Suzhal: The magic of quaint towns and murder mysteries

There is something about small towns that attracts brilliant murder mysteries. In India, these fictional small towns are set in the foothills of a mountain range, mostly quaint and sleepy to outsiders. They seem warm, and welcoming of travellers, and passers by, but if one were to explore living as their neighbours, they are a whole different ball game. You see, the common notion is that people know each other well in small towns. There isn’t much one can do in secret, in a small town. Yet, by setting a murder here, writers break the image of innocence that mainstream media propagates about quaint towns.

This very act of rebellion against a construct set by the society adds allure to mysteries set in this backdrop in books and movies. This setup serves well for Amazon Prime Video original Suzhal: The Vortex as well. Starring Aishwarya Rajesh, Kathir, R. Parthiban and Sriya Reddy in lead roles, the town in Suzhal is set in the foothills of the Nilgiris mountain range, and is called Sambaloor. The conflict here is a missing girl, one who on the surface seems to be kidnapped. In the backdrop is an animosity between the local police officer Regina, and the labor union leader Shanmugam. How the missing case connects to this animosity is crux of the show.

As the title suggests, neither the case nor the people in this town are what they seem on the surface. There are surprising layers, that gets revealed one after another adding depth to the show. The fact that the kidnapping is a set-up, the wild affair that a housewife seem to be indulging in, one man struggling to come to terms with his gender identity, or the blossoming of young love — all of this manages to stay under wraps until the missing girl’s — Nila — sister Nandini begins to dig deeper into people to find her sibling.

The show manages to address many issues including sexual abuse by family members and everything that had been hidden in plain sight boils over and the trigger here is Nila. Aside from the theatrics, what really works in favour of Suzhal is its self-aware approach. In a scene, Sakkarai (Kathir) expresses how ignorant he had been all along to think that he knew the people of his town like the back of his hand. He is a cop who wanted to be assigned to his hometown to enjoy the comforts that came with serving as a cop in a town full of people he knew and understood. Yet, the circumstances surrounding Nila’s missing case disabuses him of his confidence. He begins to work with the unexpected, and the twists largely work in favour of the show because of Sakkarai’s disbelief. The audience begins to believe in Sakkarai’s version of Sambaloor, only to learn of its nuances after Nandini introduces the cracks and crevices of small-town life. This unwrapping of a town that everyone believed they knew best is the actual gift of such a film.

Suzhal is not the only title to have reaped the rewards of setting a mystery in a small town. Drishyam is a popular series across the country today with Telugu, Tamil and Hindi adaptations led by huge stars such as Venkatesh, Kamal Haasan and Ajay Devgn. The original — in Malayalam — starring Mohanlal, is set in another quaint town, situated in the Idukki district. In addition to the layers that the town itself provides, these titles add another dimension by pay attention to details beyond that of solving the crime. They also explore interpersonal relationships of the people who lead investigations, and how that influences the town, and the case.

In Suzhal, it is Regina’s relationship with her subordinate Sakkarai, or Sakkarai’s with Regina’s son. This adds another dimension to the story and the complexity of solving the crime. In Drishyam, it is Geetha Prabhakar’s (Asha Sarath’s) family. If we go further and take the example of Mare of Easttown, the award-winning HBO show starring Kate Winslet, for instance, this centers as much on Kate’s personal struggles as it does on the murder case that she investigates in the suburbs of Philadelphia. The success of such shows then depend on if they manage to lure in the audience with the crime, keep them hooked with the layers in the storyline until there is closure.

Another interesting detail about such a set up is the brutality of the crimes. It is in direct opposition to the image that city dwellers have of small towns and countryside. The beautiful farms and fields, the welcoming people who invite strangers into their homes are tainted by this bloody incident. This jarring difference contributes may sound dark, but it is this darkness that attracts viewers. There is a sense of gratification that comes with watching such crime thrillers. It is similar, in fact, to the interest audiences have in serial killer documentaries.

Author Maisey Yates in her 2016 book Tough Luck Hero had written, “They said all the world was a stage, and Lydia had never been very convinced of that. But a small town was most definitely a stage when drama was going on.” This strikes true with murder mysteries set in small towns as well.

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