Rise and Fall Season 2: Swara Bhasker hits back at Shehzad Poonawalla in a fiery showdown

New Delhi: Rise and Fall Season 2 is a few days away from finally getting its winner, and the high energy inside the tower and basement is palpable. The Tower is simmering with discontent; old loyalties are being questioned. As the dust settles on Gautam Gulati’s rankings and Shehzad Poonawalla’s decision to send Manish Kashyap and Sonam Malik to the Basement, the consequences are beginning to hit home.

Sonam feels betrayed by Gautam, who maintained that his decision was made in the interest of the Penthouse and its Rulers. The Rulers’ repeated pleas to the Workers to go easy on Sonam only fuel suspicion downstairs, with the Workers viewing them as a veiled threat.

Swara Bhasker vs Shehzad Poonawalla

Meanwhile, the fallout reaches another friendship, with Swara Bhasker questioning Shehzad’s decision not to save her. Reminding him that she has come to his rescue twice, she also questions his complicated equation with Gautam. Karan Patel points out the risk their decision could have brought upon them, but Shehzad insists it was a gamble he was willing to take. And when Swara thanks Gautam for making a difficult call, Shehzad interjects, “I also had a role in saving you”, prompting her to snap back, “Can you relax, I am not talking to you”.

The exchange soon erupts into a full-blown face-off. Shehzad asks Swara not to drag others into their disagreement and brings up her decision to vote for Priyanka. Swara is quick to fire back, “Why should I listen to you?", before reminding him, “Tune mujhe 8 saal troll kiya hai”. Shehzad may be ready to apologise, but Swara is in no mood to call a truce. With Sonam and Manish back in the Basement, the Workers have a sword hanging over their heads as every contestant faces nomination. And Sehwag’s arrival only raises the stakes further! The host announces a triple eviction, gives Manish the title of ‘King of the Basement’, and then puts Shehzad on the spot. Reminding him that he had wanted to leave the Tower, Sehwag offers him a chance to hand over his final ticket to another contestant. Shehzad chooses Swara, with Sehwag laughingly calling it ‘damage control’.

Who will be evicted?

With six Workers – Priyanka Chahar Choudhary, Jashwanth Bopanna, Sonam, Manish, Rishabh Jaiswal and Niharika Tiwari – now under the eviction cloud, the audience saves Priyanka and Niharika, leaving Manish, Jashwanth, Rishabh and Sonam on tenterhooks. But the Powerplay has another reckoning in store.

Sehwag brings the audience’s comments and reactions into the Tower, putting the contestants’ past decisions, rivalries and alliances under the spotlight. Gautam and Priyanka are called in first as their earlier showdown and Priyanka’s move to shift the price pot to Rs 6 lakh are revisited. Sehwag weighs in on Priyanka’s decision-making, pointing out that she has lost the trust of both the Rulers and the Workers. Gautam, too, is pulled up over his ‘Gauti’ persona, with the host warning that the side of him that has hurt people could end up costing him the trophy. Gautam agrees, as Sehwag urges him to let ‘Gautam’ take charge.

Swara is then questioned about her equation with Shehzad, making it clear that while she supports him, his fights are his own. She also acknowledges using reverse psychology in her interactions. However, the spotlight soon swings back to Shehzad when he refers to Priyanka as a ‘vamp’ while discussing Gautam’s earlier remark about actresses. Sehwag strongly disagrees and asks him to take the comment back, leaving Shehzad to defend his words.

Produced by Banijay Asia, Rise and Fall Season 2 is hosted by Virender Sehwag and streams free, exclusively on Prime Video, with fresh episodes every day at 12 noon. The show is also available through MX Player by Prime Video on the MX Player Android app, mobile devices, Connected TVs, the Amazon shopping app, Prime Video and Fire TV.