There are tales within a tale in the second season of the procedural drama Kohrra that dropped on Netflix a few days ago.

In the fictional town of Dalerpura in Punjab, Dhanwant Kaur (Mona Singh) and Amarpal Garundi are assigned to investigate the murder of an NRI woman, fighting a custody battle and trying to find a new life in suburban India’s latest hope for instant fame via social media reels.

Like all procedurals, there are technical lapses, a bit of one-upmanship (especially since the lead investigator is a woman in an all-boys club), suspects, interrogation of immediate family and potential witnesses who could hold the key to why Preet was murdered, her troubled relationship with men including her elder brother, husband and the new man in her life.

And unknown to the cops, there is also a migrant worker from Jharkhand searching for a father, a migrant worker whom he has never seen.

Like the victim, Preet, the cops investigating her murder too are two troubled individuals.

The female characters in Kohrra Season 2 are all trying to bust patriarchy, each in their own way and with different motives.

Preet rebels against her family and her husband. Her childhood friend Charu finds a way to convey some secrets that Preet carried, disobeying her husband. The nanny in Preet and her husband Sam’s home reminds her brother, scandalised over her affair, that her salary paid for his education. Garundi’s wife does not think twice before walking out once she realises her husband’s betrayal and guilt.

Whether the men in Dalerpura like it or not, the women in the town will not remain silent.

Kohrra Season 2 stands tall on Mona Singh. A performance that speaks, cries and protests quietly even as she tries to revive her nearly dead marriage with an alcoholic husband. Dhanwant Kaur seeks a dignity that has been denied to her in both her personal and professional lives.

Barun Sobti’s Garundi is a perfect foil to the grief that shrouds Dhanwant perpetually. Like the case against the suspect in Preet’s murder, the trust between the two cops builds slowly.

Kohrra 2’s pace is slow and can seem dull. Even a chase scene in picturesque Himachal is like all other chase scenes in thousands of films and series. Interactions between the characters sound monotonous and repetitive in some moments, thankfully few.

At the risk of giving away a spoiler, though the investigations are brought to a close, the meeting ground of the two stories seems forced and unconvincing. A young man searching for his migrant father in a far off land definitely deserves another story for another day.