In 2021, actor Raveena Tandon made her foray into the streaming world with Aranyak. Given the series’ instant popularity, a sequel was announced soon after. It has been over three years since the announcement; but Raveena has confirmed to us that the second season has officially been shelved.

“I can now say it. It’s not happening,” she says, adding, “Earlier, we all had hope. In fact, season two was written, but I don’t think they were able to crack a good script. Expectations were so high that the platform didn’t want to spoil that.”

Despite the disappointment, the actor acknowledges that streaming has given her career a new direction. “It opened more avenues for [stars from the ’90s]. We are getting to experiment with different roles; we wouldn’t have got a chance to do that in a movie. It becomes very interesting to get that kind of scope to play around with your role in the freedom you get here,” she shares.

Amongst those opportunities is her second series, Karmma Calling, where she played a morally grey character. “I’ve always wanted to do a negative role because I feel they have more fun. Why should villains and vamps have all the fun?” she quips and continues, “One shouldn’t limit themselves but push their boundaries to see what they’ve not done before. This year, the awards are coming in for negative roles and that is a positive beginning for me.”

The television industry has provided fertile ground for female protagonists to shine and to be the centre of the show. TV has given them a chance to get the same respect and recognition as their male counterparts. In fact, I agree that OTT platforms have also disrupted the traditional power dynamics of the Indian film industry. There is no doubt that we’ll be creating a level playing field for women to showcase their talent and creativity.

In television, whoever is the lead of the show gets paid more. Whoever brings in the most viewership for the show will be paid in accordance with that; it doesn’t matter what their gender is. I look at it in terms of, ‘Who’s running the show?’ I’ve never been in a situation where someone got paid more than me or when I’ve been paid more than someone. In the projects that I’ve been involved in, pretty much everyone gets paid according to what they bring to the table and they seem to be happy about it.

The TV industry is primarily a medium where actors, producers, directors and almost every artiste are women. If not more, female protagonists do get paid equally as their male counterparts. In a time when pay disparity has existed in mainstream cinema for years, the television industry is definitely paving the way for women to be equally valued and paid for their hard work. Time has surely taken a reverse turn, as women are far more valued now and are being paid better than they were earlier.  

The TV and OTT industries have been game-changers for female artistes. In most cases, female actors on TV get paid equally or more than men. This is a positive step towards gender equality in the entertainment industry, as it shows that women are valued for their work and talent. However, it is also important to remember that sometimes people are paid according to their experience and worth. It is not always a reflection of how hard one person has worked compared to the other. This is not the case for everyone and pay inequality is still a major issue in many industries. It is important to recognise and address this problem if we want to create a more equitable society.

I don’t think that female protagonists get paid more or equally in the OTT industry. Maybe it happened with Raveena Tandon (who starred in the web show Aranyak) because she’s already a Bollywood star. People also get different treatment because of their background. When you come from a mainstream cinema background, you come with the mindset that, ‘Oh, I’m already a star in Hindi films, and I’m moving to OTT, so I should get a higher pay’. I don’t think that happens with other actors; in fact, I don’t think I get equal pay. 

In television, now and always, especially since the whole Ekta Kapoor era started, women have been at the forefront. Since then, they’ve been getting paid more because they play the leading roles. It’s a commercial business and at the end of the day, whoever is in the driver’s seat will get paid more. Gender isn’t really the deciding factor here. Whoever can attract more viewers will have a higher price. It is a very clear business principle: whoever controls the market will control the price. 

I don’t think female leads are paid equally or more than their male counterparts in the OTT industry, unless the woman is a significantly bigger star. The pay disparity scenario has changed from what it used to be 10 years ago. However, I don’t think there’s been a blanket change across the industry. Also, it differs from one project to another. There are times when I get paid more, and sometimes my co-actors are paid more. And the inequality is not just about the actor’s fee but also things like hotel, vanity van, flight, etc. that again vary for different actors.

In this profession, no project will be similar to another because of the people attached to it. I’ve experienced the difference in storytelling, as we see a lot of stories being told about women in OTT. The characters for women on TV and OTT are quite empowering. But in terms of pay parity, I do feel that OTT still has a long way to go. With TV, it is definitely true that women are paid equally or even more than their male counterparts. I’ve worked on both mediums, so I can speak for both industries. If you’re headlining a project and you’re the biggest star, then you will automatically be paid more. And talent is, unfortunately, not respected as much in our industry as marketing is.

