“If man loves dog, he is a good man. If dog loves man, he is a good man.” Sometimes, the answers we seek are right infront of us. We have come across many amazing storylines and unexpected plot twists, so much so that we expect something completely out-of-the-box in every show, and that’s when a show makes us look like fools and gives us a glimpse of simplicity and says it on our face that what we see is what we’d get. Today, we’ll be talking about the recently released show on Amazon Prime, Paatal Lok.
Paatal Lok, an Indian language crime thriller series, is directed by Avinash Arun and Prosit Roy and stars Jaideep Ahlawat (Insp. Hathiram Chaudhary), Abhishek Banerjee (Vishal Tyagi), Neeraj Kabi (Sanjeev Mehra) and Niharika Dutt (Sara Mathews) in lead roles. The story of Paatal Lok revolves around the life of an underachiever, the inspector of a local police station based in Delhi, Hathiram Chaudhary, a high profile case that comes his way and his urge and struggle to prove himself and everyone else that he’s worthy enough to be recognised. Not only is the present relevant here, but the past of all the characters plays a huge role in the character arcs designed, and same is the case with Hathiram Chaudhary.
Outer Jamuna Paar Police station is where 4 suspects of an attempted murder of a popular journalist Sanjeev Mehra, are being held and questioned before their trial in the court. All of these suspects are caught at a bridge escaping the city, by the CBI officials. Insp. Hathiram Chaudhary is the investigation officer, who has a hot and cold relationship with his senior, and is often the bait or perhaps a puppet for the “well-oiled” political system. The four suspects, Tope Singh, Chini, Kabir M, and Vishal Tyagi aka Hathoda Tyagi have a relevant backstory and reasons for what they do and why is explained very well in the narrative. The relationships between characters is thr highlight of the show and how each one of them is connected to the main plot defines the brilliance of Paatal Lok. Like it happens in every attempted murder, there’s always a connection, business and politics. The past reveals this connection and how things turn out for the plot. Who are these suspects? Why did they attempt to murder a journalist? Who is the mastermind? A lot to answer, but as I mentioned earlier, keep a close watch on what’s happening and you’ll get it. Complications often aren’t needed.
Talking about the cast, the lead actors and the supporting actors have done a fantastic job in portraying the vulnerability and natural emotions that was required out of them. A special mention to Swastika Mukherjee, who plays the wife of Neeraj Kabi, she outperformed herself and was terrific with her anxious personality. Jaideep Ahlawat as always is at his best and portrays the arc of Hathiram Chaudhary beautifully. Neeraj Kabi is one of the most versatile actors in the industry and he has proved this yet again, playing a hotshot journalist. But the standout performance can be none other than Abhishek Banerjee as Hathoda Tyagi. He has nailed the intricacies of the character and without uttering a word, he has left his mark. With an ensemble cast, the actors do justice to the script and how each character is written. Even the extras have played their parts very well, which makes the show even more realistic. The score is used minimally and it gives you chills in high rush scenes. The cinematography is simple and accurate, giving the viewers a relaxing vision and comfortable angles.
Overall, the shows is a blockbuster and it deserves to get all the love that it has been receiving since it started streaming. Indian content is regularly developing, thanks to the OTT services and their “no-censor” policies, and this is just the beginning, can’t wait for the next season.
Cinema Central 