Aranyak

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.