Cast in the most challenging role of his career, the actor takes time to get used to the skin of his character, but ultimately wins over the audience.
Eight-episode thriller, a gripping mix of crime and politics with a dollop of myth-making Aranyaki Investigates human desires and crimes under the guise of a tragic case of rape and murder. Set in a fictional town in Himachal Pradesh, the series, dotted with hordes of characters and plots, is actually a slow-burning mystery that slowly takes us to a jungle where everyone is hiding a secret. and where greed and redemption prevail.
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In this thick leaf, two morally upright officers, fighting their inner demons, seek to find the perpetrator of the suspected rape and murder of a teenage girl, who is apparently vacationing with her mother in the picturesque town. who is a foreign national.
Has Amy (Anna Adore) become a tool in the ploy of a shrewd politician Manhas (Zakir Hussain), or is she a victim of minister Jagdamba’s (Meghna Malik) hot-headed son (Tejaswi Dev)? As Amy’s mother Julie (Breshna Khan) appears too cheap on the truth, the list of suspects grows longer, so much so that even supernatural elements make their way into the case file.
Filled with red herrings, at times you might think the writers – Charudutt Acharya and Rohan Sippy – have opened up too many folders, but director Vinay Vaikul makes sure the series never hangs. Sure, you’d think that the results of the Call Records of the Accusers are simply delayed to make audiences wait until the eighth episode, but the intense atmosphere, effortless social commentary, believable character arcs, and believable performances keep you logged in. , Whodunit even faintly reminds me of Esmail Shroff. police public (1990) which has acquired the status of a cult over the years.
With the trend of ‘Let’s rope in an entourage star make in OTT debut’, the makers have roped in Raveena Tandon to headline the series. Cast in perhaps the most challenging role of her career, it takes time for Raveena to get into the skin of Kasturi Dogra, a local police officer whose methods of investigation are old school but effective.
Raveena’s accent remains uneven and, at times, she marks the rawness of the character with a bleeding marker which seems out of sync on the small screen. However, his inherent honesty and blunt attitude save the day for Kasturi every time he goes overboard. As the series progresses, she discards the vanity we associate with stars, and we get to see a new side of Raveena, the intrigue created by Saurabh Goswami’s moody cinematography and Yasha Ramchandani’s sharp editing. Let’s not forget his chiseled nose connecting the A Byzantine material.
Kasturi is so well written that the chances of it not winning over the audience are slim. Here’s a committed mid-level cop who suffers from a complex that she can’t spend time with her smart kids and cagey husband (Vivek Madan). Kasturi’s bond with her father-in-law Mahadev Dogra is also one of the highlights of the series. A retired head constable with a fading memory, Mahadev believes in the man-leopard myth behind the killings, but also cites the progressive surroundings of the hills.
Meanwhile, in Parambrata Chatterjee, Raveena has a perfect foil. If Kasturi has an enigmatic texture, Angad Malik is absolutely smart. Angad is also damaged from inside, but Parambrata peels off one layer at a time, making Angad extremely endearing. After firing a few blanks, the unlikely pair gets to Saand Ki Aankh.
Perhaps driven by the desire for a second season, Vaikul, who has assisted some of the country’s top directors, is carried towards the end, leaving the final stretch a bit wobbly. He seems to have forgotten that having courage has brevity.
Aranyak is currently streaming on Netflix
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