Summary
Episode 1 quickly turns into a murder mystery and one with potential.
This recap of Netflix’s Aranyak season 1, episode 1, does contain spoilers.
This is certainly an interesting start, engrossing the audience with a variety of plot points to get the series started. Episode 1 quickly turns into a murder mystery, and one with potential.
Aranyak season 1, episode 1 recap
Episode 1 begins with the story seven years earlier — there’s a school play. There’s a commotion on stage when a teacher (dressed as a leopard) kidnaps one of the children (Maroot) as part of the play, leaving the adults distraught and perplexed; a terrible crime under the eyes of the parents. The father, Angad, is devastated. In the present day, Aimee is at a nightclub, and she is kidnapped and assaulted.
Episode 1 then flits to Inspector Kasturi Dogra, who is not in a great mood with her daughter (Nutan) — she’s taken a year out of the police force to help out with her daughter, and she has a strained marriage with her husband. When Kasturi Dogra gets into work, she is met by her replacement Angad Malik — he hands her a transfer and charge document. There’s slight tension in the air. We Learn that Angad doesn’t have a family.
Suddenly, a woman storms into their office and tells them her daughter (Aimee) and boyfriend are missing. Kasturi’s father comes in and states that the woman is hiding something and shows some drugs. Both Kasturi and her father believe that all this is about drug addicts. The woman reveals herself to be called Julie, and Angad wants more information as Kasturi gets increasingly frustrated, believing she cannot be trusted. Angad wants to talk to Julie on his own.
The scene then flits to a young man named Kanti — his mother is angry at him; she wants to cut his parole short. She scolds him for raping someone in the past. Jagdamba is a minister that has plenty of power. She doesn’t trust that her son will not do anything again.
Angad locks up Julie while he investigates. When Kasturi returns home, she hears a scream — Nutan is confronted by a black leopard. Kasturi approaches the leopard with a flaming stick. Her father heads out with a gun and makes a warning shot, and the animal backs off. Kasturi’s father then says, “he’s close by.”
The ending
Kasturi scours the forest looking for her father, who is still after the leopard — when she approaches him, he talks about the lunar eclipse again; when they both look up, a young girl is hung from a tree, dead. Meanwhile, Angad is checking out a property with officers. They find Julie’s other daughter (Kiki) unconscious.
Angad is called about the dead girl found in the forest — it’s Aimee. Kasturi’s father tells Angad that this is the Leopard-Man, a supposed serial killer. Kasturi argues with Angad about handling the dead female body, but Angad reminds her that this is his case. What is clear is that Angad takes his job seriously. He knows something is wrong.
Additional points
- Nutan’s boyfriend Bunty doesn’t want her to be part of the bureaucratic system and thinks she should leave the country.
What do you think of Aranyak season 1, episode 1? Comment below.
