SUNFLOWER - V View Reviews #20

The show is named after a housing society called Sunflower in Mumbai. A resident named Raj Kapoor from apartment number 1001 is murdered. Mukul Chadda who played the role of Dr Ahuja is Kapoor's neighbour and he injected poison into coconut water left at the door of Raj Kapoor and murdered him. It's dramatic irony where the audience knows who the murderer is while the police start their investigation. After the death, in society, the lives of the residents turn topsy turvy. The police suspect everyone in the view of circumstances and evidence. Dr Ahuja, Sonu Singh(Sunil Grover), Raj Kapoor's wife, the building watchman, the maid are all under the radar of suspicion. Later Sonu Singh turns out to be the chief suspect with the evidence stacked against him. He keeps digging his own grave, while the real murderer treads cautiously. Inspector Digendra( Ranvir Shorey) and inspector Tambe ( Girish Kulkarni) begin their investigation. It was not a smooth journey for the police. The process is full of

 humour, thrill and dark comedy.

Sunflower aims to uncover the hypocrisy in our society. The housing society is a clever metaphor for society at large. The murder just acts as the catalyst. This society has a committee of members that evaluate everyone who wishes to stay in it. Thus, the writer conveys the prejudice that still prevails in society, the stigma around divorced women, single women, homosexuality, religious practices etc.

Sunflower is a character-driven series. Character development is its strength. The majority of scenes revolves around a small group of society members. Sonu Singh, the lead character is a perfect mix of quirkiness and innocence. He keeps everything perfectly organised from his foot mat to his working table. He is a lonely man with no social circle. His behaviours are strange, at times you doubt his intention and the next moment you sympathise with him. There are many moods and shades to his character which he played with utmost sincerity. He leads the series and its absurdities.

Ashish Vidhyarthi who plays the role of Dilip Iyer is a self-appointed flag bearer of culture. He aspires for Sunflower's chairmanship. He did justice to his role with successful expression and regionalism in his accent. Paddy Iyer (Ria Nalavde) is the daughter of Ashish Vidhyarthi who gives an insight into a young mind. She is the biggest critics of her dad's thinking.

The characters of Gurleen and Justina are also an example of how women are stereotyped in our society.

Mukul Chadda as Dr Ahuja is impulsive and short-tempered. He dominates his wife and blames her for everything that goes wrong in his life. He pretends idealism outside the home and takes out frustration on his wife. He is not who he appears to be. The shudh Hindi conversation and expression of Mr Ahuja is outstanding. Radha Bhatt is in the role of his wife who supports him in his every activity though not convinced.

Ranvir Shorey is the investigation officer named Digendra. He maintains consistency in his expression throughout. He wears thick lens glasses and gives an earnest performance.

Girish Kulkarni plays the role of inspector Tambe. He is always in a colourful mood and is the highlight of the series. His performance is effortless.

The whole series is a blend of three tracks. The first one is the murder in a society with few suspects, the second is the tussle between office-bearer of the society full of hypocrisy and the third is of Sonu Singh, the lead character and his loneliness...home office mode.

Overall presenting a murder mystery with a comic overtone is a unique concept. It is a cocktail of murder mystery, thrill, situational comedy and social message.

This series has an overstretched plot with too many loose ends. It lapses in its execution and is a piece of weak writing. It seems they tried to say and show too much at once due to which thrills and humour seem to be given in instalments. Editing is not up to the mark. The series suddenly ends up without closing all the related stories, therefore season 2 is expected.

The main casts are Sunil Grover, Ashish Vidhyarthi,  Ranvir Shorey, Girish Kulkarni, Mukul Chadda, Ashwin Kaushal, Radha Bhatt etc.

It is streaming on Zee5.