‘Suzhal’s success has given hope to our industry’: Team ‘Suzhal 2’ interview

What does the success of ‘Suzhal’ season 1 mean to you?

Kathir:Suzhal 2 is a more complex story. We have revealed the actual crime in the trailer itself, so there’s more to it to hold your attention for six hours. Suzhal’s success is key in my evolution as an actor and as a person. The first season, despite coming before the pandemic, at a time when people were not accustomed to series, has now got a fan base of its own. 

Aishwarya Rajesh: I think the success of Suzhal, as a big-budget Tamil series, has revolutionised the industry. There’s always a difference between the North and South film industries and when a series of this magnitude happens, it gives hope to makers that we can get a global reach for our stories. 

Bramma: To work on a project like the first season involving such a huge team and scale was a success for me. I could see the success shaping up right from the making stage. When the audience resonated with it the same way we did, it became an extended success. 

Sarjun, you are new to the world of Suzhal, but you have done your fair share of work in the OTT space. How was it to fit into this world?

Sarjun KM: I have done anthologies and films but I have not done long-format content. The work we put in is the same but the beats are different. A film has a start, mid and end point whereas in an episode of a 300-page script like Suzhal, there will be a start point, three midpoints and a cliffhanger to end it with.

In a film with a writer-director collaboration, the director takes the writer’s work and tweaks it according to their vision. The exact opposite happens here, as we have showrunners (directors Pushkar and Gayatri), who have written the story. To convert their vision to content, they brought in two directors. There were instances where I had to ask Bramma sir to shoot a scene a certain way as I had a continuation of it in the fifth episode that I had to shoot. The ecosystem is different in this format. Such work has been done in the West with series like Game of Thrones featuring multiple directors. We are getting used to this now and this collaborative style is very healthy.

Kathir, in the first season, you played a rookie cop. How has the character Sakkarai evolved in the new season?

Kathir: In the first season, my character was written keeping the design of the evolution of a person’s life. In the first season, the character is in his hometown, where nothing is new to him. In the new season, after some events, he has gained experience. The new-found maturity has given him a new perspective on handling life and work. His journey will be relatable to everyone. 

Speaking of the trailer, it’s surprising that the crime is revealed in it while the crime happened to be the secret in season one…

Sarjun KM: The trailer is cut cleverly; it reveals a character is dead. So the entire season is about the three other questions; how, why and who. Thanks to multiple characters, Suzhal 2, from a writing perspective, has more layers. The lead characters will have their ups and downs, and the confusion will keep the viewers on their toes. While shooting, both the directors had to keep in mind how this season is bigger in everything —writing, characters and production. Beneath the layers, there’s something poignant in this season.

Bramma: The trailer teases the whodunnit aspect of the series but there’s also more to it. To write such a complicated plot — with many characters and their own journeys — and unravelling it slowly to the audience is tough. We hope we have set it up well.

The first season’s happenings were in a small hill station while season two seems to be happening in a coastal area. Why is the location such an important element in a thriller?

Sarjun KM: The decision was that of the showrunners. A hill station gives an eerie feel and has space to shoot a lot of thrilling night shots. But in this season, it’s all broad daylight with wide shots. To bring in a sense of mystery with such wide shots was a challenge. All of this was written and we had to translate it to the screen.

Bramma: The variety of landscapes is a lot in Tamil Nadu. Ours is one of the rare states to have it all — Kurinji (mountains), Mullai (forests), Marutham (cropland), Neithal (seashore) and Paalai (dry lands). Since we have touched upon two of them, there’s space to do more. Moreover, apart from being unique landscapes, they have their own culture, people and their problems. Setting it up in such a place gives the space to explore something new.

As actors, how does it feel to get back to playing a more evolved version of characters you had already played?

Aishwarya Rajesh: I remember shooting the first day. It’s a court scene and I had just gotten up from a good sleep. But the character has to be someone who has not slept in days (laughs). Kathir and I were chatting and having a blast but the scene we shot needed my character to be lifeless. As someone who takes a lot of inputs from the director, they really come in handy. Nandhini’s basic traits stay the same but her feelings and emotions are totally different this season. After committing a crime, she’s hopeless until Sakkarai re-enters her life. I think I have only one shot where I smile (laughs).

Kathir: I ask a lot of questions to my directors as I am curious to know whether I’m on the same page as to what they expect from me. There are connections to season one and a particular scene from it could be an aspect that has made Sakkarai more mature in this season.

Both filmmakers have made socially-conscious films and Suzhal season one also touches upon several important and sensitive topics. Can we expect more on that front in season two?

Sarjun KM: Absolutely. The series is not just about the mystery. The show is global and as the first season is a runaway hit, there’s pressure to deliver and for that, it has to be packed with something more. That package is there!

Be it Suzhal season one or films like Kantara which came out the same year, such contents have reiterated time and again how going local makes it pan-Indian. How do you see this trend?

Bramma: The more the regional, the more it is universal. When stories are close to those in their region and for those outside of it, they would relate the story with ones they are accustomed to.

This is also a kind of media tourism. One of the aspects I am awaiting the audience to watch in season two is the open sea, which most of us who live in the coastal region take for granted. There are so many in India who have not had the opportunity to see how expansive an ocean can be. I hope the audience enjoys the views we have captured.

Sarjun KM: If I know there’s a show set in a small New Zealand village, I would love to see it. It would show me how that place would look, its inhabitants and their livelihood and lifestyle. Commercial shows are always there and we enjoy them too but some shows stay with us longer. The British crime drama Broadchurch is a show I love. It’s also about a big crime in a small town in England and the way they show the country is different from the wallpaper-worthy shots we have seen in other shows from the UK. The feel such a series gives is very unique and it will also reach a global audience. Suzhal season 1 became a hit for that reason; it was about a small town, its people and lifestyle and how flawed humans are. The connection and relatability it brings is universal and when tapped into it, it goes global.