The second episode starts with a boy being bullied. We learn that it is Hasmukh at a young age tormented by Jaggu, his bully. Jaggu is a fat kid. Is Jaggu going to be grown up Hasmukh’s next victim. Gosh! I hope not.

An old man at school (a teacher? a admin guy? a janitor?) tells Hasmukh to channel his anger into jokes. Ah, the origin story of this murderous man who was a cute, pushover kid. It doesn’t get more Bollywood than this.

Chachi is at a sex workers house creating ruckus. The inspector tells her to sit at home and wait for her husband. Of course, Chachaji is missing. His body lying in the factory oven hasn’t quite been discovered. The inspector tells her that he will investigate his disappearance.

Inspector follows Jimmy and Hasmukh to the factory. He wants to ask questions at Chachaji’s work place. He also wants to take a selfie with Hasmukh. While this is happening, Hasmukh and Jimmy notice the skull of Chachaji lying around. So they distract him while they cover it up. This comes across as silly and doesn’t land the laugh that the creators were probably hoping for. It falls flat like the joke Hasmukh shares with his colleagues. 

Jimmy is really a sneaky bugger. He’s pulling all the strings!

Now we cut to Mumbai where the producer of a big TV show call Comedy Badshaaho is going through a sexual harassment scandal. This actor (I think I’ve seen him years ago on Big Boss) looks sleazy enough for us to know that the allegations are true. He is a typical Male Chauvinist Pig, blatantly staring at his junior’s cleavage. He is in a meeting where a girl and a guy are clearly fighting for power grab. This becomes clear in the next scene, where the girl, Promila clearly tells the guy not to mess with her. 

Jimmy and Hasmukh are now trying to figure out what to do at the next high stakes comedy event. While Hasmukh has reservations, Jimmy convinces him to kill once more by saying that once he’s famous, all his sins won’t matter. Hasmukh agrees but with one condition - that he will not kill innocent people. Once again, there is an internal battle of good and evil. And the show is careful to ensure that Hasmukh stays a empathetic character to the audience. They start looking for a person to kill. 

At the same time in Mumbai, Comedy Badshaaho also starts looking for contestants through a wild card entry that aims at bumping the TRPs up. 

Back in Sahranpur, the inspector pulls up and introduces our two troublemakers to a politician’s PA - Devi Prasad Sharma. This also delivers the funniest dialogue of the show. The inspector says that everything happens only with Devi Prasad’s blessing.

“Inki marzi ke bina ilaake ke kutte bhi sambhog nahi karte. Woh dekho, nahi kar rahe na?”

Cut to two innocent looking dogs just standing side by side. 

I snorted my tea out through my nose, laughing at this line.

Devi Prasad Sharma tells them that his boss Shrivastav ji will be at the event so they have to do well at the show. Just then Sharma gets a call and begins boasting about how many murders he’s responsible for and how corrupt he is. 

Jimmy and Hasmukh exchange glances. They have found their next victim!

Jimmy gives clear instructions to Hasmukh about which gate to enter and which tent Sharma will be in. All these instructions prove to be wrong. While this is funny, to me it also feels like foreshadowing. Jimmy is eventually going to lead Hasmukh into all the wrong places. 

Hasmukh kills Sharma in cold blood. And is then visited by Gulati’s ghost. Gulati’s ghost is perhaps the most interesting this about this show. He is a guide - like Obi Wan to Luke Skywalker. But he’s also his guilty conscience. Everything Gulati’s ghost says - about Hasmukh not being good enough or about daring him to kill and then making fun of him for being stupid enough to fall for it - all these are thoughts that Hasmukh has about himself. These are his own insecurities surfacing through Gulati’s ghost. It’s an interesting device - it both protects and blames him for the spiral that he is in. 

Hasmukh then goes on stage and delivers another great performance fuelled by his most recent murder. Meanwhile, Jimmy’s dedication is really something to marvel at. He goes into the tent and makes it look like a love affair gone wrong - breaking furniture, creating a mess, ripping his shirt and even putting lipstick marks on Sharma’s chest. This is slapstick funny and at the same time tell us about the lengths to which he’ll go to protect his artist. 

Hasmukh continues to deliver his stand up. He starts getting political which seems to upset Shrivastav ji, the politician. But Hasmukh is able to win him back with his zingers. In fact Shrivastav ji starts laughing so hard, that he accidentally shoots himself in the thigh. 

This ridiculous act makes headlines as the video of Hasmukh’s standup goes viral. People everywhere start watching the video and laughing as well as applauding him for his bravery in speaking against a corrupt system. It’s showing on the news and that catches the attention of Promila who believes that she’s found the way to save her show Comedy Badshaaho from dwindling TRPs. Hasmukh is going to be in the big city soon!

Of course, he is dreaming of the same. And as he’s dreaming, something doesn’t feel right. He wakes up to find his Chachi in bed next to him trying to get more sexual favors. He once again turns her down and the episode ends. 

One disappointing bit is that the comedy routines themselves aren’t that well-written. In Mrs. Maisel for instance, her routines are so great that you understand how she’s gaining name and fame. But in this case, the routines themselves are weak and it is more an understanding that these are plot points to move the story along. But the believability is not there. 

Rating: 2.5/5