Get caught in ‘Suzjal’ (vortex)

Get caught in ‘Suzhal’ (vortex): My quick take on Amazon Primes web series “Suzal”

Not to be missed, a well-made gripping crime drama. After a well-made Marathi web series रानबाजार , it was turn of another regional language series to rock the OTT space. This time it was the Tamil team of Pushkar and Gayatri who had already created waves with their ‘Vikram Veda” in the recent past, to come up with a plot packed with twists and turns giving you the edge-of-a-seat experience. The beauty of this 8-episode long series is that, the way the episode concludes, the needle of suspicion points to totally new character of the plot, hence by the time you read climax you would have guessed at least 8 different ‘culprits’.

Writers have beautifully juxtaposed the traditional Mayan Kollai festivities with the plot of a teenage girl going missing. A fantastic cast of hand-picked actors is one of the reasons why the series has become binge-watch worthy product. I am thoroughly impressed with performances of kathir, Aishwarya Rajesh and Sriya Reddy. The plot is set in a simply sublime location ( looks like Munnar ) which looks even blissful through the deft camerawork of the cinematographer. And above all the production design which has created the rich Mayan Kollai celebrations is the cherry on the cake.

By the time you reach the episode 3, you will feel that makers have made a desi adaption of Bard’s Romeo and Juliet plot but then the story just changes gears and gets into an overdrive mode with an unexpected twist and roller coaster ride continues. Take a bow Pushkar and Gayatri.

Mayan Kollai festivities is the ‘night of dead’ where the Goddess Parameswari is invoked who then looks for demons hiding in corpses in the cemetery and kills them. these ritualistic festivities are used as a great metaphor that we do have many demons and devilish characters amongst us which need to be vanquished.

Like a whirlpool or a votex in the river, the web series is so well made that it will ‘suck’ you into binge-watching. Dont miss it, if you love whodunit cliff-hangers.