PATAAL LOK: A dim glimpse of Every Layer of Society
Cast: Jaideep Ahlawat (Inspector Hathi Ram Chaudhary), Abhishek Banerjee (Vishal Tyagi), Ishwak Singh (Imran Ansari), Neeraj Kabi (Sandeep Mehra), Gul Panag (Renu Chaudhary), Niharika Lyra Dutt (Sara Mathews), Swastika Mukherjee (Dolly) Creator: Sudip Sharma, Sagar Haveli, Hardik Mehta, Gunjit Chopra Directed By: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy Based On: The Story Of My Assassins By Tarun Tejpal Platform: Amazon Rating: 4.8/5
5th June 2020, Preeti Ramesh
Pathaal Lok’s system is explained very early on by our protagonist, Inspector Hathi Ram Chaudhary, Outer Jamuna Paar. The rich and powerful rule in Swarg Lok, the ordinary man lives in Prithvi Lok and the insects in Pathaal Lok. Sudip Sharma’s Ram and Ravan are not glorified characters but rather victims of a system.He mixes mythology with mysticism, the result of which is a modern day Ramayan, where Ram is just a battered police officer and Ravan, a brainwashed loyalist. Ram does quote, but not from the scriptures, his source is the whatsapp.Indeed, it is rightly said, that crime and circumstance begets crime.
Our premise begins with the botched assassination attempt of reknowned journalist Sanjeev Mehra. The attempt is led by a quartet consisting of a murderer, a defector, a eunuch and an irreligious muslim, each of whom seem to have no connection with each other. The story plays out in three grounds: The media, the Police and the locales of the Indian villages. The series ambitiously explores various themes such as caste system, politics, gender persecution, poverty, local crime, familicide, organized crime etc without appearing cluttered. It also manages to give meaningful stories to side characters. Leading the crime investigation is Inspector Hathi Ram, who has only earned seniority in years of lacklustre experience. Eager to prove his mettle in the first high profile case assigned to him , he dives headfirst into solving it, only to be thwarted at every juncture by bad luck and unseen forces. It is clear from the start, that the case is not what it seems and that stranger things are afoot. Hathi Ram tries to make the most of the chance thrown at him, though the system doesn’t intend to give him one. Purposely set up to fail , he manages to surprise with his tenaciousness and turns around the situation. His journey culminates, where he discovers a rotten system, yes; but a system which is also quote* a well oiled machinery where each person knows what they need to do, and if not done can easily be replaced. *endquote
The assassination attempt proves to be a blessing for Mehra, who uses it as leverage to strike a lucrative buyout for his channel and up its ratings. It does give him an entry into Swarg Lok, but not without a price. Though unrepentant about the choice he makes to save himself and his channel; the truth does leave a bitter taste in his mouth. The scene in one of the initial episodes, where Mehra crushes a cockroach below his shoe, while he moves into his office is thus indicative of things to come.Thus, Yudhisthir is compromised.
From the jungles of Chitrakoot, to Punjab’s fields , to Mumbai’s rundown dilapidated slums; each of the scenes unfolds a pitiful but riveting tale of the four accused.
Pathaal Lok gives us a glimpse of a world where several unfortunate prevalent realities that plague our society exist.It takes its time in unraveling a convoluted plot with its twists and turns, though every instance reveals something new. Replete with clues, you are on your toes, gathering, speculating and fixing in the pieces of the puzzle till the story comes around 360 degree in the final episode. Its storytelling is well paced and gripping, the characters haunting… till the very end.
