“We were working on the script of Suzhal in 2014-2015 originally as a feature. While developing the story, we realised the story cannot be contained in a two hour feature format and that it had to be long form,” say Suzhal: The Vortex directors Pushkar and Gayathri as they celebrate the success of the highly acclaimed Amazon Prime Video show that started streaming from June 17.
Pushkar and Gayathri also reveal that since there were no OTT players in India back then, they decided decided to wait for the big OTTS to come before proceeding with it. It was only after Amazon approached them that the duo finally brought the riveting script to the OTT space.
But while not giving out spoilers, what is Suzhal, starring, Kathir, Aishwarya Rajesh, R. Parthiban and Sriya Reddy all about?
Elaborating on the same, Pushkar says, “What you can show in a theatrical feature film – the subject matter there are a few things that work really well on big screen. Single protagonist, one antagonist etc. With this complicated subject and a bunch of things that the town is about. Long form is the only way we could have shown the series.”
Gayathri reveals that Suzhal is all about perspectives and point of view, stating, “While plot needs to be there, it is not exclusive. You can have plot and worldview differently. Only if you add them the characters will become fleshed out and three dimensional.”
Pushkar says, “It is not an investigative thriller or whodunnit. It does not reside only on what happened. It is an exploration of multiple characters. We take people into homes. With the investigation it was easier to show the different sides of it. It was going by stereotypes. Something will trigger the investigation that are often these broad judgements we pass on certain kind of people. That is what we wanted to explore in writing.”
As for the setting being Mauyanna Kollai, a little-known festival of Tamil Nadu, Pushkar reveals, “Mayan Kollai metaphor worked for us. More than culture, it was a question pf faith. Faith could be in anything. People rely on faith as social crutch. This festival becomes a metaphor of that. Every person grapples with faith and consequence of faith.”
“In a small society with common faith and culture you can look at the variations in it,” says Gayathri, before adding, “The freedom that OTT space gives — be it language, plot, diorector — For us it gave us the freedom to choose the best possible performers we got. We were not looking for a popular face, but rather people who are performers.”
