‘Kohrra 2’: The show returns with a deeper melancholy

The fog is back in Punjab. Kohrra’s second season digs deeper, with even more melancholy. Premiering on 11 February on Netflix, the show moves to a new location with a new power dynamic, pairing returning assistant sub-inspector Amarpal Garundi (Barun Sobti) with a new commanding officer, Dhanwant Kaur (Mona Singh), as they investigate a fresh murder case in Dalerpura. Created by Gunjit Chopra, Diggi Sisodia and Sudip Sharma, and directed by Sharma and Faisal Rahman, Kohrra once again uses crime as a way in, with Season 2 focusing on silences, grief and the ways the past keeps catching up.

For Sharma, the biggest challenge was resisting the urge to replicate what had worked before. “Rather than trying to look at the things that worked in Season 1, I was more worried about not repeating myself,” he says, admitting that the temptation with successful shows is often to reshuffle familiar beats. Instead, the writers chose to let go of Balbir Singh, despite the love the character and actor Suvinder Vicky received. “Balbir’s story, the emotional arcs of all of his major tracks, were kind of done,” Sharma explains, adding that Garundi, newly married and convinced he has outrun his messy past, still had “a life to live.”

That decision opened the door for Dhanwant Kaur, a senior female officer carrying her own history, grief and contradictions. After years of writing male cops across Paatal Lok and Kohrra, Sharma says there was also a personal urge to explore a woman in authority navigating age, emotional fatigue and change. Mona Singh, who steps into the series as Dhanwant, calls the script the true hero of the show. “It’s bang on.” What drew her in was not just the strength of the character but her quietude, the way she brings calm and gravitas while carrying unresolved grief and the complexities of private struggles around motherhood. Singh notes that Kohrra thrives on what is left unsaid.

“There are a lot of silences and the unspoken understanding between Garundi and Dhanwant works beautifully for me,” she says, describing the new season as darker, quieter and “very disturbing” in how closely it mirrors life. That balance between a compelling whodunit and an intimate character study remains central to Kohrra’s DNA. Sharma is clear that while the murder mystery provides momentum, it is never the point. “For me, it’s a show about relationships,” he says, describing the investigation as a conduit to explore what characters are suppressing beneath the surface.

The challenge, he admits, is walking a tightrope between delivering procedural thrills and allowing the deeper emotional layers to surface. As the case unfolds, the investigation begins to expose the investigators’ own unresolved conflicts. Barun Sobti, who returns as Garundi, recalls reading scenes that immediately made him eager to dive in. While the crime ticks along in the background, Sobti believes the foreground belongs to the characters’ internal journeys. “What’s in the foreground is the emotional arcs,” he says. Garundi’s attempts to steady his personal life while confronting echoes of his past are as central this season as Dhanwant’s own journey.

Singh describes Dhanwant as one of the most challenging roles she has played, precisely because of its restraint. Intense workshops and readings were essential to inhabiting someone who communicates as much through silence as through action, she says. Punjab itself continues to loom large, not just as a setting but as a presence. Director Faisal Rahman, who joins the show this season, says that while he isn’t from Punjab, his familiarity with Sharma’s work and his experience as an associate director on Paatal Lok helped him find his footing. “It’s a world that you just see, absorb and observe carefully,” he says, adding that the script itself guided the tone and emotion.

Themes of parenthood and childhood run quietly through the season, something Sharma says emerged subconsciously. “It’s the first primary relationship of our lives,” he reflects, considering how early bonds shape love, violence and legacy. Rahman builds on that thought, noting how ageing and watching friends become parents inevitably leads to reflection. “That way of looking becomes an integral part of how we are exploring those relationships,” he says. Ultimately, the cast and creators hope viewers connect with Season 2 on a personal level. Rahman says the season is about acceptance—learning to live with grief, loss and the limits life puts on you.

Singh agrees, adding that the show doesn’t shy away from uncomfortable truths or avoid “the elephant in the room.” Sobti says he’s bracing himself for questions about whether things really happen this way in Punjab. For Sharma, though, it all comes back to “the idea of love.” “That’s what the first season was about too,” he says. “The nature of love there was messier, more hurtful—about the pain we inflict and accept. This season looks at another side of love, one that’s more mature, more accepting, more understanding.”

Udita Jhunjhunwala (@UditaJ) is a film critic and curator.