Raakh Web Series Review: ★★★½☆ (3.5/5)
Raakh is not an easy watch, but it is an important and deeply affecting one. Anchored by outstanding performances from Ali Fazal, Sonali Bendre, and Akash Makhija, the series transforms a horrifying real-life crime into a powerful story about grief, justice, and remembrance. While the graphic violence and occasional pacing issues hold it back from greatness, its emotional honesty and strong performances make it one of the most memorable Indian crime dramas of the year.
Rating: 3.5 / 5
Streaming Platform: Amazon Prime Video
Director: Prosit Roy
Cast: Ali Fazal, Sonali Bendre, Akash Makhija, Rakesh Bedi, Aamir Bashir, Anshul Chauhan
Some stories don’t need to be made scarier. They just need to be told honestly. The 1978 kidnapping and murder of two Delhi teenagers — a sister and brother on their way to a radio station — is one of those stories. It was a crime so random, so cruel, and so senseless that it shook an entire city and left a mark that lasted decades. Raakh, now streaming on Prime Video, takes that real tragedy and turns it into eight episodes of television that will genuinely unsettle you.
That’s not entirely a compliment. But it’s mostly one.
What’s the Story?
Sixteen-year-old Suman and her fourteen-year-old brother Sahil leave home one ordinary evening. Suman is supposed to sing on air at a radio station. Their father was meant to drop them but couldn’t make it. It starts raining. They accept a lift from strangers — Babu (Akash Makhija) and Rajjo (Ramandeep Yadav), two criminals on the run from Mumbai. The children never come home.
What follows is the investigation led by young Sub-Inspector Jayprakash (Ali Fazal), a first-time cop on his first major case, fighting against bureaucratic pressure, public outrage, and his own inability to let go. Their mother Mona (Sonali Bendre) slowly crumbles under grief she refuses to fully accept. And across eight episodes, the series pieces together exactly what happened that night — holding the full truth back until the very end.
Ali Fazal Is the Heart of the Show
Ali Fazal has had good roles before, but this might be his finest work. Jayprakash is not a superhero cop. He’s a young man trying to prove himself, haunted by a case that keeps slipping through his fingers. Fazal plays him with real restraint — no over-the-top breakdowns, no big dramatic speeches. Just the quiet, grinding weight of someone who refuses to walk away. There’s a moment near the end where he finally catches up with the killer and loses all composure, and after everything you’ve watched, it feels completely earned.
His scenes with Rakesh Bedi — who plays his retired constable father Ghanshyam — are the warmest parts of the show. A man who brings home-cooked food to his son after long shifts, who says “sabse se bana ke rakhna chahiye” (be good with everyone) like it’s the only wisdom that matters — Bedi brings a gentle gravity that gives the show some much-needed breathing room amid all the darkness.
Akash Makhija Is Genuinely Frightening
Every time Babu appears on screen, the air changes. Makhija plays him with a cold, unpredictable energy that makes him deeply unsettling to watch. The series slowly reveals his backstory — a childhood shaped by cruelty and rejection — without ever excusing what he became. He’s not a victim. He’s a monster. But Makhija makes you understand, just barely, how someone becomes one. It’s easily the most memorable performance in the series.
Sonali Bendre and the Weight of Grief
Sonali Bendre as Mona, the mother, carries so much of the show’s emotional burden. Her best moments are the quiet ones — an empty stare, a silence that says more than any dialogue could. There’s a devastating scene when the family finally learns the truth, and Bendre’s reaction is gutting. Aamir Bashir as the father is equally powerful — his cry when the children’s bodies are found is one of the rawest moments on Indian streaming this year.
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Where the Show Goes Wrong
Raakh is not a perfect series. The biggest criticism — and it’s a fair one — is that it goes too far with the graphic violence. Showing the horror that Suman and Sahil suffered in detail feels less like honest storytelling and more like shock value. You don’t need to see everything to feel everything. The show would’ve hit harder with more restraint in those moments.
The pacing also drags in places. Eight episodes is probably one too many, and certain stretches — particularly involving the journalist character Nisar — feel like filler rather than story.
The Ending Makes It All Worth It
Whatever complaints you have about Raakh, the final episode earns forgiveness. The truth is finally laid out clearly, the killers face justice, and then the series does something beautiful — it imagines an alternate version of that evening. Suman and Sahil take a different path. She makes it to the radio station. She sings. Her parents listen proudly at home. It’s heartbreaking and lovely at the same time, a small act of cinematic grace for two real children whose lives were stolen.
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Should You Watch It?
Yes — but go in prepared. Raakh is not easy viewing. It’s dark, graphic in places, and genuinely upsetting. But it’s also emotionally honest, beautifully performed, and handled by a director who clearly respects the real tragedy at its centre. In a world full of crime dramas that treat murder as entertainment, Raakh never forgets that real people were lost. That alone makes it worth your time.