Pataal Lok (Amazon Prime)

The mesmerising charm of a good film or television show comes from the perfect equilibrium maintained in the various elements of its creative output, be it mise-en-scéne, narrative coherence or its overall relationship with the surrounding world. Pataal Lok achieves this equilibrium throughout the course of its 9 well-crafted episodes without compromising or accentuating one of its elements for another.

img courtesy: imdb

In a delicate spider-web like structure, the show brilliantly weaves in the story of its characters where each is interdependent on another for the progression of the narrative.

In a delicate spider-web like structure, the show brilliantly weaves in the story of its characters where each is interdependent on another for the progression of the narrative. Due an attempted murder case of the prominent journalist Sanjay Mehra (Neeraj Kabi), three men and a woman are arrested by the Delhi Police. Coincidentally, the case falls into the hands of Haathiram Chaudhary (Jaideep Ahlawat) a mediocre cop who has been entangled with petty cases of a hierarchly less glossified area in Delhi for the past 15 years. As the multi-layered narrative progresses with the treacherous investigation of Chaudhary along with his younger colleage Imran Ansari (Ishwak Singh), the myriads of interwoven socio-political affairs of a metropolitian city and its surrounding states become apparent.

img courtesy: imdb

The ease with which Ahlawat has embodied the real face of a middle-class man attracts and fixates the audience’s attention to the show.

The central attraction of the show is Jaideep Ahlawat who breathes life into the fiercely determined character of Haathiram Chaudhary, representing the frustration of a lowly middle-class man whose traumatic relationship with his father is a drive for him to do better in life for his family. Ahlawat embodies the multidimensional identity of his character as a cop, a husband, father and friend who displays a rugged character carved by the highs and lows of life yet has a soft sympathetic side which often leads him into a subordinate position. The ease with which Ahlawat has embodied the real face of a middle-class man attracts and fixates the audience’s attention to the show.

The soft and righteous centre of the show is borned by Ishwak Singh who plays Imran Ansari, the IAS pursuing cop and Chaudhary’s right-hand man. Through Ansari, the show has introduced a fresh actor to the audience whose genuine and graceful portrayal of the dilemmas faced due to the communal clashes brings an introspective moment in relation to the wider socio-political issues portrayed in the story. Contrary to these characaters, Abhishek Banerjee’s Hathoda Tyagi is the spine-chilling sociopathic murder who absorbs the devilish idiosyncracies of the underworld this show is named after. Banerjee acts not only with his enthralling eyes but with his whole body, which switches from one extreme to another in moments. An honorary mention is Neeraj Kabi who as Sanjay Mehra has nailed the naive narcisstic attitude of an established journalist.

img courtesy: imdb

“…Tyagi, whose characteristic aura is exalted more by the cinematic frame than dialogues.”

The cinematography of the show is brilliant and intentional which subtly works in tandem with the narrative to build upon the backstory for all of its characters, who are given a significant position in the show. It is especially apparent in the shots of Tyagi, whose characteristic aura is exalted more by the cinematic frame than dialogues. After creating a sympathic relationship with most of its characters, the show’s slight failure to provide a lucid ending for some of them in context of the wider narrative disappoints. However, it could also be interpreted as an intended self-aware act on part of its creators to depict its closer, open-ended relationship with reality. This multi-layered narrative almost serves as a reminder for Parasite (dir. Bong Joon-ho) which also carefully outlines the wider social, economical and political context of the world.