowing like a river and revolutionary in taking a stance, the climax of the show is going to make everyone’s eyes moist.At about 60 minutes each, episodes are crisp like an omlette and the twists and turns make it a binge-watch show. Simply put, pitchers season 2 is a perfect pitch to the audience’s heart. We also hope that the next season comes super soon.