Aarya 2 and Aranyak were both released on 10th December. Arya 2 is the sequel of the 2020 series, while Aranyak is entirely new.
Arya had an edge of a legacy in which people were naturally directed towards it. But, Aranyak still had a chance to prove its worth.
Both the series belonged to the thriller genre and featured actresses who were active in the past.
Raveena however was highly popular in the 90s but Sushmita enjoyed little success in the 2000s.
But apart from all these comparisons, which series thrilled us more?
Netflix’s Aranyak or Disney+ Hotstar‘s Aarya 2?
Is Aarya 2 any good?
The first season was so good that it got nominated for an international Emmy award for the best drama series. Directed by Ram Madhvani, Sushmita Sen gave a brilliant performance and we couldn’t help but appreciate the perfection that she carried.
It is almost a gangster drama in which a high profile woman becomes a don. Although gangster drama is possibly the most cliched genre of film in India, Aarya was highly innovative. We did not see the same monotonous story of a person who didn’t want to become a don but destiny made them do so.
The sheer newness in an ages-old concept was something brilliant and praiseworthy.
Not only that but the screenplay and overall performance and every single thing was so thrilling that it was worth our time.
Aarya is one of the few series in India whose second part is better than the first part. Surprisingly Aarya Season 2 is even better than 2020 Aarya.
The direction part has improved, characters are more evolved and the screenplay stands out to be the best. In this series, we don’t ask What Happened Next but, How did she do it?
Answering “how” is always more difficult than answering “what”. And we must appreciate the confidence and hard work of the makers, for daring to make such a series.
But, what about Aranyak?
We have praised Aarya and only praised it. But, does Aranyak deserve the same appreciation?
We don’t think so.
Aranyak is not a series that will thrill you enough. Let alone the thrill, the screenplay is poorly written and the performances are not noteworthy.
Sushmita Sen in Aarya held every emotion throughout the series on her face. But not only Raveena even highly experienced actors like Ashutosh Rana and the brilliant one Parambrata Chatterjee disappointed us.
That may be the director’s fault, but it’s unfortunate nonetheless.
The screenplay shifts in multiple dimensions and we do not get a bridge to connect them. Each episode opens on a traumatic incident experienced by one of the characters. But yet again, there is little or nothing that we could relate them to.
So which one should you watch?
There is no doubt about the fact that Aarya is a clear choice between the two. If you haven’t watched the first part of Aarya, then we recommend you to do so.
Netflix India is still not firm because of two reasons. It is too expensive according to Indian standards and it does not deliver us good Indian content on a frequent basis.
Aranyak is just another failure on the long list.