Mythology based thrillers may not be a new genre but have recently garnered quite the popularity in the Indian webspace. Netflix’s Sacred Games (2018), VOOT’s Asur (2020), and Amazon Prime Video’s Paatal Lok (2020) have been on the forefront, and deservedly so. They draw from or reference mythology extensively; predominantly Hindu, and are set in the modern 21st century world. Sacred Games is based on Vikram Chandra’s 2006 book with the same title. Paatal Lok borrows its core idea from Tarun Tejpal’s The Story of My Assassins (2009). Asur is an entirely original project. In addition to the common thread of mythology, with crime at its heart, all three are investigative thrillers. Although their writing has been commended, a shared criticism regarding the lack of fleshed-out women characters exists. To some extent, the shows even act as political allegories, highlighting several pressing issues that plague society.
Netflix’s first Indian original series, Sacred Games is the story of a Mumbai based gangster, Ganesh Gaitonde (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) whose life is revealed in flashbacks throughout two seasons, and that of a police officer Sartaj Singh (Saif Ali Khan) whose investigation unravels an impending apocalypse. The commentary on rising communalism is an essential part of the show. All episodes borrow their names from mythology, not restricted to Hindu but also Buddhist, Islamic, Judaic and Mesopotamian. The titles reflect the plot of the episode, wherein the characters resonate the characteristics of several mythological figures. To explicate each of them would be too much of a give-away. One of the prominent ones running throughout the show is the parallel drawn between Gaitonde and Ashwathama; immortal even in death. Self-styled spiritual leader, Guruji (Pankaj Tripathi) is another important character who takes it upon himself to set in motion the beginning of the end of the world, so that everyone but his select followers perish. He believes this would bring an end to kalyug (age of Kali — a demon in Hindu mythology — or period of degeneration), last of the four-part cycle of the world’s existence as per scriptures and initiate satyug, the ideal age marked by purity and goodness, restarting the cycle. However, the show closed with a cliffhanger and is unlikely to return.
Asur: Welcome to your Dark Side is essentially a twisted whodunit. A serial killer well versed with Hindu mythology and philosophy chooses his victims based on their horoscope, particularly people known for their contribution towards society. The CBI’s forensic team is in perpetual pursuit. There is a constant triangulation between the serial killer, Shubh Joshi who turned from a small scale prison cult leader to one with a major (probably) secretive following, and Nikhil Nair (Barun Sobti), a former teacher, returned to being a forensic expert and his former mentor/colleague and present senior forensic expert with the CBI, Dhananjay Rajput (Arshad Warsi). Removing the right-hand index finger of the victims and leaving behind a Balinese mask is the killer’s signature. The motive is revealed to be that of bringing Kalki; the final avatar of Lord Vishnu, to duel with the killer, who believes he is an incarnation of Kali, an asur (demon) who reigns over kali-yug or kalyug. The show can also be viewed as a psychological thriller as at the bottom of it all it seems to blur the lines between binaries such as good-evil or right-wrong. In addition to this, it attempts to throw some light on how an individual’s childhood and upbringing shape their adult life. Not a cliffhanger, but it has an ambiguous ending that leaves scope for another season.
Paatal Lok follows a foiled assassination attempt of a prime time television news anchor, Sanjeev Mehra (Neeraj Kabi) and follows the resolute attempts of an encumbered police inspector, Hathiram Chaudhary (Jaideep Ahlawat), to trace the background of the suspects which leads him across Delhi, Punjab and Chitrakoot in Uttar Pradesh. The show opens with the recurring metaphor of the three worlds, Swarg Lok, Dharti Lok, Paatal Lok, the mythic realms of heaven, earth and hell (or netherworld) — Lutyens Delhi, posh localities in NCR, Outer Jamuna Paar — inhabited by Gods, humans, and insects respectively. It is when inhabitants of the lower rung penetrate and attack humans a scandal is born, remarks Chaudhary, who has a penchant for narrating stories from the scriptures and mockingly adding that he read them on Whatsapp. This production has been lauded for its presentation of the violence perpetrated based on caste, religion, gender, and instances of double oppression and how the State lends a hand in it. One of the characters, Vishal ‘Hathoda’ Tyagi (Abhishek Banerjee) is born with Vishnu’s boon; no human would be able to kill him (except one), sharing his horoscope with Hiranyakashyap, an asur and king of the daityas who was killed by the anthropomorphic Narasimha avatar of Vishnu. Several hints in the show allude to the notion that everyone is a manifestation of God. Even in the most brutal of all people there exists some shred of humanity, emphasized in Tyagi’s love for dogs. He highly regards his guru ‘Master Ji’ so much so that he sacrifices his thumb like Ekalavya and believes in his ideal that people who love dogs are good people which thwarted the supposed assassination plot. It closes conventionally neatly taking care of all the loose ends.
One can notice several similarities in these shows. There are no villains, just anti-heroes. Hinged onto seemingly incompetent insecure men with fragile egos rising to the occasion. More than highlighting the blurring of lines between them, they question the veracity of good and bad itself.
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