It’s true that women are paid equally or more in the TV industry and I’m sure of it because I started my career on the small screen. I don’t think, unless I was a star kid, I would have been given a role like Chandramukhi Chautala in movies. I was paid a bomb during my tenure on (TV show) FIR. In fact, I think I was the highest-paid actor on TV at that time. In films, less performance-oriented roles are given to women. However, in my 20 years of career, I’ve seen that women are always considered important script-wise on television. I’ve never done any mainstream Hindi films, and whenever something was offered to me, the payment used to be peanuts, like almost no money. 

In showbiz, there is no fixed pay scale or grade. An actor’s fee is negotiated based on the value they bring to a project through their skills and brand value. As much as we’d like to believe that it should be based more on the former, it’s mostly the latter — the belief that a certain person will bring in audiences and more eyeballs to the project. If my co-star is more famous than me (according to the producers), they’ll definitely be paid more, and vice versa. Since this value is subjective, it’s prone to biases and inaccuracies. No two actors will be paid equally in a project, irrespective of gender, unless they negotiate together, which is a rare occurrence. That is how this business works. 

Kate Winslet’s scruffy, vaping detective in Mare Of Easttown went on to become one of the most-talked-about characters on OTT last year. The actress attributed the success of the series to viewers, who are ‘starved’ of shows that realistically portray women and their bodies. She revealed in an interview that she was fascinated with people falling in love with a wildly flawed, messy, broken, fragmented, difficult woman. The moral ambiguity of Jennifer Aniston’s Alex Levy in The Morning Show was equally intriguing.

Are women-fronted stories on streaming platforms increasingly straying from the conventional perceptions, even in India? Do women no longer need to be good or bad, victims or warriors, in order to be leading ladies?

It is not that Shefali Shah hasn’t impressed us with her performances on the big screen for years, but today, she is among those actresses who are setting the OTT space on fire. The digital space has changed the course of her career. She says, “OTT has definitely changed the game for me. Unfortunately, a lot of heroines were accessories in films before. On OTT, there are full-fledged female characters. They are not just fillers for a project around the main hero.

Shefali adds, “Characters are now written for women of all ages. In commercial cinema, the shelf life of women for lead roles used to be between 18 and 25 years. Uske baad seedha maa bana do. Like in real life, even in cinema women would be recognized by the relationship they had with the key people. Mera role kya hai? Iski maa ka role hai, uski behen ka role hai. Woh sab relationships hai. Mera role kya hai? It’s ridiculous and changing finally.”

Raveena Tandon, the quintessential ‘sheher ki ladki’ of Bollywood in the ’90s, made her OTT debut and a powerful comeback to acting with the web series Aranyak. The whodunit set in the hills showed the actress in a completely different light. But why didn’t Bollywood trust her more often with such roles? 

Raveena says, “The film industry is evolving, and female-led stories have found a home today, on streaming platforms and in Bollywood as well. If you look at the 90s and early 2000s, actresses had to portray a glam and dainty image for years before landing a role that would actually do justice to their acting prowess, but with streaming platforms, that gap has bridged. The streaming space definitely allows for more freedom to explore and tell more nuanced female-led stories.”

She further adds, “My character in the series – Kasturi Dogra is one of the main reasons why I chose Aranyak for my streaming debut. She is a strong, ambitious cop, but not perfect. Aranyak and many other stories today are those of real, strong, imperfect women that deserve to be told.”

Screenwriter Kanika Dhillon (Haseen Dillruba) agrees that OTT has changed the game for female characters. She says, “OTT is definitely giving a medium to storytellers where we don’t need to portray unidimensional women, or women as a subplot to the men. We can write them as ‘leading ladies’ in the true sense. Historically, the term leading lady is used for a female actor paired opposite the male actor leading the story, however, small or insignificant the role, as long as there is a romantic angle. But I am glad, we can now write stories of fierce, independent, imperfect women who truly lead stories and carry the project on their shoulders.”

Speaking of the business and creative point of view, she explains, “OTT has a major role in providing the platform that can make these female stories economically viable, give them reach and an audience, at par with a male leading the story. When I write for OTT, I am unfettered by the norm, historical patterns, and market diktats, compared to other mediums. So yes, I can definitely have my women go the Madonna route. As she says, ‘I am tough, I am ambitious, I know what I want and if that makes me a b***h, okay!’ Rather than a coy, de-mure, lovable ‘Hindi film heroine’! And with this kind of an attitude, I can write my characters without adhering to stereotypes of a certain approved look and standard of beauty or behaviour.”

