Sutliyan Review: Ayesha Raza Mishra, Vivaan Shah, Shiv Panditt shine in series of tangled family relations

Series Name: Sutliyan

Cast: Ayesha Raza Mishra, Vivaan Shah, Shiv Panditt, Plabita Borthakur, Suneel Sinha, Niharika Lyra Dutt, Disha Arora, Vivek Mushran, Nikhil Nagpal and Inayat Sood.

Director: Small Town Films

Rating: 3.5/5

"Barson Ki Gaanthe Hain, Uljhengi toh Sahi. Bas Thoda Waqt Aur Thoda Pyaar, Yeh Sutliyan Dobara Khoobsurat Lagne Lagegi." With that beautiful dialogue, let's remember that we all heard that relations are like threads and that from time to time, like them, our bonds also get entangled. Presenting this beautiful concept of relationships in our lives, ZEE5's latest offering Sutliyan is an 8-episode series that will remind you that no matter how entangled relations get, one can always nurture them and untangle them with time and of course, some love.

Set in the city of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, we're introduced to Supriya Chandel(Ayesha Raza Mishra), who is a mother of 3 grown-up kids staying away from her, and her late husband played by Vivek Mushran. Ramni (Plabita Borthakur) is the middle child who works in a Bank in Bangalore while the elder brother Rajan (Shiv Panditt) runs a business of bath fittings. The youngest brother Raman (Vivaan Shah) is an activist who likes to take up social causes. Like for everyone the lockdown brought in a lot of pain and misery due to loss of livelihood and loved ones, for Chandels too, it was heartbreaking as they lost the head of the family. However, due to the COVID rules, none of the 3 kids turn up for their father's funeral and Supriya Chandel is left alone to arrange everything at her advancing age. 

When all three siblings Ramni, Raman and Rajan come home ahead of Diwali to make it up to their mum and spend time with her, we notice how all of them are tied to each other by a loose thread of love that may break if not cared for any longer. Each of the kids is guilt-ridden, aware that they were not there for their mother in the wake of a family tragedy. When all of them meet Supriya, she is changed. She is stronger and is going through life with the hope of making it better. With dreams in her eyes, Supriya wishes to start her business of Sutliyan, where she makes decorative items made of threads. While Rajan and Raman don't seem to find their mom's behaviour different, Ramni vows to find out what has changed in her. 

As the show moves on from one episode to another, we get introduced to people and problems in Ramni, Raman and Rajan's life and why each of them decided to come back home to their mom ahead of Diwali. Supriya, on the other hand, is trying to get the local committee to allow her to get Stall number 1 at the Diwali Mela that takes place annually at the piece of land that she and her late husband own. Even in Supriya's life, her friend Trilok ji (Suneel Sinha), who is a local Kirana shop owner, plays an important role after her husband's demise. Seeing him be extra helpful to their mother, Ramni feels uncomfortable and decides to get to the bottom of it and that is where her old friend Sameer (Nikhil Nagpal) enters. He is a typical smitten, friend-zoned guy who is in love with Ramni. But, she has her own reasons for not having feelings for him and soon, we're introduced to TJ (Inayat Sood), her friend from Bangalore, who travels to Bhopal to spend time with her. 

As we go along, Rajan and his wife Amita's relationship is also put into the limelight. The couple is seen quarrelling, again hinting at knots in their bond. In all this, Rajan is yet to disclose to his mother that his business has taken a hit and that he is bankrupt. Facing pressure from the creditors, he decides to sell the land, which his late father bought for all the 3 kids. Raman, who is the youngest of them all, also is shown as having a complicated relationship with Dipanita (Niharika Lyra Dutt), Trilokji’s daughter, who is married to a man she doesn't love. Their bonding too is not without complexities. In all this, how the kids are trying to make up for the lost time with their mother in bad times while dealing with their own problems is what takes the story forward. 

From seeing them fight among each other to decide whether the family land should be sold or not to spy on their mother Supriya's relationship with Trilokji, each moment showcases how slowly and steadily they are trying to untangle the complexities that have crept in their relationship as a family and become seamless again. By the sixth episode, what will leave you hooked is the beautiful treatment of complex relationships. It will make you want to embrace the Chandel family in a warm hug to reassure them that things will be alright. 

Talking about the performances, Ayesha Raza Mishra as Supriya is brilliant in her role of a mother who is also trying to find her own footing and start her own brand. She is the backbone of this family and quite frankly, of the show too. Shiv Panditt as Rajan manages to make you relate to the pressures of having big dreams yet there are times, you don't like how he is too practical, willing to sell off his late father's land to pay off his loans. His performance is certainly commendable and will leave you impressed. Plabita as Ramni comes across as a strong-willed yet vulnerable woman who has her own secrets and is not ready to open up about them to the world yet. Her performance manages to leave an impact most in scenes where she is in self-doubt about how to confront her own guilt of leaving her mother alone. 

Vivaan as Raman will remind you of that youngest kid in the family who feels no one loves him and craves attention. He tries to hide his vulnerability by lying to his siblings about what he does and even relies on substances to escape his reality. He manages to convincingly pull off the part. Suneel Sinha as Trilokji will leave you with a smile on your face every time he backs Supriya up like a true friend. Inayat Sood as TJ manages to portray the vulnerabilities and doubts in her and Ramni's relationship with effortless ease. Disha Arora and Niharika Lyra Dutt as Amita and Dipanita are quite convincing in their acts.

What holds together this 8-Episode series is the good writing by Sudeep Nigam, Abhishek Chatterjee and the clear vision of direction. Not for a second you feel like you're in a melodramatic old world and that is what makes you want to go till the end of the series. Sutliyan certainly is like a breath of fresh air in the era of dark, gritty and intense shows available on streaming platforms. It is an attempt to make everyone believe that no matter how complicated bonds and relationships get, one can always make them seamless by just paying attention and caring for them.