Dahan: Raakan Ka Rahasya (2022– ) User Reviews

A good attempt but could have been lot better

[pranay_misra · 7/10 · 17 September 2022]

Firstly, good thing about the show is it didnt overdo the zombie stuff, gore scenes were limited and were finely edited. Series was more about a mystholigcal figure and story focuses mostly on its return to village in some form and grows more with the episodes.

Now the complain is the story, series could have been made better if it was only of 6 episode and if it had little less subplots, because after episode 4, more n more subplots came which made the episodes seem little lengthy(around 50 mints each).

Production amd acting was good. Anay looked little younger for his role but his crush was cute and did her part better so did her boyfriend.

Direction amd editing was also good. It is lot better rhan Netflix 'Betaal' and maybe little less intense than 'Ghoul'.

Overall it is a decent one time watch but not something outstanding or extraordinary.

A brave and gripping " science vs superstition" attempt by Bollywood

[Biswas_ · 8/10 · 18 September 2022]

India rarely tries zombie apocalypse series or films . The last one in Hindi was back in 2020 called Betaal that was okayish but most importantly it was an out and out zombie apocalypse series. Dahan is not exactly that.

Dahan is about a mysterious place called Shilaspura which hides a mystery underneath a "Shila" or rock which the people in that village believe to be locking a socerers son called Raakan who has the capability of cursing people if let free. However, things start to get disastrous when Avani and her mining team decide to open up a mine in that village which is exactly below the Shila which they do and from there onwards, chaos follows.

This series is a brave attempt in mixing superstition and science in one bowl. Very rarely does india attempt series like this and in the last few years, this one comes across as a refreshing watch.

The screenplay is gripping and with each episode, i became curious to know 1. What exactly was the blue thing underneath the Shila 2. Avani's past 3. The ultimate consequence of the apocalypse. Yes the series is extremely lengthy which I'll talk about in a minute but there is not a single boring moment. Often the series gave off some "The mummy" or "Indiana Jones" vibes which too was something i liked.

The series makes you wonder that all the apocalypse happening around is really a curse or does it have a scientific explanation. Well, the series explains it, kinda partially. It is also noteworthy that this series does not show a full fledged apocalypse any time so don't compare it with other zombie series like All of us are dead etc those were out an out zombie apocalypse cum survival series but Dahan includes more than just mere survival. In fact, Dahan only becomes a more survival like series only in the last 2 episodes.

Tisca Chopra does a terrific job as Avani. I would say the makers need to come up with the history of her character because (minor spoilers ahead but won't be affecting much) she manages to survive zombie (called Raakan here) bites and doctors pass it off as mere natural consequence. Well, i feel there is more . Saurabh shuka is terrific as pramukh. Great to see our dear old Vasooli bhai back in action as an inspector and he lends a good hand to this series. Others have done a decent job as well.

Coming to the negatives now. Avani's son Anay (don't know his real name). He has a weird character and weird unnecessary moments in the series. He speaks English a lot and even in front of the expected uneducated villagers and it seems they understand him. Logic where? His story with the teenage gang is quite forced and unnecessary especially that one scene where he falls over Rani and attempts to kiss is the last thing I would want to see in a series like this.

The stuff that is underneath the rock when revealed then we do not have a proper explanation as to what that thing is. Probably a new season could explain it but the ending doesn't suggest a new season which could be a bummer cuz i really wanted to know what TF was that stuff shown underneath the rock.

There is one construction manager who is the biggest idiot on planet literally shouting at his workers at a time when they are all infected was hilarious.

Overall, a brave attempt at a topic like this. It clearly falters in explaining certain important things but what i liked is they made an attempt, a good attempt in making an engaging series.

A must watch series.

[kashyapaastha-26060 · 7/10 · 17 September 2022]

An intertwined story of faith and science. Although it was engaging throughout the series, but missed to connect certain loopholes. Somehow it reminded me of The Stranger Things because of that zari-booti kind of veins, the mines, and the kids. One thing was on the top and that was the selection of star cast and their performance! I am no one to comment on their performance. Watching Rajesh Tailang, Mukesh Tiwari, and Saurabh Shukla is always delight to the eyes, but Tisca Chopra stole the limelight with her grace, bravery, and beauty. Overall it had thrill+horror kind of texture. It's interesting.