Renuka Shahane wrote and directed Tribhanga, a film that follows warring women from a dysfunctional family, starring Kajol, Tanvi Azmi and Mithila Palkar. As a writer and director, she says, “I couldn’t get my mind out of Mare Of Easttown. OTT allows you the space and possibility for nuance. When you go to a theatre to watch a film, the idea is to get entertained. There is nothing wrong with that, but it keeps you from having certain emotional experiences. OTT exposes you to global content, so you also feel compelled to follow your conviction. I wanted to do this (what I did with Tribhanga) for a long time on the big screen but didn’t take the risk. With prominent female actors like Deepika Padukone, Kangana Ranaut, Priyanka Chopra or Alia Bhatt becoming producers, more incredible female stories will find a voice. OTT has started that revolution of sorts. There is space for all genders and ages, which is rare in films. I liked Fleabag and the female characters in Bombay Begums, and even the tone and humour of Sumukhi Suresh’s Pushpavalli. OTT has a lot more women in positions of power so that helps for sure in getting nuanced female stories across.”

Aahana Kumra says that OTT is a breath of fresh air for female artistes. She says, “It has given us a voice. Non-lead female characters are simply reduced to heroine ki dost or hero ki behen in films. If you turn 40 or 50, you will end up playing a mom-in-law in TV serials doing kitchen politics. OTT has ensured that stories are far more powerful now. Thanks to these platforms across languages, incredible female roles are now being written across the globe. I don’t need to wear layers of makeup and look pretty always. I can look realistic.”

She adds, “Of course, there have been some powerful female characters in films in the past as well. I can’t deny that, but they are more relatable now. Shefali Shah in Delhi Crime, Konkona Sen Sharma in the short Geeli Pucchi (part of the anthology Ajeeb Daastaans) were incredibly realistic. I just hope we don’t get stuck in the loop of star-driven culture that plagued our films before. I hope the digital platforms don’t go that road as I am getting an inkling of that already.”

Tamannaah Bhatia believes that OTT has helped us shed our inhibitions as a society to a huge extent. She shares, “The digital space is breaking stereotypes for sure! Now we can pick roles without thinking log kya sochenge. That time of finding the courage to play a hatke part is long gone. Hatke roles are the real parts today.”

Actor Raveena Tandon is not one to believe that two women in showbiz can’t be friends. In fact, she has more than two, and is therefore quick to dispel this infamous misconception. Sharing her own experience, she tells us that when her film, KGF - Chapter 2, released, many of her contemporaries called her up. “It was so sweet. My colleagues Shilpa (Shetty Kundra, actor) and Badshah (rapper) called me. Nagarjuna (actor) called me after so many years. I spoke to him after 22 years,” Tandon says, adding, that actor Madhuri Dixit Nene praised her, too.

Veteran actor Sharmila Tagore also messaged her when Aranyak released. “When people make the effort to call and compliment you, it’s a different high,” she shares.

Tandon also recalls the past decades when female rivalries in the film industry were said to be even fiercer. While she states that she used to get along with everyone in those days, she adds that it’s not necessary to be friends with everyone. “Actors I have worked with have been friends for so long. [But] it’s not necessary to get along with everyone. You come to know who is happy for you and who is not. Those who are (happy for you) remain with you,” she elaborates.

She further says, “There might be rivalry (between actors), but it’s good, healthy rivalry. There’s no harm in it. It has always brought out the best in each one of us. Madhuri, Neelam (Kothari), I love them so much. God forbid, if anything happens to them, I know I am going to be there for them.”

They are strong, fierce, vulnerable, spirited, ambitious, and even vengeful if need be. Mothers in recent web projects can be described as all this and more. From actor Sushmita Sen entering the narcotics business to protect her kids in Aarya, and actor Sakshi Tanwar out to find the killers of her daughter in Mai, to actor Rasika Dugal exploring the complexities of motherhood as she deals with her husband’s infidelity in Out Of Love — the characters of mothers we are seeing now are more complex, nuanced and layered than they were ever before.

Dugal is elated that motherhood is no longer glorified or oversimplified. “A mother-child relationship is no longer shown as perfect or devoid of conflict. In many stories, we see the fears, anxieties and confusions of being a parent, co-existing with the joys of it. Even though I have no experience of being a parent in real life, Dr Meera Kapoor and her relationship with her son Abhi, especially in season two of Out Of Love, gave me a glimpse of how demanding yet beautiful parenting can be,” she shares.

