Suzhal: The Vortex is an Indian Tamil-language crime suspense thriller television series created by Pushkar–Gayathri which was an Amazon Original and premiered exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. The series was directed by Bramma G (both seasons), Anucharan Murugaiyan (first season) and Sarjun KM (second season) and produced by Wallwatcher Films. It stars Kathir and Aishwarya Rajesh in lead roles.
The series features music composed by Sam C.S., cinematography handled by Mukeswaran (first season) and Abraham Joseph (second season), and editing done by Richard Kevin. Arun Venjaramoodu was production designer for both seasons.The first season, consisting of eight episodes, was released on 17 June 2022. The second season, consisting of eight episodes, was released on 28 February 2025.
Premise
In the fictional town of Sambaloor but actually set up in Poombarai, Dindigul district, Tamil Nadu, lives a community that worships Goddess Angalamman. The community celebrates the Mayana Kollai festival over 10 days every year, and it is in these 10 days that this story unfolds. What starts out as parallel stories of kidnapping and arson of Nandhini (starring Aishwarya Rajesh) and her sister, Fire Accident taking place at The Cement Factory, The Sub Inspector Chakravarthy (alias) Sakkarai (starring Kathir) sets out to unveil the suspense and knots tied to both the incidents, later unfolds into childhood trauma and conspiracy.
Chakravarthy, being disturbed by the incidents and guilty feeling of inability of him to find Justice to Nandhini, seeks the help of Chellappa, his well wisher. Chellappa, the distinguished lawyer and senior Social activist and a public prosecutor renowned for his unwavering support in advocating for Nandini's defense, is tragically discovered dead under mysterious circumstances, Sakkarai is urgently summoned to offer his assistance to the grieving family during their time of shock and loss. As the investigation unfolds, it is set against the vibrant and festive backdrop of the grand Ashtakaali Festival, held annually in the charming town of Kaalipattanam. With each passing day, the inquiry delves deeper into the past, gradually revealing long-buried secrets and unresolved tensions that threaten to resurface, casting an ominous and unsettling shadow over the present and complicating the pursuit of justice.
Cast
Main lead Kathir as Sub-inspector Chakravarthy “Sakkarai”, Nandini's friend Aishwarya Rajesh as Nandini (Based on the Goddess Angalamman) Season 1 R. Parthiban as Shanmugam, Nandini's father Sriya Reddy as Inspector Regina Thomas Gopika Ramesh as Nila (Shanmugam's younger daughter) Fredrick Jhonson as Adhisayam (Regina's son) Harish Uthaman as Trilok Vadde Prem Kumar as Vadivelu (Regina's husband) Elango Kumaravel as Guna Nivedhithaa Sathish as Lakshmi (Sakkarai's fiancée) Indumathy Manikandan as Devi Latha Rao as Selvi (Guna's wife) Yusuf Hussain as Mukesh Vadde Nitish Veera as Pushparaj Santhana Bharathi as Kothandaraman Mekha Rajan as Dr. Sanghamithra (psychiatrist) Palani Murugan as Eeshwaran Soundarya as Malar (Nila's friend) Ajith Koshy as DSP Manimaran Navneeth Krishnan as Gani Yashwanth Babu as Mani G Ajith Kumar as Kandipan Hareesh SS as Dheena Sasi Kumar as Arivu Arun Pandiyan as Muthu Prasanna Balachandran as Sundaram Mona Kakade as a hospital doctor Season 2 Lal as Adv Chellappa Saravanan as Inspector Moorthy Ashwini Nambiar as Malathy (Chellappa's wife) Amit Bhargav as Sundar (Chellappa's son) Manjima Mohan as Nagamma (Based on the Goddess Nagamman) Chandran as Ravi Chandini Tamilarasan as Prayamvatha (School Principal) Gouri G. Kishan as Muthu aka Madhubala. A stage dancer (Based on the Goddess Muthumariamman) Monisha Blessy as Muppi. A salesgirl who works in optical shop (Based on the Goddess Muppidariamman) Samyuktha Viswanathan as Naachi. An agriculturist.