Gripping, Thrilling, Slow, Gore, Exorcism

[sekharsubhransu20 · 9/10 · 16 September 2022]

Perfect story to reveal superstitious belief and folklores in rural india. Lack of awareness about science and human body. The story is all about how a person with infectious diseases were treated as Witches and killed by exorcist. Sometimes died with negligency or killed by people unaware of human psychology.

Amygdala: A part in human brain who controls fear.

Episodes are little slow , but gripping. Tisca chopra, Saurav shukla, Rajesh Tailang, Mukesh Sir and all other characters played their part perfectly.

Every single characters are given priority and i have watched all this episodes in one go.

We officially entered into Zombies

[singhhardeep-21933 · 7/10 · 17 September 2022]

Let me start with pros. Acting is superb in all front. Everyone acted so well to make the story believable. Perfectly shown the balance between myths and science. We officially now have desi zombies. It gave me a feeling of watching Resident evil with desi vibes. Excellent effort by team of Dahan.

Now the cons; I felt that build up of the story could have been more crisp. It could have been two episodes short and with 30 mints each. In between some scenes felt stretched which eventually leads to boredom. I had to skip to make it to last episode. Last two episodes are the one where you get the actual feel of the show.

Zombie(Rakaan) make up is not up to the mark however the blood and gore shown is remarkable and i have never seen such in any show yet. This has a lot of potential to become a full fledged zombie apocalypse world if they put more production value in it like more crisp story make up and sets.

All and All it is a must watch as the effort put is commendable. I wish few characters wouldn't die as they had so much potential for further sequels if there is any.

Outstanding Concept , Graphics & Performance!!!

[srforceofficial · 10/10 · 16 September 2022]

Just wow for the team and storyline u didn't feel this 8+ hr long story feel like 2 hr story . All actor's playing amazing role in whole series we can say this is different type of SciFi which is giving goosebumps to whom think only hollywood make diffrent type of wive although some minor mistakes occur in story but its acceptable in front of whole story .

Other Makers need to make this type of movie or series where suspense and thriller make audience surprised.

I can clearly see the future of Nepo bollywood kids in danger coz OTT platform giving chances to theatre actor whom charging too much less fees for their role which is used in Good VFX/CGI , Storyline and plot making but unfortunately bollywood nepo movie producer's playing too much fees to nepo kids to cast them with remake story or 3rd class story where less budget for VFX , Storyline and plot making that's why bollywood collapsing day by day .

Simply we can say Full Paisa Vasool in 499/Year.

A Good Building which Ends little short!

[tazzysiddiqui · 7/10 · 16 September 2022]

I won't reveal any part of story which is honestly unfair to the makers who probably did lots of creative work behind this (which I feel people while reviewing also in the name of synopsis reveals). So, the show has a good buildup in the initial Episodes which will definitely keep you hook about the folklore in the city (Rajasthan). However, as we reach to the latter part of the climax the folklore somewhere disappears which is sadly the weakest point of the plot. You will wish that had the creators explored more about the deity they were talking about it would have been more fun. Tisca Chopra did a great job & special mention to Saurabh Shukla (he just nails it anything he does, acting comes naturally to him now). Special mention to the Marwari language used here (which is considerably used- which sort of gives it a very authentic look because most of the times themes/background of shows/language are given up after 2-3 episodes)

A Good Decent watch for one time is probably it.

Binge worthy

[sumanth-05484 · 8/10 · 18 September 2022]

Completely Binge worthy.

First Season has Only 9 Episodes .

Completed in one Sitting.

Binged watching.

Good Mixture of Myth and Science.

All actors performance is Very Good.

Have the scope to do Next Seasons.

All episodes are engaging.

Writing is Good but If they added some more points then it could have been great series in Indian Webseries Industry like Asur .

Climax is bit Expected for few .

Series has All elements Suspense, Horror, Thriller .

Avani , Rani , Circle inspector Bhairon , Pramukh ji and some characters are memorable.

Very Good experiment in Indian Webseries Industry.

I totally got intrigued by Trailer itself.

Available in Disney Plus Hotstar.

