Pitchers Season 2 Review: TVF Makes The Wait Of Seven Years For The Second Season Worth It

Pitchers Season 2 revolves around the struggles of Naveen, Yogi and Mandal, who have big dreams for their start-up 'Pragati. AI'.

Review Of TVF Pitchers- Season 2

Series: Pitchers- Season 2
Created by: Arunabh Kumar
Starring: Naveen Kasturia, Arunabh Kumar, Abhay Mahajan, Abhishek Banerjee, Ronjini Chakraborty, Riddhi Dogra
Streaming on: ZEE5

"Pitchers Hai, Pitch Karte Rahenge"- yes, sometimes it's all about getting up after every fall. A story that revolves around three young, passionate individuals trying to find their space and make it big in the start-up world as they face numerous hurdles on their path. As it is said that the road to success isn't smooth, it becomes all the more difficult when you have to deal with corporate unicorns, shark venture capitalists, a dash of office tantrums and to top it all your continually draining bank balance! 

Naveen, Yogi and Mandal have big dreams for their start-up 'Pragati. AI', just like any other fellow who chooses to leave their monotonous 9 to 5 corporate job and do something of their own. The story begins with Naveen visiting a site along with a broker where he plans to set up his new office. It's a picturesque place and Naveen likes the entire look and feel of it, compared to the crampy office space he presently has. Yes, a big place with big dreams! But, with big dreams comes the biggest hurdles.

Soon, Naveen plans to do a partnership with one of the corporate giants and tries his best to contact them but in vain. Having repeatedly tried to reach out, he finally gets a chance. After discussing for quite some time, the partnership was almost finalised at 50 crores.

But just as the entire team was planning a celebration, they received a notification that the partnership was not happening, thereby realizing that the game would not be easy.

But, the Pitchers teach us never to lose hope and that no matter how dark it is, there is always a ray of light. Naveen then comes up with the concept of 'PIVOT', which according to him might prove to be game-changing. Pivoting is when start-ups change the course of their action or product to meet the latest demands of the industry. Just as the name suggests, this also marks the turning point in the series. Soon, they come across another problem when they require a CTO. This is where the Pitchers along with the audience miss everyone's favourite Jeetu who was their CTO in Season 1. 

Amid tension, tight deadlines, and work pressure, there is frustration and anger boiling within. No reimbursements, no approvals, delayed work and most importantly no funds- Naveen's co-workers seem to have become hopeless and the situation gets out of hand! They finally gear up again and launch 'Pragati 2.0' but the problem of funds prevails.

Here is where the audience gets an idea about the reality of the start-up world and that every rags-to-riches story has many more levels in between. A gripping storyline that shows the basic human instincts when one is frustrated, the way you get angry with the people you are closest to, how its always the closest people that one hurts the most, the value that each individual has on our lives, and the ruthless corporate world where ideas can be bought, sold and copied and valuation is the only metric to success. 

While Season 1 was more about the personal lives of  Naveen, Jeetu, Yogi and Mandal, Season 2 is where TVF phenomenally unfolds the struggles of the three founders of 'Pragati A.I' (as Jeetu is no more to be seen here) and that of all the other employees who are dependent on them while they are overwhelmed by challenges. The series shows that no war can be fought on its own and come what may, the show must go on.

With outstanding cinematography, the makers have showcased subtle emotions, like despair, hopelessness, the changing lives and the value of friendships. A few close-up shots emphasised the emotions beautifully, without any dialogue, throughout the journey from 'death valley' to 'silicon valley'. The makers have created the series in such a way that we can picture ourselves in the storyline and things seem quite relatable. We start forming a connection with the characters and laugh and cry with them as the show goes on. 

Naveen's restlessness and his way of taking unplanned, sudden risky decisions combined with the somewhat confused Mandal, who keeps making a note of issues and problems along with Yogi who tries to keep things calm and tends to celebrate even before funds arrive, creates a balanced trio. The makers of the series have indeed made the long wait of seven years worth it. The series also gives a glimpse of industry stalwarts like Ashneer Grover, and Ankur Warikoo and also included the cast from the TVF universe. 

The ending could have been a bit more dynamic rather than an 'Alls well that ends well'. Also, the sudden appearance of Naveen's girlfriend at the end seemed a bit out of place. Nonetheless, this series is a must-watch and yes, you won't be able to stop until you have watched it all at once.