Raakshasa series review: Vijay Raghavendra’s Kannada adaptation of Vilangu pales in comparison to the original

Raakshasa series story: SI Hanmappa is left in charge of the Saundatti police station, where dismembered human body parts are being routinely found by the river bank, either within their jurisdiction or in neighbouring stations. After the third case in only 2 months is brought to his attention, he is urged to make public announcements against going near the river, as it is suspected to be the work of a blood-thirsty crocodile.

But then the pathologist points out inconsistencies with that theory, even though there are visible predatory bite marks. The bones have been chopped up using man-made instruments – a revelation that sends the investigation in a new direction.

Raakshasa series review: When it comes to the thriller genre, it seems that Zee5 is playing it safe and banking on the tried and tested. It began with Shodha , which actor-filmmaker Pawan Kumar (Lucia-fame), had reworked from the Hindi series Khoj: Parchaiyon Ke Iss Par, along with director Sunil Mysuru. It was not an easy task, since the source material was not confidence inspiring. And yet, they managed to turn it around and present a watchable thriller. Any improvement on the original was welcome.

As the fourth original series from the streamer comes Raakshasa , backed by Tharun Sudhir, who has a good track record as a filmmaker. That was the series’ earliest USP, and then, of course, came the fact that it was a remake – they’d chosen to adapt the 2022 Tamil series Vilangu for Kannada audiences. Now, Vilangu had received good reviews back in the day, which also seemed encouraging. You can’t go wrong when armed with good source material, one thought. Well, I thought wrong. It is absolutely baffling how the team not only managed to muck up the original, but also pass it off as the best possible for Kannada audiences. Wouldn’t it just have been better to dub the original?

Also read: Raakshasa on OTT: Tharun Sudhir on why he felt the show should be set in north Karnataka 

To be honest, when I heard that Raakshasa was a remake, I looked up the reviews of the original and the Hindi adaptation, Janaawar: The Beast Within – one was good and the latter, almost there. So, I did not bother watching those versions and dived straight into Raakshasa, the disappointment of which led me right back to Vilangu. Longer, more detailed episodes, but far more watchable than Raakshasa.

The overall treatment apart, it’s even the simple things, like, for instance, the discovery of a body that had been buried that the Kannada version got wrong. In the original, a body is discovered in a forest area, barely 2-3 days old and, hence, stinking like hell. Cut to Raakshasa, the reaction that everyone has to the discovery of a buried body is the same – they struggle to breathe, while fighting the gag reflex – even though the remains found are a pile of bones with no flesh left on it to warrant that. The attempt to mislead audience with the threat of a crocodile is also a major misstep.

Also read: Vilangu review: This whodunit, starring Vimal, Balasaravanan and Ineya, is an edge-of-the-seat thriller 

Honestly, it is a pointless exercise nitpicking the faults, when Raakshasa has ensured that it fails on all counts, especially storytelling and execution. There are no redeeming factors whatsoever.

Raakshasa series verdict: A poor retelling of the Tamil original series Vilangu. The original series has English subtitles. Take a call.