(Based on the Goddess Alagu Nachiamman) Rajapandi as Sub-inspector Harini Sundarajan as Adv.Gaandhari. A criminal lawyer (Based on the Goddess Gaandhariamman) Nikhila Shankar as Sandhanam. A trainee paramedic (Based on the Goddess Santhanamaariamman) Srisha as Veera. A basketball player (Based on the Goddess Veeramahakaaliamman) Kalaivani Bhaskar as Ulagu. A devoted girl (Based on the Goddess Ulagamman) Abhirami Bose as Senbagam. A ration shop owner (Based on the Goddess Shenbagavalliamman) Attul as Dhamu Anjali Ameer as Vanaja O. A. K. Sundar as Thiruvengadam Aroul D. Shankar as Mithran Pondy Ravi as MLA Arasu Arshya Lakshman as Saroja (Prisoner) S. Rajapandi as Sub Inspector (who arresting sex workers) Telephone Raj as Fernandes (Fishermen 's head) Thirumurugan as Maarappan
Series overview
Episodes Season 1 No.TitleDirected byWritten byRelease1"Hoisting the Flag"Bramma GPushkar–Gayathri17 June 2022Shanmugam (Parthiban) is the head of the labor union protesting against their factory's management, headed by Trilok Vadde (Harish Uthaman). Police under Inspector Regina Thomas (Sriya Reddy) and her close associate Sub-Inspector Chakravarthy aka Sakkarai (Kathir) try to keep the protestors in check. In return, Trilok partly finances a bike for Regina's spoiled son, Adhisayam. Regina's husband is a little unhappy about the entire setup. Adhisayam is headed on a trip to Moonaar with his friends. Sakkarai gets engaged to Lakshmi (Nivedhithaa Sathish), a nurse.
Shanmugam's notices his daughter Nila (Gopika Ramesh) is not concentrating on her education and reprimands her. Nila seems extremely upset. She goes missing that night. The same night, the factory catches fire and suspicion naturally falls on Shanmugam and police detain him. While investigating the cause of the factory fire, Sakkarai finds out Nila was actually kidnapped.2"The Myth"Bramma GPushkar–Gayathri17 June 2022Trilok twists the arm of Regina and asks her to formally arrest Shanmugam. But Trilok's father Mukesh, who trusts Shanmugam, interferes and facilitates his release.
News of Nila's kidnapping becomes official. Nila's sister Nadhini (Aishwarya Rajesh), who is also Sakkarai's school friend, helps him with the search. Sakkarai finds out Nila was being stalked by a young and apparently rich boy. Police investigation also led them to Malar, who Nila met last before being abducted. They try to question her, but Malar's family appear to be hiding a secret and doesn't cooperate. But after persistent pressure Malar reveals to Sakkarai and Nandhini that the guy stalking Nila is actually Regina's son, Adhisayam.3"The Procession"Bramma GPushkar–Gayathri17 June 2022Shanmugam and family confront Regina about Adhisayam kidnapping Nila. Regina tries to calm them down by playing his innocent sounding voice messages he sent just that day. But Malar insists Adhisayam has tried to misbehave with Nila. Regina tries to call Adhisayam, but can reach only one of the other friends. She strongly asks them to return from Munaar right away.
Fire investigator Kothandaraman questions Trilok about the history of the factory and its financials.
