Entertainment

Pushkar–Gayathri on creating Suzhal for Amazon Prime Video: ‘We made it a point to keep it Indian’

Filmmaker duo Pushkar-Gayathri has written and created Tamil web series Suzhal for Amazon Prime Video.

Filmmaker duo Pushkar–Gayathri, who shot to fame nationwide with the success of their 2017 gangster drama Vikram Vedha, is now waiting for the release of their first web series. They have written an 8-episode crime drama called Suzhal, which means vortex, for Amazon Prime Video. The series comes with the distinction of being the first original Tamil web series for the streaming giant. And that distinction comes with a lot of responsibility for Pushkar–Gayathri.

Talking to indianexpress.com, the duo noted that they were very cautious about avoiding the trappings of television soap operas. “Pulling a plot point to fill in episodes has been the bane of television, no? A simple point is being pulled for five minutes, 10 minutes. Your episode’s plot movement becomes very weak. You are basically running 35-40 minutes on two reversals. We were conscious during the writing process that there must be plot movement. There must be emotionally charged movements. There must be character revelations in every episode. We think that makes for solid episodes and keep people invested in the story,” said Pushkar.

The duo also wanted to retain the larger-than-life experience of cinema in Suzhal, in an attempt to redefine the Tamil audience’s idea about serials. “We didn’t want to restrict ourselves to an idea of a web series that you can watch on your mobile phones while commuting. We wanted to give the audience a cinematic experience. Not just in the terms of the scale, it has been mounted on, it has grand set-up, arcs, the story is large,” added Gayathri.

Pushkar-Gayathri relies on the trove of mythology to provide a solid philosophical base for their narration. For their runaway hit, they had taken the inspiration from the mythology of Vikram Betaal to create a story about an honest but naïve cop whose knowledge is challenged and teased by a wise-cracking gangster. And it seems they have also borrowed mythological themes to build the world of Suzhal.

Suzhal is set in a small fictional town against the backdrop of a festival, which happens for about eight days. Each day of the festival is marked by different sorts of cultural and religious practices. And the mythology of the festival acts as a metaphor for what’s happening in every episode.

“We made it a point to keep it Indian. We didn’t want to be inspired by the stuff which is happening across the world. We wanted to create an Indian series. The story has to be Indian, rooted in a specific space so it gives a cultural context to it. If the show is going global, there is always this idea to make the series so simple that anybody, anywhere can relate to it. We have not done that. This is still an Indian show at heart. We are hoping that raw emotions will connect with the people (across the world). The cultural milieu will give a peek into this little part of the world,” added Pushkar.

Gayathri also believes creating a series inspired by the west could make it difficult for Indian audiences to connect with the show. “We Indians act in a certain way. If we do a series inspired by the west, culturally itself they are a little more restrained. They don’t wear their emotions on their sleeves or express anything in a loud manner. The way the directors (Bramma G, Anucharan Murugaiyan) have also handled the characters and narration also has a very Indian touch to it,” said Gayathri.

Suzhal has Kathir, Aishwarya Rajesh, R. Parthiban, Sriya Reddy, Harish Uthaman among others in the star cast. The series will premiere in all major Indian languages and multiple foreign languages on Amazon Prime Video on June 17.

Source:indianexpress.com

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