Lacks the finishing touches

[Atrey_Doury · 6/10 · 20 September 2022]

It's a stew. A semi - mystery, part - paranormal, somewhat sci - fi, a dash of drama and a whole load of meaningless meandering. The good thing about stew is that it has the ability the mask the taste of its worst ingredients in favour of those that are the best. The end result is a passable mish-mash e.g. This series.

The acting with the exception of Saurabh Shukla and Rajesh Tailang leaves a lot to be desired. There is over-acting or no - acting. Either writer was an amateur, or the director was indecisive, which resulted in narrative roving around unnecessarily only to move forward and zig-zag in fits and starts. The production values are passable. The photography is okayish. The tropes are all familiar and boring i.e. Rebellious teenagers, corrupt cop with redeemable features, main lead with dark(ish) past incorrigible but misguided ideologue et al.

Nevertheless a passable khichdi. Have a taste!

Illogical and unnecessarily stretched out

[discerninguser · 1/10 · 19 September 2022]

This is a series that starts off fairly well and in the initial 2-3 episodes even engages the viewer; but falters badly later on and sinks further with each episode.

The screenplay and script in the last 5 episodes of the series is so unrealistic and confused; that at places it looks like a parody horror series or one made for kids.

The makers of this series tried hard to convince viewers that the premise is novel and interesting; but in the bargain ended up making it an unappetising khichdi.

Several sub-plots actually go nowhere and also make no sense. For example, somewhere along the way the lead is revealed to be the monster's mother; but its conveniently left unexplained. Its like the writer had some interesting ideas and started to weave them in the plot but suffered loss of memory and left it halfway.

The end reveal is so anti-climactic and underwhelming that it doesn't match up to the build up. Several scenes are lazily written and executed. Feels like several script writers were involved and they ended up spoiling the broth.

For example, the main character's driver is shown as taking up the mantle, getting his forearm branded with a red-hot iron etc. But he meets his end tamely when a possessed female (who he is trying to exorcise) picks up a conveniently placed sword and beheads him.

Unnecessary emotional drama is added in between. The main character is perpetually on a guilt trip and actually does nothing. The climax is so ridiculous and laughable that it actually Insults the intelligence of the audience.

All in all, this could have been a good series if the makers had cut out all the emotional nonsense, focused on just the supernatural aspect and kept it limited to 4-5 taut, well made episodes.

A superb webseries

[baghelanil · 10/10 · 16 September 2022]

Webseries are the wave of the future, not Bollywood. They have excellent acting, great storylines, and fantastic direction.

It's 3:30 a.m. And I'm still watching "Dahan - Raakan Ka Rahasya," a fantastic webseries that I just watched today. The storyline of this webseries is great, and Saurabh Shukla in particular does excellent acting.

Bollywood should now take a cue from television.

However sometimes it seems that there is some parts has taken from the zombie movies but later it has also cleared. Some gore sceans can disturb the audience.

But overall this webseries is fantastic and i am rating it 9/10.

Slow but engaging

[cifarshayar · 6/10 · 21 September 2022]

Screenplay is slow. Lots of time was taken in reaching some meaningful plot. The director can tell the same story in 5 or 6 episodes because first five episodes are actually boring and adding no value to the story. I was watching these episodes in lapse and it was because of such slow start that I can't binge watched it. Although plot was new and worth telling. Performances of Tisca Chopra, Saurabh Shukla,Rohan Joshi (actor who played Tisca's son)Rajesh Tailang , Mukesh Tiwari are worth mentioning. Makeup,special effects are also good. Logical reasoning to a folklore ,a myth believed in the village.

Khoda Pahad Nikli Chuhiya

[akashm-01489 · 4/10 · 18 September 2022]

It's not a complete waste but nothing sort of worth your time. Sometimes it try to be a horror, sometimes zombie apocalypse, sometimes super natural amd sometimes science fiction.

All an all the writers, directors tried so many things but not a single thing goes perfectly fine. Looks like a khichdi. Length is also could have been cut short to 6-7 episodes.

Confused writing, not so good screenplay, poor editing and mediocre acting.

So many unanswered questions, so many loop holes, so many plot holes.

Nothing new or extraordinary.

Better stay away from it but if you just want to kill time you can watch it.

A thrilling experience!

