Suzhal Review: It’s a binge worthy mystery series for those who want to watch small town intriguing events. In this web series Pushkar and Gayathri deceive us into thinking we’re watching something very similar to Drishyam, only to deceive us. It’s also fascinating how the characters don’t easily fit into a “good” or “evil” binary.
Suzhal, the latest web series by director duo Pushkar-Gayathri, is an investigative thriller streaming on Prime Video. Sambaloor, which is generally sleepy, is gearing up for its largest event of the year, the nine-day Mayana Kollai festival. Two important events occur on the festival’s opening night. Nila, a fifteen-year-old girl, goes missing after a fire at the local cement business. Inspector Regina (Shriya) and Chakrvarthy (Kathir) follow the trail to solve the case in this series.
Shanmugham is a well-liked trade union leader who fights for his workers’ rights, but he’s also a short-tempered man who isn’t as considerate of his estranged wife and daughters. Regina Thomas may appear to be a tough cop, but she, too, has her weak spots. The industrialist’s son, Harish Uttaman, may appear to be the stereotypical villain, but there’s more to him than meets the eye.
There are lot of jigsaw sequences in Suzhal , like Shanumgham’s brother Guna (Ilango Kumaravel) and his wife, the local priest’s assistant, Nila’s best friend from school and her family, tuition teacher Pushparaj, a private investigator who’s come to write a report on the fire in the factory (Santhana Bharathi) – who surface now and then.
Suzhal Review: A binge worthy series with lots of twists and turns
While the narrative contains enough twists and turns, the series does not leave you breathless. This is due to the abundance of generic scenes in the novel. Take the scene between Shanmugham and Nila just before she vanishes, for example. She sobs as he yells at her about her terrible grades on her report card. She leaves a sweet note with the words ‘Sorry’ on it.
And, this doesn’t tell us anything about the relationship between a parent and a daughter. Nandini joins the search for Nila, but what kind of relationship did the two of them have apart from a sisters’ selfie that she lusts after? We don’t share Nila’s family’s and the police’s sense of urgency in finding her. There’s an important love story track.
The romance between Kathir and Nivedhithaa Sathish appears to be more believable. Despite the fact that Nivedhithaa’s Lakshmi is locked in the ‘whiny girlfriend’ mould, she portrays her with an honesty that is difficult to reject. Kathir, in his role as Sakkarai, is also impressive. In all of his scenes, he runs, punches, romances, emotes, and carries the load.
While Parthiban is solid in a character he can sleepwalk through, Sriya Reddy’s Regina is a little conventional. Is it necessary for every female cop to act as if she just ate a fireball?
Nandini, played by Aishwarya Rajesh, is the series’ hero, and the actress once again displays her mettle. It’s impossible to look away while she’s in tears. Nandini is the series’ central character and the reason we keep watching until the conclusion.
Suzhal Review: Aishwarya Rajesh is stellar in her role
However, as a police procedural, Suzhal leaves the audience with a lot of unanswered issues. Consider how bodies launched from tremendous heights are discovered. It appears to be an impractical action for the criminal as well as a breach of physical laws. Why the cops don’t instantly track Nila’s phone’s last known cell tower location when she vanishes is also perplexing. Duhh. There are a few connections to the red herrings as well.
Suzhal relies far too heavily on unsettling close-ups and low-angle shots of people celebrating the Mayana Kollai festival, combined with an inspired background score, to create suspense in the narrative. There are also scenes of sexual abuse that could have been handled more compassionately; filmmakers turn the audience into voyeurs by focusing the camera on the victims and their anguish. We don’t need to see someone’s misery and pain through the lens of the camera to understand what’s going on and how we should react.
We learn nothing about Sambalur’s socio-cultural fabric outside of the Mayana Kollai event, despite the fact that the series is set in a small village. Unlike other Hindi web series that have looked at the intersections of caste, class, and gender, this one focuses on the intersections of caste, class, and gender.
Suzhal, on the other hand, is far more fascinating than the actual Tamil content produced by OTT behemoths. It’s not quite a vortex that completely engulfs you, but it’s a fine enough binge-watch for folks who enjoy small-town mysteries.