Paatal Lok: Is this the best? Here’s the answer

Paatal Lok starts with a dialogue by Hathi Ram Choudhary, a policeman whose life has only been a downslide. “This universe is segregated into three worlds: Right on top is the heaven where God’s reside. In the middle is the Earth where humans live and at the very bottom is the Paatal Lok where the evil lies. It’s all written in our scriptures, but I read it on WhatsApp.”

This dialogue sets up the stage for the entire series. Hathi Ram claims that his station situated in the Outer Jamuna Paar is the Paatal Lok. The story is an investigative thriller about four criminals who tried to assassin one of India’s most prominent journalists.

The nine-episode series with its gripping narrative keeps you on the edge of the seat throughout all the episodes. The political context of the series does not merely act as a backdrop to give us a sense of time and familiarity but is intertwined in the narrative. This makes Paatal Lok all the more interesting.

The series, adapted from a book, gives just about information about the main characters to keep you invested in them. Nothing more, nothing less. Just about right. The series, as the name says, is about an evil world. But unlike the clarity with which Hathi Ram says that he’s in the evil world, it becomes increasingly difficult to understand which world to be considered evil as the series unfolds. Is the posh world of the prominent journalist, Sanjeev Mehra, an evil world? Or is it Outer Jamuna Paar like Hathi Ram mentioned? Is it Chitrakoot where avenging people for causing trouble is seen as justice? This can go on. You get the point.

In its journey to explore the reasons behind an attempted murder, the series exposes the evil side of the country as well. Religion, caste, class, gender, rape, pollution, media, food preferences, fake news and so on. The beauty, however, is that none of it seems forced. And it also doesn’t feel overwhelming. It all feels real, even though I’m not proud of it.

The few scenes where we don’t feel like we’re in Paatal is when Sanjeev Mehra’s wife prays for Sanjeev, her affection towards a stray dog, and Hathi Ram’s wife’s love for her child. This also means that the series never went off track. Directors Avinash Arun & Prosit Roy knew their goal right from the beginning and they headed straight towards it without blinking an eye.

Paatal Lok is the best Indian series I have seen so far. With its compelling story and grounded approach, you can’t help but find yourself binge-watching the show. Check out Paatal Lok now on Prime Video.