Aranyak: Les secrets de la forêt

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.

The story line of the series is just amazing and acting is just superb. Story has a big suspense that you will find on last episode but overall the every episode of the series has some mysterious story. Acting is top notch. Overall very good series with an amazing and mysterious 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!

I binge-watched this thoroughly enjoyable and intriguing tv series. This whodunnit with many twists and turns, engaging story-telling, good character development, stunning scenery and talented cast makes for great viewing. Raveena, Parambrata and Ashutosh were fantastic. This is without doubt the best Indian tv series on Netflix and one of the best tv shows across all Netflix offerings. This is far superior to the general melodramatic Bollywood creations. I sincerely hope that Netflix will renew it for more seasons.

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!