Introduction
Where we live or what we see depends completely on us; at least this is what we believe. But there can also be some events which can change the course of our life entirely, and we would know nothing. There are people in this world who would quietly carry on with their work, which would impact us as if it were a real life butterfly effect. Paatal Lok is exactly about those people who easily disrupt the lives of several others for their own benefit, and why not? They come from hell after all! Directed by Prosit Roy, Paatal Lok stars Jaideep Ahlawat as Inspector Hathiram Chaudhary, Ishwak Singh as Inspector Imran Ansari in the lead roles. Other notable cast members include Gul Panag, Neeraj Kabi, Swastika Mukherjee, Abhishek Banerjee, Rajesh Sharma, Anindita Bose, Aasif Khan and Jagjeet Sandhu. This web series is produced by Anushka Sharma's Clean Slate Filmz.
Basic Plot
A senior police inspector with no serious track record of success gets a high profile case, and in the process, gets dragged into the depths of crime and human lives.
Positives
World Building and Direction
Director Prosit Roy and creator Sudip Sharma have taken inspiration from the Hindu cosmology of Swarg, Dharti and Paatal (heaven, earth and hell) to establish a connection between several of the characters and their realms of existence. They've mainly tried to show how the people of hell (gangsters and anti socials) manipulate the lives of the people of heaven (businessmen and industrialists), while the people of earth (common people and police) just watch the drama as mere spectators, knowing only shallow things (exactly what the people of hell want). The strength of the makers lies in the fact that they do not derail from this entire cosmological cum metaphorical setup at all, which they've fine tuned with their character designing and overall writing to make Paatal Lok a very gripping affair. In fact, I love how raw the series is in particular. The scenes in New Delhi clearly reflects a posh lifestyle, whereas the scenes in the small village of Chitrakoot in Uttar Pradesh (the web series is even shot in Chitrakoot by the way) boasts a stark contrast, amplifying the cosmo-meta world building. The language and it's accent have been kept intact which enhances the novelty factor. Several social problems (caste problems, religious problems and stereotypes, gender inequality, sexual abuse of children, corrupted system) are brutally addresses by the makers (so much so, that it can draw attention of unwanted eyes) and the fact that the caste system exists in a healthy condition and isn't going anywhere in the near future, is subtly dealt with as well.4
Performances, Technicalities and Storytelling
The cast performances significantly amplifies the entire gravitas of the series and provides it a much needed weightiness, that's rooted and Indian to the core. Jaideep Ahlawat shines as Inspector Hathiram Chaudhary of Outer Jamuna Par police station, Delhi and is the main driving force of the series. Although he's shown to be always in trouble because of his indiscipline son, work-life imbalance, and most importantly, his trauma-filled childhood, it's his strong and positive character arc that provides Hathiram Chaudhary with the 'never give up' attitude throughout the series. Ishwak Singh as Imran Ansari is just the right apprentice that Hathiram Chaudhary needed. Their teacher-student chemistry works very well and hence, the 'buddy-cop' element shines bright in this series. Other cast performances have been commendable as well and you really empathize with several characters especially when the writing hits you with their back-stories. Kudos to the narration as well which makes Paatal Lok a very engaging affair, with each characters being given ample place to shine throughout the screenplay. The progressing nature of the narration helps the pacing and thus, the series doesn't bore you even for a minute! The technical departments have done a commendable job as well; the blue-ish color grading for the scenes in Delhi and yellow-ish for those in Chitrakoot further enhances the visual appeal, whereas a fine edit job by Sanyukta Kaza makes sure that emotions and drama are shown in the exact amount, as intended.
Underwhelming Aspects
Minor issues
Swastika Mukherjee's performance seemed to be quite got up and not too organic. I mean, she is shown to have a good equation with the street dog Sabitri (where Mukherjee acts quite well), the dramatic and emotional scenes is where I felt she could've done better. Also, many people won't be satisfied with the climax and the ending of the series due to it's unusual and intellectual nature. Although the ending justifies the entire web series very well, it's not quite designed for the general audience.
Conclusion
With strong performances and a gripping narration, Paatal Lok stands out as a series that covers almost every social aspects of our country. Although labeled by his senior as an inspector who tries to save the sinking ship (system) in spite of knowing the fact that the ship will always have holes (corruption), the character of Inspector Hathiram Chaudhary will surely be able to make a special place in your hearts, as his successes feels more personal than ever as the episodes progresses. With a subtle cosmic treatment, the climax is very Mahabharata-esque, that's infused so well with the screenplay that it feels nothing short of a domino effect! A strong positive side of the series is the fact that the makers, at several levels, have portrayed the society as the main villain and not just any single person. All in all, Paatal Lok really gives you the raw, rooted and somber, that's not for the faint hearted; 'mujhe lagta hai ki insaan ko kabhi apni maut ka saamna karna padta hai, tabhi wo sachhai ko samajh pata hai'
Watch Out For
- Cast Performances
- Presentation of Social issues
- Abhishek Banerjee's limited dialogue performance
WTF Rating
8/10