[hussaindildar · 9/10 · 18 September 2022]

"FAITH" "BELIEF" is everything. What a great story that shows how faith changes fate! Rightly said its a battle between rationality and superstition. Saurabh Shukla is amazing always, Tisca Chopra, Rajesh Tailang, Mukesh Tiwari all are such brilliant actors.

Now I'll tell you my experience watching Dahan: After watching half of the series, I couldn't sleep the whole night, but I had to complete the series, next day I watched the other half. God help me! The last time I was this much terrified when I watched the film "IT" ... Horror, Horror, Horror! I don't like Horror, I avoid it but Horror likes me! I can't avoid. Do give it a watch! "Dahan" will keep you engaged. Rakan! Rakan! Ridhiyakan!

Good story concept, something new. But ending is dragged

[faisalfaves · 6/10 · 19 August 2023]

The series is geared towards evoking a weighty and intense sensation.

Although the concept was innovative and intriguing, the execution turned out to be overly intense, failing to deliver satisfying entertainment at the end of the show.

The show includes a significant amount of bloodshed, disturbing scenes, violence, decapitations, and dark magic.

The performances are average, lacking any exceptional elements. The series suffers from a slow pace, resulting in a lengthy span of 9 episodes.

The climax holds some interest and introduces information that could have been better placed in earlier episodes. This could have led to Tisca, the collector, engaging in a struggle to rescue the village from superstitious practices.

If you're prepared for a deeply immersive experience, this series might be suitable for you. Starting is good as well as ending is nice, but the middle was dragged and slow... Rating 6/10.

ENGAGING SERIES.

[mohtratarun · 10/10 · 16 September 2022]

Keeps U at The Edge of the Seat. The visuals & the story telling is just awesome 👌. Saurabh Shukla appears for just a couple of minutes, but takes the limelight with his unavoidable screen presence as the Pramukh. Dahan begins its story with an impressive first episode. The viewer is reeled in, and the screenplay gets more engaging by the minute, as it does not hold back on showcasing the gore. The narration about Ridhikayan's ancient past, the occult activities, and the tales of the mythical and the mysterious had my attention. The talks between mom & his son is some what boring but u can skip that. All in all a family recommendation series with a great mystery suspense series. Dahan seems like an interesting watch if you have a love for thrill and suspense, combined with gore. The storytelling is decent and with more layers and complexities, might be able to keep your curiosities on the edge.

Could not hold it together at the end

[orko_dutta · 6/10 · 22 September 2022]

Started with a promise of a good series and was going strong till the 4th or 5th episode. Then lost the execution. After completing, it is evident that this should have been a 7 episode series with tighter and better climax sequences and planning. Some parts needed better connections. Too many things diluted the grip. Editing could have been better. But overall the story is good - the concept of science and magic is good.

Acting wise - looked decent. The main problem as mentioned were in the last 3 or two episodes which looked stretched unnecessarily.

Otherwise a good series with a good plot.

Finally some good horror tv series

[akssaayy · 10/10 · 18 September 2022]

The OTT platform is full of bad series especially on Netflix.

This tv series is great watch and engaging as well.

There are slow moments however each character gets ample background.

No one is right or wrong and everyone is just doing things as per their own understanding.

The series starts off great and looks a bit rushed at end.

The vfx are okay for a tv series and the acting is good. The use of poetry is beautifully done and enhanced the experience.

I hope other OTT companies don't push stale stories written by writers who are disconnected from the ground and just push their own opinions and narratives which are not entertaining and waste of time as now everything opened up and we have limited time for watching TV.

Dahan Review: An Occult Mystery Needs Better Twists Than Peeing on a Map

[shefali-59244 · 23 September 2022]

In its first episode, Dahan: Raakan ka Rahasya seems promising. We meet Avni (Tisca Chopra), a disgraced Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer who is also mother to the teenaged Anay (Rohan Joshi) and a widow. Reeling from charges of corruption and her husband's suicide, Avni convinces her superior to send her to a village in Rajasthan, named Shilaspura, where a mining project is facing resistance from locals. As Avni and Anay make their way to the village, they learn the story of the beheaded sorcerer Ridhiyakan and his demoness mother Haadika. If Haadika is awakened, people turn into the bloodthirsty "Raakan". The first step to this awakening is seemingly caused by entering the caves of Shilaspura - the very mines that Avni is here to blast with the aim of bringing progress to this remote area.

