Why ‘Suzhal’ is a labour of love for Pushkar-Gayatri and team
The Hindu
The ‘Vikram Vedha’ directorial duo, along with directors Bramma and Anucharan, speak about their upcoming investigative drama on Amazon Prime, how important a cultural context to any tale is, and
Pushkar and Gayatri are back.
Five years after Vikram Vedha stormed screens and established them as filmmakers to watch out for across the country — Bollywood took note, which is why they are remaking their smash hit in Hindi with Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan — the husband-wife team make their web-series debut.
Titled Suzhal – The Vortex, the investigative drama follows a well-trodden template plot that has been the foundation of several successful shows globally; from Mare of Easttown to True Detective. Set in a small fictional town in south India, all hell breaks loose when a local girl goes missing, and cops struggle to figure out who is behind the kidnapping or murder as a seemingly-larger curse envelopes the drama.
With a fantastic ensemble cast comprising Kathir, Aishwarya Rajesh, Sriya Reddy along with Radhakrishnan Parthiban in key roles, the eight-episode series could well emerge to be Tamil cinema’s calling card in the genre.
Though Pushkar-Gayatri created the show, the duo — like in the case of several Hollywood projects — chose filmmakers Bramma ( Kuttram Kadithal, Magalir Mattum) and Anucharan ( Kirumi) to direct the episodes instead, in what makes for an intriguing collaboration.
All set to premiere June 17 on Amazon Prime, we talk to the creative team of Suzhal ahead of its release on what to expect from the drama. Excerpts from an interview:
“The process of writing Suzhal began in 2018, and we started the first schedule in 2020… but then of course, came the lockdowns and delays. Honestly, we haven’t worried about our relevance too much apart from some fleeting moments now and then,” says Pushkar lightly.