Sutliyan web series review: Ayesha Raza, Plabita Borthakur, Vivaan Shah starrer makes for a breezy, heart-warming watch

3/5

Story:

Siblings Ramni (Plabita Borthakur), Rajan (Shiv Panditt) and Raman (Vivaan Shah) reunite with their mother Supriya (Ayesha Raza Mishra) in their hometown Bhopal about a week before Diwali. They’ve lost their father to Covid-19 and are carrying the guilt of not being with their mother when she needed them the most. As the story progresses, we soon realise that the palpable tension within each of their lives is not just because they couldn’t make it to their father’s funeral, but because each of them is trying to come to terms with some unresolved conflicts. How they eventually come together to help each other while dealing with their troubled past, forms the crux of the series.

Review:

In one his media interactions while promoting his 2008 film Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Shah Rukh Khan had stated, “It’s not special to be special. It’s special to be ordinary.” What makes Sutliyan special is that it’s an ordinary tale of an ordinary family, trying to deal with and float through their familial and financial troubles.

The inherent charm of a middle-class small-town family, trying to come to terms with the loss of a loved one and attempting to finally be there for each other is quite relatable, especially post the pandemic. There would hardly be anyone who may not have lost somebody close to them to the wrath of Covid in the past two years. There were so many of us who couldn’t help those in need, even if we wanted to, due to unavailability of resources and multiple other factors. So, when Supriya taunts her eldest son Rajan for being ‘virtually’ present for his father’s last rites, you understand her pain and anguish.

When Ramni doesn’t want to part with a family-owned piece of land because of the memories associated with her deceased father, you instantly relate. When the youngest brother Raman has a meltdown saying that nobody ever tried to understand him, you empathise with him. You get the feeling of watching a family next door (if not your own) with their everyday banter, conflicts and tender moments of humour and joy in this eight-episode-long web series. With each episode being under 25 minutes duration, the most unexpected revelations surface at the most unexpected junctures. What stands out is the treatment of these revelations. Rather than adding a jarring background score to MAKE you feel (as is the case with most movies and shows these days), the makers have left it to the emotions portrayed by the actors on screen to do the job.

Coming to performances, Ayesha Raza steals the show with her instantly likeable presence and terrific acting chops. She single-handedly uplifts some of the most mundane scenes in the series. Plabita Borthakur is well cast and does a fair job at portraying an over-thinking daughter and holds her own as an assertive-but-dependable sister. Vivaan Shah puts up a commendable act, especially in the scenes where he has an outburst at a police station and later at home. Shiv Panditt is restrained, yet effective as the eldest brother, Rajan. He essays Rajan with an understated and yet impactful performance. Of the supporting lot, Niharika Lyra Dutt stands out as the neighbour’s daughter, Dipanita, who’s in love with Raman but is married to someone else. Disha Arora as Rajan’s wife seems a bit underprepared and keeps switching in and out of her character.

Writers Sudeep Nigam and Abhishek Chatterjee have done a fine job at keeping the narrative uncomplicated. It’s simple enough to keep you engaged to binge-watch the series in one go. Some of the dialogues too manage to impress and make you reflect on how transactional relationships have become in modern times. For instance, when Ramni tells her suitor to look for love on one of the innumerable dating apps, he responds by saying, “Apps pe toh transactions hote hain, kasmein waade nahi liye jaate.”

Though, the series has been helmed by Shree Narayan Singh, the direction credits have been assigned to Small Town Films for reasons best known to the makers. To give credit where it’s due, they’ve succeeded in effectively capturing the essence of a middle-class family, it’s relationships and ethos along with the various shades of those residing in the neighbourhood.

The editing by Abhijeet Deshpande could’ve been better. The manner in which each of the episodes begin and end, fails to establish the continuity of the narrative and interferes with the viewing experience. The title song, Naina, is a hummable, melodious number with beautiful lyrics, perfectly encapsulating the crux of the series. The production design by Uday Prakash Singh deserves a special mention for capturing the elements of a small-town household in all its glory. Whether it’s the steel utensils in the kitchen, or a floral refrigerator cover and bedsheets – attention has been given to the minutest details which makes the events in the series quite believable and relatable.

Verdict:

Relationships are just like twines. When left unattended, they get entangled in a complicated web of emotions. All it takes is a little time and effort to detangle them. And once you make that effort, you may end up creating a beautiful macrame out of those very entangled twines.

Sutiyan: Rishton Ki Ek Anokhi Bunayi is a simple tale about entangled family relationships that’ll leave a lingering smile on your face. The Zee5 original makes for a breezy, light-hearted one-time watch!