Regina tracks Adhisaysm's phone and finds out he had called Nila several times the day she went missing. Since none of the boys are returning phone calls, Sakkarai offers to go to Munaar to investigate. He is surprised to find Nandhini there, who is also looking for clues on Nila. With help from local police, they track down Adhisayam's van and his hideout. They catch all the friends, but no sign of Adhisayam or Nila.4"The Immersion"Bramma GPushkar–Gayathri17 June 2022Shanmugam and his group lose patience and force their way into Regina's house. Nandhini and Sakkarai return just in time to stop them, and reveal Adhisayam and Nila are actually in love with each other, and eloped to Mumbai. From the phone he got from the other boys, Sakkarai plays a series of voice messages Adhisayam had recorded for Regina. Adhisayam recounts his romance with Nila through those messages, and mentions they decided to elope because of the personal enmity between Regina and Shanmugam. Sakkarai opines to Nandhini personally that he always thought of Adhisayam as a happy-go-lucky guy, but these messages appeared to come from a wiser person. Regina and her husband blame each other, but Shanmugam seems to repent for his mistakes.
Police check the train schedule. They find the names of Nila and Adhisayam on the reservation charts, but on a train to Guwahati, and not Mumbai. Ticket inspector cannot recall them either.
Meanwhile, an idol is immersed in the local lake as part of the Mayana Kollai festival. Little kids are shown jumping into the lake and swimming underwater around the immersed idol. We also see the dead bodies of Nila and Adhisayam at the bottom of the lake, hugging each other.5"The Looting"Anucharan MurugaiyanPushkar–Gayathri17 June 2022The bodies of Nila and Adhisayam are recovered and taken to post mortem, where it is discovered that Nila was pregnant, and the deaths were caused by slitting of the throat with a sharp object. Time of death is estimated to be around the same day Nila went missing.
Trilok visits Regina to offer his condolences, and offers to help any which way possible. Fire inspector Kothandaraman meets him there and warns if an inspection of the factory is performed, that could discover an unmaintained item, which would invalidate insurance claims. Trilok leaves in a huff.
Regina visits Shanmugam and requests the last rites of both Nila and Adhisayam be performed together, and Shanmugam and family agree. Sakkarai notices Nila's tutor Pushparaj looking for something in her garden. Pushparaj realizes he is being followed and escapes in his motorbike. Sakkarai searches around the garden and discovers Nila's hidden cellphone.
He unlocks the phone with Nandhini's help, and they find out Nila was quite active on social media, contrary to their beliefs. The also find out Nila was obsessed with the disappearance of another local girl Ammani, several years ago.
Police trace Pushparaj's bike near the venue of a procession for Mayana Kollai. Shanmugam's brother Guna is playing a major role that day. Sakkai catches Pushparaj there and finds out he was looking for the phone because it contains pictures of him being intimate with Guna's wife, Selvi. Pushparaj claims Nila had taken those photos, black mailed him to the tune of Rs. 2 lakhs, got the money and left with Adhisayam accompanying her.6"The Trance"Anucharan MurugaiyanPushkar–Gayathri17 June 2022Lakshmi suspects Sakkarai has romantic feelings towards Nandhini, but he assures her there is nothing like that. Regina is not handling her loss well, and her marriage is strained.
Vadde's and their accountant Vadivelu (Regina's husband) discuss the company cannot survive unless the damages are covered by insurance, and Kothandaraman's report is crucial. Kothandaraman investigates the burnt down factory with Sakkarai and Guna, and discovers a few items not in compliance. The office who investigated from the police side, admits his report was completely based on Trilok's suggestion. Guna develops asthma symptoms and leaves the factory. Sakkarai suspects if the attack was triggered by anxiety over the investigation.
Sniffing dogs lead police to some caves near the lake, where they see signs of a ritual and traces of blood, and suspect if the kids were sacrificed for Mayana Kollai. Sakkarai finds a tent where a recluse called Eswaran lives, and discovers a box with Rs 2 lakhs. Police arrest Eswaran and interrogate him. They find out Ammani was his sister, and became deranged after she went missing. He admits Nila and Adhisayam offered his Rs 2 lakhs to kill someone, which he refused, but still snatched their money. Forensic reports confirms the traces of blood in the cave is from a goat and Eswaran is probably innocent.