Suzhal: The Vortex — A Slowburn That Kept Me Curious Till The End
A two tale mystery that ends up revealing a sensitive issue in our society that we have failed to resolve
Ever since this series was launched on Amazon Prime, I’d only heard positive things about it. Yet I only watched it this week, once I found its Hindi dubbed version. I’d thoroughly enjoyed Vikram Vedha, created by Pushkar and Gayatri so I was curious about this series as it has been written by them. After a disappointing suspense thriller Vadhandhi, I didn’t want to risk watching another such series with my wife so I decided to watch it alone before recommending it to her. And I will definitely suggest she watch this as the reveal towards the end of the series is shocking but not impossible.
The best part about this series isn’t how the mystery keeps getting more convoluted, it is the depth of emotions it can touch. Every new reveal touches an emotional point in our minds. And when the final reveal happens then more than the shock it is the emotions that decide our reaction to it. Because the “why” becomes more important than the “who” or “how”.
I liked how every episode ended with a reveal that kept getting more intense with every episode. Every character that can become a suspect becomes one as the story progresses seamlessly. How they keep the final reveal wrapped up and away from the audience’s sleuthing minds is amazing. Another interesting aspect is their connecting the mysteries with the ongoing local festival and presenting the two events in parallel in some scenes. I will definitely re-watch this series with my wife sometime this year, to observe some clues the creators may have sprinkled throughout the series, and to note my wife’s reactions as she is better than me in sensing plot twists and reveals.
Since this is a suspense thriller, I will not talk about the plot or the reveals but I will reveal that it is about an important social issue that we all must talk about and resolve as much as we can. Every adult must watch this series and recommend it to others. The series may feel longer than needed when we finally know the suspense, but it is worth going through the journey because it all gets tied together and it all makes sense.
Random thought: Was happy to see Kathir again working with Pushkar and Gayatri after Vikram Vedha.
Favorite scene: All the reveals that happen in this series, mostly after every episode. But one of the best emotional scenes was when the senior police officer and the union leader sat in a room and talked about their children.
With terrific performances, good editing, dazzling visuals of the festival, and memorable music, this series is definitely the best crime thriller web series of India, not just because of the suspense aspect but also the emotional aspect that comes from the social issue about which this show is trying to educate its viewers. You can watch it on Amazon Prime, available in many languages.
