Prime Video’s Raakh has been earning praise for its sensitive handling of an extremely disturbing real life inspired crime. Set against the backdrop of the infamous 1978 Ranga-Billa case, the eight-episode thriller follows a police investigation into the kidnapping and murder of two teenagers while also exploring the psyche of the perpetrators. One creative choice that has stood out is the decision not to explicitly depict the assault on screen. In an exclusive conversation with Zoom, creator and writer Anusha Nandakumar explained why the team deliberately chose to focus on the victims’ resilience rather than graphically recreating their suffering.
Anusha Nandakumar On Why Assault Was Not Shown
Speaking about the decision, Anusha said there was never any confusion within the writers’ room regarding how the story of should be told. “I don’t know if there is any other way to tell a story, right? Like this is how it should be done because it’s not always about the act.”
She explained that from the earliest stages of writing, the focus remained firmly on the emotional journey of the victims rather than the violence inflicted upon them. She stated, “We were always very clear, there was this thing that we want to see Suman and Sahil with a lot of love and we don’t need to see anything. We already know the horrors of the assault.”
Sonali Bendre in Raakh
According to Anusha, showing the assault itself would not have added anything meaningful to the story. “We wanted to see their resilience and we don’t need to show the act of an assault to see the resilience. That’s what we always focused on,” stated the writer. She revealed that the decision was discussed extensively during the writing process.
Raakh Team Ensured Villains Were Never Glorified
Anusha also opened up about another major creative concern: ensuring that audiences never admired or empathised with the perpetrators, Babu and Rajjo. How did thy manage to do that? She said, “Also, I think when we were writing it, and we debated it for long. The intention was always that nobody should come out of the series thinking that, ‘Oh, Babu’s so cool, Rajjo’s so cool, I want to be them,’ or aspire to be them.”
While the series does spend time exploring the everyday lives and friendship shared by the two criminals, Anusha said those moments were carefully balanced. She added, “So the thing was always that we will have them do the most heinous things. We might have them have their lighter moments because they are also in their own worlds. There is friendship and camaraderie between the both of them.” However, the writers made a conscious effort to immediately remind viewers of their true nature by making them do something ‘more heinous.’
Watch the full interview here:
About Raakh
Raakh is a crime thriller set in 1978 and streaming on Prime Video. The series follows Sub-Inspector Jayprakash Jatav, played by Ali Fazal, as he investigates the kidnapping and murder of two teenagers in Delhi. Inspired by the chilling real-life Ranga-Billa case, the series shows the nationwide manhunt and the disturbing lives of the perpetrators before the crime, while examining violence, justice and systemic failures. Zoom’s in-house has given it a 4-star rating.