Aranyak

The show was BRILLIANTLY shot, extra marks for the good cinematography and sound, well written and edited. Raveena, Parambrata steal the show playing the cops, it was interesting to see Ashutosh Rana still doing it, good for him!

They do enough to build the story up, which is seemingly all over the place, but they do a good job of bringing everything together.

The misdirection was a little too deliberate - if you know, you know; can't reveal. While they do a good job of tying up all lose ends, there are a few that you might not feel content about. The show is nothing mindblowing, but I thought the 8 episodes were worth the time.

Would totally recommend!

I see a lot of negative reviews about the first episode being a collage of random events. Well, that's how the story comes along!

Good script, good acting, nice build up of the story.

As opposed to widespread expectations, the show commences on a somewhat timid note. At the introductory phases, I was neither convinced about its efficacy nor was I very fond of its rather estranged way of presentation.

Thankfully, as the story unfolds; I gradually and then eventually reached a point where I could say with much certainty that I'm pretty impressed with what they had in their offerings.

Despite having a handful of infrequent missteps, and even a comparatively unstable screenplay; the storyline due to being compelling in nature, was able to get a hold of my attention till the very end. The characters are well defined, and I love how the writers had voluntarily given everybody a different motive to fiddle with.

Each character; be it the protagonists or the supporting ones, had distinctive reasons for which they ultimately fit in the said scenario.

And the whole ensemble's dedication and earnestness to their respective roles are nothing but testimonies to my statement! Parambrata Chatterjee, Raveena Tandon; both showcased their versions of dominant performances here. Their dynamic, the chemistry shared by these two veterans is something worth rooting for.

Speaking of others, there are no complaints from my end whatsoever. Regardless, I do have some issues with its relatively unskillful technical sides. Don't get me wrong, they aren't anything dreadful; it's just that for a Netflix Original, things were rather crammed with mediocrity. Unlike the conventionally higher standards, Netflix tends to follow!

As the SHO of the idyllic town of Sironah, Kasturi (Raveena Tandon) prepares to go on a year's sabbatical to help her young daughter prepare for her competitive exams, her replacement Angad Mallik (Parambrata Chatterjee) arrives to take charge. The two are like chalk and cheese in personal and professional attributes because of their socio-geographic differences, and undercurrents get into play almost immediately. But before either can settle into their respective new role, a young French tourist girl Aimee is reported missing by her mother Julie Baptiste, who appears high on drugs. Soon afterwards, her corpse is found hanging from a tree in the adjoining forest area with injury marks allegedly inflicted by an animal. A dormant folklore comes alive - could it be the legendary man-leopard who had claimed 19 lives almost two decades ago be responsible for the death? Kasturi is convinced it is the case indeed, whilst Angad doesn't believe in this hash, he trusts that it's the deed of someone from the town itself, perhaps in connection with the drugs found in the possession of the mother of the dead girl.

The situation requires Kasturi and Angad to collaborate despite their ideological differences and the mutual dislike for each other to nail down the culprit, the legend or human as the case may be.

Aranyak is India's answer to Kate Winslet's "The Mare of Easttown", producers Ramesh Sippy and Siddharth Roy Kapoor leave no stone unturned to ensure that the series is a high class, glossy, gripping and suspenseful output. Director Vinay Waikul keeps matters focused, taut and fast paced enough to make Aranyak a bingeworthy series. Ravenna Tandon is impressive in her essay of the small town police chief who has to balance family with her duties, whilst dealing with local political bigwigs and family friends under investigation delicately. But where she suffers is her inconsistent accent of the Hindi dialect she has to mouth. There are directorial flaws in projecting her as the SHO who hasn't heard the term "jugular vein" or her tacit belief in the folklore of the man-leopard associated with the crimes. The medical officer who undertakes the autopsy also firmly alludes to the same, subscribing to the local people's opinion, which shows small town government office bearers in poor light and somewhat derogatory. Parambrata gives a sombre and suave performance with the best dialogues and one liners having been reserved for him. Ashutosh Rana, Brechfa Khan, Meghna Malik, Indranil Sengupta, Zakir Hussain and Lalit Parimoo add credibility to the suspense with great performances. Saurabh Goswami's cinematography, Yasha Ramchandani's editing and writing by Rohan Sippy & Charudutt Acharya are laudable.

After a long hiatus since the enjoyable 'Maatr' in 2017, Raveena Tandon makes a grand comeback in the taut, suspenseful 'Aranyak' which premiered this weekend on Netflix. The legendary Bollywood actress ably anchors a mazy whodunit that keeps you guessing till the very end.

The Indian obsession with thrillers set in hill-stations continues even after similar themes used in Sony Liv's Undekhi (2020), Amazon Prime's The Last Hour (2021)Voot Select's Candy (2021). Set in the picturesque snowcapped hills of rural Haryana, 'Aranyak' follows the journey of two police officers as they look to hunt down a dreaded serial killer.

However, Aranyak scores over the afore-mentioned series' by generating immense suspense at the end of each episode and finally, tying together its myriad characters and plot points to form a breathtaking tapestry of a climax. The series is a beautiful blend of inter-connected themes depicting marital troubles, political machinations and investigative prowess all without missing a beat.

Aranyak derives its title from a famous Bengali novel by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay, literally translating to 'of the jungle'. And true to its name, the series paints an intricate display of how it is the human beings in the hillside town that are to be feared more than the wild animals in the forest bordering it.

Raveena Tandon nails the Haryanvi accent and oozes gravitas as the tough-as-nails cop 'Kasturi Dogra' while Parambrata Chatterjee is an absolute revelation as the troubled but moralistic officer 'Angad Mallik'. It was an absolute delight to see the super-talented Chatterjee being given an impactful role, long after he delighted us in Kahaani (2012). Hopefully, with this performance, Bollywood takes note of his talents and grants him better roles.

Ashutosh Rana seems to get better with age and follows up his recent Filmfare OTT Award for Best Supporting Actor (for Pagglait) with another sensational performance as the archetypal 'retired cope still haunted by the killer that got away'. Despite the oft-repeated character arc given to him, the seasoned actor generates his own distinctive style and nuance to the performance, that keeps us fully locked in.

Zakir Hussain is expectedly terrific as the doyen of the village's politics while the teenage actors Tejaswi Yadav (the Joffrey Baratheon-esque 'Kanti'), Taneesha Joshi ('Nutan') and Wishvesh Sharkholi ('Bunty') delight with performances that belie their tender age.

Director Vinay Waikul threads the needle by managing to satisfy the viewers with just enough closure for season 1 while leaving just enough open threads and unanswered questions to keep us hoping for a season 2. A fine OTT debut from Raveena Tandon! Recommended.