Suzhal - The Vortex Review: An Engrossing Tale Of Crime Uplifted By Top-Notch Performances

Plot

Suzhal- The Vortex is set in a fictional Tamil Nadu village named Sambaloor, which is known for its Angalamman's Mayyana Kollai festival. Shanmugam (R Parthiban) is the employees' union leader of Trilok Vadde's (Harish Uthaman) cement factory. He is a doting father who lives with his younger daughter Nila (Gopika Ramesh). One night, the factory catches fire, and the accident is investigated by CI Regina Thomas (Sriya Reddy) and her trusted ally SI Chakravarthy AKA Sakkarai (Kathir).

Nila, on the other hand, goes missing on the same night. Shanmugam tries to locate her with the help of his co-brother Guna (Elango Kumaravel) and other friends. CI Regina and SI Sakkarai also begin their investigation despite frequently clashing with Nila's father over various issues. Learning about this, Shanmugam's elder daughter Nandini (Aishwarya Rajesh) returns home and joins hands with Sakkarai, to find her little sister. Their investigation unearths many dark secrets.

Script & Direction

Pushkar-Gayathri penned the script for Suzhal- The Vortex, which is directed by Bramma G and Anucharan Murugaiyyan. The biggest strengths of the thriller series are its intelligent writing, world-building, and making style. The directors have created the fictional village Sambaloor and narrated a deeply-layered crime story with absolute conviction in the well-crafted backdrop of a regional festival.

Even though the first three episodes proceed at a slow pace and take a long time for world-building, the series never tests patience. Instead, it demands the viewer's complete attention, as even the smallest details end up valid in the final four episodes. Another major strength of Suzhal- The Vortex is its well-written characters, that get proper arcs.

The twists happen organically as the narrative unfolds, instead of getting forcefully placed in the narrative. Most of the twists land perfectly and create a major impact on the viewers while a couple of them were predictable. But this factor or the initial slow pace never prevents Suzhal- The Vortex from emerging as an engrossing crime thriller series.

Performances

Kathir is an absolute revelation as SI Sakkarai. He has portrayed Sakkarai's journey from an unaware young cop to a sharp investigator with absolute conviction. Aishwarya Rajesh shines as the deeply troubled Nandini, who discovers herself while searching for her missing sister.

Sriya Reddy is simply fantastic as CI Regina Thomas, who is forced to suppress even her motherly emotions for her profession. R Parthiban, as always, played doting father Shanmugam and conveyed his helplessness and rage to near perfection.

The rest of the star cast, including Harish Uthaman, Elango Kumaravel, Santhana Bharathi, Gopika Ramesh, Prem Kumar, FJ, Yusuf Hussain, Nivedhithaa Sathish, and others are good in their respective roles.

Technical Aspects

Mukesh, the director of photography has done a marvellous job by creating this world with his visuals. The visuals are supported by the brilliant production design of Arun Venjaramoodu. Richard Kevin A's editing is fine.

Music

Sam CS has once again teamed up with Pushkar-Gayatri after the success of Vikram Vedha, for Suzhal- The Vortex. The talented musician's captivating background score creates the perfect mood for the thriller, along with the decent songs. However, the song placements could've been better.

Verdict

Suzhal- The Vortex is a brilliantly written and made crime thriller series that has set a new benchmark for the regional web content. The top-notch performances by the lead cast make it an absolutely engrossing watch. You can watch Pushkar-Gayatri's crime series on Amazon Prime Video.