“I AM STILL HERE”

EVEN AS RAVEENA TANDON RETURNS TO OUR SCREENS WITH ARANYAK, SHE INSISTS SHE HAD NEVER LEFT

- Suhani Singh

The last time Raveena Tandon found herself surrounded by the snow-capped mountains of Himachal Pradesh, she changed three saris to shoot just one song. This time around, though, her brief was very different. For the Netflix series Aranyak (meaning ‘jungle dweller’ in Hindi), she was asked to sport a khaki uniform and play Kasturi Dogra, a Pahadi officer forced to cancel her leave after a murder disturbs the peace of her idyllic town.

Tandon shot for the crime thriller in Manali and Dalhousie for over two months. Ten months later, Tandon and co-producer Rohan Sippy are in Shillim, a sylvan, hilly retreat near Mumbai, where Netflix recently hosted a trailer launch for Aranyak. Set to stream on the platform from December 10, the show marks the streaming debut of the 47-year-old actress. Aranyak, Tandon adds, fulfilled her want to do work which delivers on both entertainment and message.