Actor Raveena Tandon in Aranyak and actor Madhuri Dixit Nene in The Fame Game, are other such characters who drove the narratives with their courage and fearlessness when it came to their children. “For a long time, we had a very fixed notion of how a mother needs to be portrayed on screen. Now, the writing has caught up with the times and we are showing women of today, and that stands true for my show, The Fame Game, with Madhuri,” says director Bejoy Nambiar.

To this, director Vinay Waikul, who helmed Aranyak, adds, “Life is not unidimensional, and that stands true for the characters of mothers on screen. This realisation has changed the whole narrative.” And this is something screenwriter Charudutt Acharya agrees with, adding that the “concept of a stay-at-home mom is also changing”.

According to actor Sahher Bambba, who played the role of a mother to a 33-year-old on screen at the age of 23, the change is empowering in many ways. “Now, cinema is reflecting the reality, which is that there are many facets to motherhood. Back in the day, after a woman hit a certain age, it would be the end of her career. Now, it doesn’t stand true, and it is because of such diverse roles,” she says.

However, there is still a long way to go, feels actor Kitu Gidwani, who recently played a mother in the show, Potluck. “We don’t believe that older women can be hot, happy, successful, vibrant, intelligent and path-breaking. We still have a big fear of older women in this country. Maybe the younger ones have more scope, but not older women. For instance, we are still [predominantly seeing women play] a mother supporting her kids’ decisions, and stuff like that. Where are the guts to show women breaking and finding their own? I want to see that, and hope it comes soon,” ends Gidwani.

Filmmaker Rohan Sippy is quite active on OTT. After the Raveena Tandon-starrer Aranyak and Mithya with Huma S Qureshi, he has a comedy show in the pipeline next. Sippy admits that the digital format is his focus now.

“OTT is something I have been working in for the last four-five years. I don’t think that will change. The scenario for films to release theatrically was uncertain until now due to Coronavirus. Some even released directly on web platforms,” he says.

The 51-year-old adds, “For me, there’s definitely more likelihood that OTT is where I will be spending more time working.”

He points out that while variety is the second name of web, there are certain genres that get neglected despite their popularity. Sippy says, “Comedy is so under-represented on OTT. If you turn these platforms on, half of the trending shows will be sitcoms like Seinfeld, The Big Bang Theory, etc. It is such a huge part of consumption. It is likely to be the trend.”

In fact, the filmmaker is of the opinion that comedy is probably the genre with the most repeat value. “People might not see a mystery or thriller multiple times, but I know people who watched Indian or overseas comedy shows 10 times, almost 100 episodes. Comedy has that kind of shelf life,” he asserts.

Talking about his future projects, he shares that he has collaborated with Aranyak writer Charudutt Acharya for the comedy show. “It will be a bit more humorous family drama. I have a couple of directing assignments as well, but I can’t talk in advance. They will be of different genres,” Sippy concludes.

One look at her portrayal of the tough-talking, slap-happy cop in Aranyak, and it’s evident that Raveena Tandon’s acting hasn’t lost its sheen. She ably led the cast of the Netflix crime thriller that revolved around the murder of a tourist in the fictional town of Sironah. While the series, in its final moments, hinted at a possible second instalment, makers Rohan Sippy and Siddharth Roy Kapur have since confirmed that the thriller will return for another season.

Tandon says that right from the beginning, the idea was to develop it as a multi-season affair. “There are so many questions that remain unanswered in the first season. We introduced a character called Rabbit in the end. The relationship between him and Kasturi [her character] has to be explained. We also have to [explore the track of] the half-man, half-leopard creature. People want to know what will happen further. There were many questions left unanswered between Angad [Parambrata Chatterjee’s character] and Kasturi’s relationship too.”

The next season of Vinay Waikul’s directorial venture will focus as much on the secrets of the sleepy town as it will on Tandon’s character, who struggles to find a balance between work and family life. “The show gives the message that families need to rally around their women and help them achieve their dreams. I must give credit to the writers [Rohan Sippy and Charudutt Acharya] for understanding what women go through. As the first season progresses, you see different layers to Kasturi. She starts talking like Angad; she becomes softer while he becomes more aggressive.”

From potboilers like Mohra (1994) to social dramas like Daman (2001), and finally, Aranyak, Tandon has come a long way. Assessing her career, she says, “It has been a conscious effort to do varied roles and not [box] myself. Whenever I got the chance to do something different, it worked well for me.”

