Suzhal is a Tamil crime thriller series based around a small village’s beliefs and customs . Created by Vikram Vedha fame Pushkar and Gayathri and directed by Bramma G and Anucharan Murugaiyan, the series has eight episodes. Music was done by Sam CS and the series was bankrolled by Wallwatcher films – production house owned by the iconic director duo. Kathir did justice to his role as sub inspector Chakravarthy. Seemingly, women led the show in Suzhal. Aishwarya Rajesh as Nandhini played a powerful role as the distraught sister. Sriya Reddy gave a terrific comeback as Inspector Regina Thomas and Gopika Ramesh’s Nila enhanced the intensity of the show. To sum it up, it is one of the must watch series from the South Indian industry.
Vadhandhi: The Fable of Velonie – Amazon Prime
Vadhandhi is a slow burn mystery thriller around the death of a young girl, Velonie. The story mainly focuses on how in modern times, the facts are twisted, exaggerated, and sometimes even fabricated to benefit a few and feed the public’s appetite for rumors and gossips. Vadhandhi impressed us with its brilliant writing and screenplay. The series was directed by Andrew Lewis. Vadhandhi gave each and every character its own depth and complexity and every actor did justice to their respective characters. Sub inspector Vivek was definitely a cakewalk for S J Suryah while debutant Sanjana engages us with her dedicated performance. 90s sweetheart Laila gave a comeback with this series, with the character Ruby (Velonie’s mother). This mystery thriller is a must watch!
Ayali – Zee5
While southern OTT majorly focuses on mysteries and crime thrillers, Ayali took a different turn with a young girl who is tied to the 500 year old customs of a village and how it affects her ambition of becoming a Doctor. Ayali is written and directed by Muthukumar. He uses the long format to write many subplots with enough characters to accentuate the central theme. Ayali is built through its emotional beats. Even with all the drama, Ayali depicts a beautiful mother-daughter relationship. Women of the village come together to fight against the patriarchal norms imposed on them. Abi Natchatra did a great job as Tamizhselvi, Linga as MLA’S son also delivers a promising performance.
Ammu – Amazon Prime
Arguably 2022 is Aishwarya Lekshmi’s year as an actor, having acted in 9 films. Ammu is one of the best performances of hers. Debutant director Charukesh Sekar and Aishwarya Lekshmi gave us a much needed film of the decade. The film addressed one of the sensitive issues of households – domestic abuse. What started off as a fairy tale marriage, changed when Ammu’s cop-husband Ravi assaulted her. What Ammu thought was a one time incident soon turned into a never-ending cycle of abuse. What makes Ammu unique is how women get together when pushed to their boundaries and how she partners up with an unlikely ally.
Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey – Disney+ Hotstar
Jaya is a smart and ambitious girl from a middle class family. Her family, and her uncle, under the idea of protecting her, take complete hold of her life. It also explores the casual and subtle ways employed by society to oppress women. The film not only focuses on the amount of change Jaya undergoes but it also shows how men like Rajesh never change no matter what. Darshana Rajendran as Jaya delivers a spectacular performance and embodies girl next door energy. The shift between first half and second half makes it fun to watch and the transformation the character Jaya go through is believable and eye catching. It is about time where directors make movies where female leads are not just a victim but are capable of taking action against their situations.
