Starring the magnetic as Shiv Prakash Shukla (a different character, despite the similar surname), this season explores the liquor mafia and the sand mafia of the 1980s and 90s.

Loosely based on the life of Mohammad Shahabuddin (renamed Haroon Shah Ali Baig), a powerful gangster-turned-politician.

, a franchise that managed to carve out its own distinct identity. It didn't rely just on mindless gore or foul language; instead, it chose to serve as a deep, character-driven autopsy of real-life criminals and the systems that birthed them. Across its distinct seasons, operates on a simple but haunting premise: No one is born a criminal.

While a third season titled Rangbaaz: Darr Ki Rajneeti (The Politics of Fear) was released, it struggled to reach the heights of the first two. However, the core brand of Rangbaaz remains synonymous with high-octane, realistic North Indian crime.

The second season focuses on (a different character from the first), a man from a modest background who uses the chaos of the Indian Emergency (1975-1977) to climb the ladder. He becomes a sand mafia kingpin, a gunrunner, and eventually, a politician. Unlike the first season's focus on physical violence, Phirse focuses on systemic violence—how criminals buy judges, control elections, and hide in plain sight.