Aranyak is the new Netflix show about the two cops, Angad (Parambrata Chattopadhyay) and Kasturi (Raveena Tandon), who are handed over an extremely difficult murder case that involves numerous people around the hill station. The murder mystery becomes personal when they realize that the case ties with their dark past or compromises the family security. The superstitious theory about the return of some serial killing Leopard-man becomes certain when the diggings indicate that this all leads to a hunter in the jungle.
Not sure if Aranyak is based on the famous Bengali novel by the same title written by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay. But the credit should be given to the writing and the screenplay of the show. I think the mystery is very complicated and has the driving factor that makes you binge-watch all eight episodes. I think the season finale doesn’t do justice as compared to how all the previous seven episodes were maintaining the storytelling. The last episode ran in haste and the conclusion of the season looked pretty weak to me.
I think this show marks the return of Bollywood‘s mast-mast girl, Raveena Tandon. Maybe I am wrong but I noticed her years ago in Anurag Kashyap‘s Bombay Velvet song. Anyway, I don’t remember Raveena in any memorable role in the past. And even here, she was just average. Her facial reactions were flat and there were many scenes where her performance needed a push but she couldn’t. Veteran Parambrata had another impressive number of acting credits. Ashutosh Rana also gave a decent show.
If I am not wrong, there will be another season. This should have been a mini-series. But for now, Aranyak is a very interesting mystery thriller to get entertained.