Being my first web series, Suzhal was a huge learning experience for me:  M Anucharan

When Kirumi director M Anucharan decided to take the plunge into web series with Suzhal, little did he expect that the show would turn out to be a milestone in his career. Suzhal, which was released on Amazon Prime Video on June 17, has been receiving rave reviews from the critics and audience. The show, created by Pushkar and Gayatri, is directed by Anucharan and Bramma and features Aishwarya Rajesh, Kathir, Parthiban and Sriya Reddy. The plot revolves around the disappearance of a teenager from a small town and the investigation that ensues, that takes the audience into a vortex of lies and deceit. 

Speaking to OTTplay about how he got on board, Anucharan tells us, "I am a huge fan of the director duo, Pushkar and Gayatri. Even before I began my film career, I used to watch their films and had liked their work. So, when I got the opportunity to collaborate with them, I wanted to be part of it. The script of Suzhal was fantastic. It addressed an important issue plaguing the society and the concept was justified for long form of storytelling. Since my experience has been limited to feature films, I felt that this would be a huge learning process for me. Web series was a completely new journey and I was excited from the first call."

When quizzed about how difficult it was to put forth someone's else's ideas on screen,  Anucharan says, "Writing is one of the hardest processes of the filmmaking journey. To write something from scratch and hand it over to someone else is not an easy thing to do. Once Pushkar and Gayatri entrusted Bramma and me with their project, we felt a sense of responsibility. Added to that, this was the first Tamil original Amazon series. We wanted it to be good, as the success of the series would open the floodgates for other filmmakers and artistes. So that responsibility, too, was instilled in us from the very beginning. There was immense pressure on us, but we managed to channel it to some productive work."

He adds, "We had a huge pre-production process and the same cinematographer and art director for all the episodes.  We sat together for discussions and made sure that we were all on the same page, and the scenes segued seamlessly into the next."  

How did the team ensure that a local fictional village had a global appeal as the show was released in around 30 languages? "In the beginning, it was supposed to be only a Tamil original series. We had no clue that it was going global. At that time, the only thing that we had in our mind was to achieve something cinematic. In fact, 'cinematic television' was the term that we had coined at the beginning of the making of the show. The town Sambaloor is a fictional one. But we wanted to make it as authentic as possible. We pondered how the quarry or the police station in Sambaloor would look like.``

He adds, "As for Mayana Kollai, the premise at which the plot is set, I had heard the name of the festival earlier, but had never witnessed it in person. The festival takes place in various parts of Tamil Nadu and the rituals vary from one region to another. So, we made sure we visited some of the festivals, and participated in them. It was a new experience altogether. We picked various elements and rituals from different festivals, and weaved it together for the show and created a festival that was unique to Sambaloor. I am glad it resonated with the audience." 

Having said that, Anucharan says that recreating the festival was a Herculean task. "I think there were around 1,500-2,000 people on the set and the shoot happened during the pandemic. Shooting with so many people was a mammoth task in itself, and following the covid safety protocol amid such a huge crowd seemed unimaginable. We had to test ourselves everyday. Looking back, I don't know how we even managed to pull it off."

Prod him about teaming with his Kirumi star, Kathir once again after a hiatus, and Anucharan says, "I saw a huge transition in Kathir. He was more mature and as a performer, he had raised his bar."

Even as Suzhal continues to receive appreciation from the audience, Anucharan calls his maiden stint with web series, a huge learning. "The long form of storytelling is an entirely different medium altogether. Here, we dive deeper into the characters. It was an enormous challenge, but an exciting one. Work of this magnitude was possible only because of the collaboration we had. Pushkar and Gayatri gave all of us the freedom to work. We were lucky to have such a team, where everyone was focussed on the product and its betterment."

Talking about how OTT platforms have given a new lease of life for aspiring filmmakers and artistes, Anucharan says, "Web series have brought many talented actors to the forefront. There are many characters that are written for OTT, which are played by people who are completely new to the industry. In feature films, very few artistes tend to shine. But in this platform, artistes get an opportunity to play bigger roles and characters, which has turned into a boon for many."