After a not-so-impressive season two, the makers of Inside Edge have redeemed themselves by giving us season three which is binge watch worthy, observes Namrata Thakker.
Amazon Originals is back with season three of Inside Edge and it's much more engaging and thrilling than the previous one.
This time, the show focuses on Vikrant Dhawan (Vivek Oberoi) and Bhaisaab's (Aamir Bashir) animosity.
Since Bhaisaab tried to kill Vikrant, the latter is hellbent on revenge.
The show begins with the Roy Commission being set up to investigate PPL team Mumbai Mavericks' involvement in match-fixing and betting.
While Bhaisaab wants to make Mumbai Mavericks owner Zarina Malik (Richa Chadha) the scapegoat, his daughter Mantra and co-owner of the team (Sapna Pabbi) ruins his plan.
Vikrant, on the other hand, is counting on Mantra to do the right thing and let her father take the fall. But Mantra doesn't let that happen either.
With that, Bhaisaab and Vikrant are back at loggerheads and this time, their hunger for power is bigger. They try to outwit each other when it's time to appoint the new president of the ICB (Indian Cricket Board).
Ultimately, Vikrant wins the battle but does he end up wining the war? You'll have to watch the show to find out.
Overall, season three is engaging from the word go. There are many subplots and the story does go into flashback to establish its characters more deeply.
Usually, this hampers the flow of the show, but not in this case as the makers have done a good job of keeping the overall story crisp.
Apart from Vikrant and Bhaisaab, there's a power tussle between Vayu (Tanuj Virwani) and Rohit (Akshay Oberoi).
The latter is the former captain of the Indian cricket team and a closeted gay. A Cold War starts brewing between the two when Vayu suddenly becomes the captain of team India.
Then, we have Zarina (Richa) who is no longer naive and knows how to navigate the world of a male-dominated sport.
This time, she knows what she wants and goes for it.
As for Mantra (Sapna), her character gets a decent amount of screen time in season three but her role isn't explored more.
Guess she will take centre stage in the next season. Yes, the show ends on a cliffhanger with makers hinting at another season in the offing.
Performance wise, Vivek Oberoi and Aamir Bashir are really good.
Though Vivek plays a grey character and has a sneaky grin throughout, you still want him to win the power battle and that says a lot about him as an actor.
Richa is equally good but gets lost between the 'two Alpa-male' narrative which is a let down. Having said that, she comes back at the end with a bang.
Tanuj Virwani, Akshay Oberoi and Sayani Gupta play their parts well.
Sidhant Gupta, who joins the cast as Imaad, stands out too. He plays a Kashmiri spinner who bags a place in the Indian team because of his privileged background.
Apart from fine performances, well etched out characters and a layered storyline, the makers have executed the whole India-Pakistan series brilliantly on the show.
The intensity between the players, the locker room tension and the way everyone has played the game itself, it's like you're witnessing a real India-Pakistan match. And that's the USP of season three hands down.
Inside Edge 3 is directed by Kanishk Varma and is definitely worth binge watching over the weekend.
Inside Edge 3 is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
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