Two shows, Same story, Which is better?
In last two days I have binge watched both Aranyak (On Netflix) and Candy (On Voot) and I was shocked to see that both were identical shows. Since, I had to suffer watching two shows with same story, I have decided to do a comparative analysis of both so others may suffer only once.
Here is a tabulated comparison of both the shows
| Name of Show |  |  |
| Premise | A sleepy hill station with a local legend of a monster and a murder mystery | A sleepy hill station with a local legend of a monster and a murder mystery |
| Characters | 1. An outsider hero with a tragic backstory 2. A local female cop with family issues 3. A corrupt politician | 1. An outsider hero with a tragic backstory 2. A local female cop with family issues 3. A corrupt politician |
| Side plot | 1. Serial Rapist 2. Drug dealing in hills | 1. Serial Rapist 2. Drug dealing in hills |
| Main Actors | 1. Raveena Tandon does a good work but her accent is terrible. 2. Parambrata Chatterjee is impressive. 3. Zakir Hussain is a misfit as a pahadi politician. 4. Ashutosh Rana has an amazing screen presence but little to offer due to length of his role. | 1. Richa Chaddha is a terrible actor and irritates with both her voice and screen presence. 2. Ronit Roy looks bored and sleepwalks through the story. 3. Manu Rishi Chadha is an overactor (that is not a compliment). |
| Side Characters | 1. Almost all other characters do a decent job 2. Even Indraneil Sengupta is convincing in each scene | 1. Not one side character is worth the subscription 2. Who in their right senses casts Gopal Datt in a serious role? |
| Story Progression | The story build up is binding. Each episode compels you to watch the next. It is a show you can Binge watch. | The story is everywhere with scenes happening randomly. Each episode makes you cringe. It is a show you can Barely watch. |
| The Climax | All that build up is all wasted at the end. The series had so much potential but the writers decided to take a huge dump right at the end. | The writers kept taking dumps throughout the series. If the show is named Candy, that candy definitely tastes like sewage. |
| The legend | Nar-Tendua actually sounds believable as they never even show a glimpse of the monster. That maintains the mystic aura of an actual monster till the climax. | Masaan is actually a terrible name for a monster. They show him straight in the second episode and it looks as artificial as a scarecrow. To be honest, even a scarecrow looks scary at night. |
| Final verdict | If you have nothing else to Binge watch, go for it. | Even if they pay you to watch, don’t unwrap this sin. |
I have read some chatter that both these web series are remakes of a an American Crime Drama series starring Kate Winslet titled “Mare of Easttown“. Given the tendency of Indian film makers to “Draw inspiration” I think that is highly likely but after binge watching the two, I do not have strength to rewatch a similar story. So, if any of you have watched the original, do let me know in comments. Till then,
Keep Watching, Keep Reading and Keep living happily.
आरण्यक देख रहा हूँ। कैंडी के लिए धन्यवाद उसे नहीं देखूंगा अब।
रोचक तुलनात्मक आलेख। वैसे मैं ऐसी सीरीज कम देखता हूँ जिनमें अगले एपिसोड का लिंक पिछले से हो तो यह भी देखने नहीं वाला हूँ। लेकिन जो देखते हैं उनके लिए ये लेख लाभकारी रहेगा।
Mare of eastown se compare karna uski beizzati hai. Only similarity os a female cop in a sleepy town
Inspiration is from there only
I find most of the Netflix and Prime series like chewing gum. One gets tired after chewing the gum after 2-3 minutes, and has to spit it out. Aranyak was tolerable. I thoroughly enjoyed 14 Peaks.
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