REJCTX 2 Review: A Gripping Thriller Heightened By Dangerous And Sensous Romance

The REJCTX returned with a new season which promised to be darker and bolder than the first season. This was no mean feat, because in the first season we witnessed incidents of fat shaming, bullying, illegitimate teacher-student relationships, kidnapping and gun violence in school. But REJCTX 2, delivers on it’s promise especially with the introduction of the new cast members Esha Gupta and Tanvi Shinde. A lot of the credit for this season too goes to Goldie Behl, the director and also the co-writer and he was also a part of the music composition process. The series is produced under his banner Rose Audio Visuals.

Watch the first episode for free here.

REJCTX 2 picks up from where it left off in the first season. We find out that Aarav did shoot his father, but the bullet only injured the arm and no one was killed. Aarav’s father labels him a loser and taunts him for failing to kill him. Anushka is killed, and her death is seen by everyone as a suicide. Aarav returns to school for a new semester and begins his relationship with Kiara. Officer Rene who is investigating the death of Anushka, finds out that she was having an affair with a student, Aarav. Other crimes in the school again point to Aarav. While avoiding the cops, Aarav also finds himself and his friends blackmailed by a mysterious Mr. X, whose motives are unclear.

The new entries breathe fresh life into the series for the second season. Esha Gupta as officer Rene, the tough cop who is underestimated by her peers for being an Indian in Bangkok, and also a woman, uses Anushka’s case to prove her worth. Tanvi Shinde as Yesha, is a part of REJCTX but never fits in. She also comes with her own dark past, but her sizzling chemistry with Maddy (Ayush Khurana), is one to watch out for. The big surprise is Masi Wali’s double role as Jackie. While Aarav is one of the popular most good-looking kids in school, he finds a doppleganger, Jackie who is a fatter, older and less appealing janitor in the same school.

While the first season was criticised for being a story about privileged kids, this season offers an interesting take on privilege. Officer Rene targets the REJCTX believing them to be rich privileged kids, who use their parents influence, to get away with their mistakes. However, she doesn’t bother to look into their lives and see the  kind of problems they go through. Even Jackie’s admiration for Aarav has privilege at it’s core. Jackie feels Aarav is what he could have been like, if he had a rich upbringing, good looks and a relatively stable mental health.

It continues to be a story about teenagers, which doesn’t judge them for their faults and mistakes. Bitchboard that starts off as a prank, quickly becomes an online platform for bullying other students. The series shows the side of Parno and Harry, who are shocked to see what they’ve become, and the side of the victims of their bullying too. It also shows how incidents from teenage can go on to affect us much later in life too. The vice-principal (Sumeet Vyas), turns to drugs after a dark incident from his teenage comes back to haunt him.

The story of this series keeps you hooked with every twist and turn. The masterstroke is in showing Aarav throwing Kiara off the terrace right after kissing her.The whole series is filled with instances of dangerous love. Sehmat and Misha realise their love for each other, after Misha saves Sehmat from being molested. Maddy resists Yesha’s advances, but finally they make love after kidnapping her (to protect her).

The music of this season produced by Ankur Tewari and Ashutosh Phatak is another highpoint in this series. The REJCTX are still a music band, on the brink of getting a deal from a music. The songs and performances show the sophistication that has entered their music now. Watch the music video for Ranjhana from REJCTX 2.

This series if for you, if you are looking for a something that is both an edge of the seat thriller, with hot romance. Free up your weekend because you begin watching this, you might not want to stop.