While Raveena Tandon-led Aranyak drops online today, the team at Netflix India has begun work on its second edition. Some might argue that it’s too soon to count your chickens, but Tanya Bami, series head, Netflix India, says the idea was to develop it as a multi-season series, from the beginning.

“We are actively developing the second season of Aranyak. When we [explore] an idea, we look for the potential to turn it into a franchise. We [keep] the writers’ room running even [when the show is in] production. Once you understand the characters, it’s good to keep that momentum going,” she reasons.

Set in the dense forest of the Himalayas, Tandon’s debut OTT venture sees her as a harried local cop who teams up with her replacement Angad — essayed by Parambrata Chatterjee — to solve a big-ticket murder case of a teenage tourist. Bami says it’s encouraging to see an increasing number of stories being led by women.

“Female-forward narrative is important to us. We had Bombay Begums, Masaba Masaba, and Fabulous Lives Of Bollywood Wives. We know how versatile Raveena is. [Through her arc], we’ll show how women have to keep several balls in the air — be it managing home, work and relationships. Such messages come forward in a female-led narrative and give the story an edge.”

Her debut web offering has given her what two-decade-plus career in films didn’t — the opportunity to play a cop. In Aranyak, Raveena Tandon portrays the role of diligent cop Kasturi Dogra who lands a big-ticket case just when she is about to go on a sabbatical. “It’s a big deal that I got to play a police officer because Kiran Bedi is my idol. I wanted to join the IPS; that was my dream. In films, I never got to play a strong woman in the uniform, but this show came my way. Dogra is a compassionate, nurturing, and fierce woman. I may not have identified with her, but I felt for her,” says the actor.

The Netflix series sees her character join hands with her city-bred replacement Angad ­— essayed by Parambrata Chatterjee — to solve the mysterious murder of a teenage tourist. Though designed as a thriller, the show also studies the gender dynamics at work. “She is a true feminist. She [questions] why men should be given the opportunity that is [rightfully] hers.”

Having forayed into movies in 1991, Tandon has witnessed the sea change in the industry over the decades as the on-screen roles for women became braver, and their careers, longer and richer. “In the past 15 years, there is a growing acceptance for actors who are in their 40s. Earlier, people used to say that 40-plus actors won’t get work. That [idea] has changed because of OTT, global cinema and short films. It’s not that we didn’t make intelligent cinema before. India has been one of the largest producers of films. But now, we have more experimental stories.”

Sure, women actors today have diverse roles to choose from, and the joy of carrying films on their shoulders. But isn’t it a long road to equality in the male-dominated industry? “We have not reached there, but we are close to it in terms of pay scale, screen presence, and the respect that our female directors, choreographers and DoPs deserve. You can see the change today.”

Glimpses of the cast were depicted using projection mapping

Imagine 25 people in the heart of a forest plunged into darkness. Somewhere not too far away, eerie music begins to play. As if on cue, the trees around start lighting up, one by one. Sounds like the opening scene of a thriller? Here’s the twist though — the 25 people are journalists, and the forest, in reality, the lawns of the Hilton Shillim Estate in Lonavala.

On Monday, Netflix India launched the trailer of Aranyak, which marks the OTT debut of Raveena Tandon, in a special event. It won’t be wrong to say that the makers brought the fictional town of Sironah — in which the series is set — alive in Lonavala. Before we had a dekko at the two-minute trailer, we experienced the spooky universe of the crime thriller. Glimpses of the cast and the trailer were projected on the trees around, using 100-feet projection mapping, as the play of light created imagery of a dense forest around, all set to a spine-chilling score. We weren’t the only ones impressed by the experience — Tandon, who came on stage soon after, summed it up: “Earlier, we used to have mahurats. Today, when I saw this, I was overwhelmed.”

The actor, who was joined by Ashutosh Rana, Meghna Malik, director Vinay Waikul and producer Rohan Sippy, said she felt like a debutant all over again. “My first film Patthar Ke Phool [1991] was with Sippy Films, and now, my OTT debut is with them. Life has come full circle. Since 1991, I’ve been in front of you. I hope [this] will mark [the beginning of] another 30 years of you tolerating me,” she laughed.

At odds with their supernatural thriller, the mood was light-hearted as Sippy joked, “I have aged 60 years. But she still looks like she did in 1991.”

Tanya Bami, series head, Netflix India described Aranyak as a “propulsive thriller”, adding that every woman will identify with Tandon’s character.