Raveena Tandon discusses playing a cop for digital debut Aranyak on Netflix: 'She's not trying to level herself in a man's world'

Actor Raveena Tandon says while she is excited for her digital debut Aranyak due to its interesting script, her kids’ reason of joy is that their mother will be seen on streaming giant Netflix’s show. Tandon, one of the top Bollywood actors of the 1990s, is best known for her films Mohra, Andaz Apna Apna, Laadla, Dulhe Raja, Shool, Aks, Daman, Satta and Maatr. The 46-year-old actor described Aranyak as an intriguing series that traces the journey of her character, cop Kasturi Dogra. “She has incredible strength. It’s not that she is trying to level herself in a man’s world, but the way she proves herself better than anyone else, that’s what attracted me to the show and the character. Being associated with the Netflix family is a joy. Even my kids are excited and tell me, ‘Mom you’re going to be on Netflix!’ It’s a cool thing for them. I have enjoyed the experience,” said Tandon, who is a mother to four kids. The actor was speaking at a special event of Netflix, ‘See What’s Next India_’,_ where the streamer announced its 2021 slate for movies and series. Produced by Roy Kapur Films and Ramesh Sippy Entertainment, Aranyak features Tandon as a cop who joins hands with her city-bred replacement Angad (Parambrata Chatterjee) when a foreign teenage tourist disappears in a Himalayan town. The series is directed by Vinay Vyakul. Tandon said the crew shot the show in a marathon three-month schedule amid the pandemic with extreme safety measures. “When we were shooting in Himachal Pradesh, we would often hear of COVID cases, how shootings had to be stopped. But our safety protocols were so efficient that we could manage to finish the entire schedule without an incident,” she added. The actor said that though the Hindi film industry has progressively chronicled powerful women-led stories every decade, it has only gotten better with the arrival of streaming platforms. She believes that the digital medium has opened up the audience to be more receptive to diverse content, which in turn has empowered actors and filmmakers. “We have seen women take charge in the industry but with a global platform like Netflix coming in, even our audience has become aware. They know of different cinemas, watch international content… “Which gives us an opportunity to explore untold stories, different format, experiment with cinema. Even the way they view an Indian woman, their perspective has changed. Women protagonists have been more prominent than the male ones, especially on Netflix,” Tandon added.