Read the full review at filmcomapnion.in.

best performance by each carector and in each scene

[jaiminpatel-88269 · 6/10 · 16 September 2022]

Best performance seeen in this season, about suspance its remain silently no one can judge till 8th episode this is virus or superstition. We have found less movies and seasons that can handle. Good direction ofcourse and best scene choose.about starcast tiska chopra is best and realy fit in this role.

More cherector are performing good as they cast. Many episodes sucseed to create hype. Less season are able to watch back to back episode. This is best example for bing watching. Its real standard of indian cinema. Its recommed to watch who likes mistry and suspance story : 8.5 direction : 9 cast :9.

Confusing and Overstretched.

[Unfilmy · 3/10 · 19 September 2022]

The series started off well but loses it's grip after 2-3 episodes. 9 episodes is a bit too much for this. There are too many useless characters who don't serve any purpose, too many subplots which are left hanging midway. The diamond and the bribe story doesn't make any sense and does not add anything to the story. The husband committed suicide, and we don't exactly know why? I like Tisca Chopra but in this series, she was quite annoying. The writers seemed conflicted about whether to make the story scientific or superstitious. The mine had a pathogen which glowed like Avatar's Pandora and for some inexplicable reason was subdued by burning a mysterious grass? The pathogen was said to affect people's mind and cause infection and there was an attempt to explain the creation of 'zombie' like weird creatures, but it wasn't explained how it gave them superhuman abilities? Why did Pramukh want to kill everyone using that grass? Who was the foretelling person in the prison? Who was that person after diamonds? What is the point of adding Bhairon's daughter, Rani's uncle in the plot when you are not gonna develop it?

Cannot believe Saurabh Shukla is in this series. I really like him as an actor, but here he has been wasted.

Wonderful plot, storyline and acting

[amitoshnavy · 9/10 · 19 September 2022]

After a long long time there is something to cheer about. Dahan is wonderful web series. Great story, when myth merges with science. Wonderful direction, well laid out cast and wonderful screenplay. Tisca Chopra is a gem and is one of the finest actors in India, she has not done justice to her talent yet. All other cast be it Saurabh Shukla, Rajesh Tailang, Mukesh Tiwary and in fact all of them had done brilliant. The plot keeps you hooked , the vfx is way better than Brahmastra :-). The science and myth amalgamation is wonderfully plotted. You dont see this type of web series every day. So guys , do watch.

Unmissable!

Take you to the skies & throw you down

[abhinavpaul18 · 7/10 · 19 September 2022]

Story is very intriguing for the initial episodes. It feels like team is trying something new. India's own touch of exorcism, horror & thrill. It will bind you till episode 7. Then, episode 8 begins which leads towards the climax and all the interest loses and you will be LIKE-WTF. Did I spend 7 hours for this? All the hype & interest every episode is carrying, it all ends at episode 8 and will make you think that you really need to watch the Last episode or not? You know the how & when its going to end. Who will survive & who will die.

Such a pathetic climax to end the story.

It all leads to myths v/s Science.

Heavy headed

[sameerlodaya · 4/10 · 19 September 2022]

Sameer lodaya

The series all set to give you heavy headed feeling

The concept was good and unique but the presentation was too heavy which fails to give you good entertainment.

Bloodbath,horrificscenes,killings,beheadings,black magic is been offered in high scale

Performances are just normal and nothing extraordinary is found here..the pace of the series is too slow and hence it ended up in 9 long episodes

Climax was little interesting and gave the fact which could had been introduced earlier episodes and then Tisca the collector should had fought to save the village from superstitious activities

If you are ready for heavy headed feeling then you go with this one.

Gripping story, good contrast of two sub plots

[sammit-55045 · 10/10 · 8 October 2022]

Very good story, and an exceptional blend of science and superstition. The whole series will continue to keep the eerie feeling all along. The concept of superstition to hide the unexplained scientific reasons to the villagers. The whole point of the story is to make a blend of myths and the reasons behind it. But with time as the rituals become myth people start to divert from the rational reasoning and make the myth to be a religious ceremony.

Overall a beautiful story with two sub plots merging at one place. Its a must watch for all. Definitely binge worthy.

As the last message given say, which I loved the most. "Both science and superstition meant to remove fear from humans, but they are often used as an instrument to generate fear".