A small town in South India. A religious festival drumming up nightly fervour. A crime most foul. Red herrings. Confused cops. These elements which made the first season of ‘Suzhal: The Vortex’ such a gripping watch are back in Season 2, except the town is different, and the crime, this time around, is revealed from the get-go: a local lawyer is found dead. Was it suicide, or murder?
Two of the lead actors are back, too. Kathir as the cop Sakkarai, is under a professional cloud for something he did in the previous season, and Aishwarya Rajesh as Nandhini, the young woman who slayed her demon in its satisfactory climax, is awaiting trial. Sakkarai has strong filial ties with slain lawyer Chellappa (Lal), and as he delves deeper, past secrets rise to the surface, and everyone connected to the victim comes under the scanner.
The first season of ‘Suzhal’, created by Pushkar and Gayathri, and directed by Bramma and Anucharan, was striking for various reasons: the mix of local, ingrained traditions, the colourful religious processions, predatory men, innocent women, and repressed emotions finally finding outlets, was strung together in such a compelling fashion that we overlooked the show’s occasional stretchiness and contrivances.
