There were various angles he wanted to explore in Pataal Lok, a thriller unfolding through the eyes of a jaded Delhi cop trying to solve an assassination attempt on a journalist, but the most important were India's religious and caste faultlines, says the show's writer-creator Sudip Sharma.
The show, which premiered on Amazon Prime last week, has earned acclaim for its layered and incisive look at caste, class, gender and religion equations in the country and how they define the fate of four suspects at the centre of the investigation by Inspector Hathiram Chaudhary (Jaideep Ahlawat) and his subordinate Imran Ansari (Ishwak Singh).
We wanted to explore these divisions in India that run crisscross - be it class, caste, language, religion or gender. Caste and religion are two prominent faultlines. What makes them different is that it's possible to outgrow class through a change in socioeconomic status, but it's impossible to grow out of your caste or religion in the country, Sharma told PTI in an interview.
The nine-episode "Paatal Lok" is a giant leap of faith into long-form storytelling for Sharma, whose writing credits include movies such as NH 10, Udta Punjab and Sonchiriya.
Working on the show was akin to finishing up a novel after writing many short stories, he said.
Also, the structure gave him the freedom to explore his cast of characters and their backgrounds, including the four suspects Hathoda Tyagi, Kabir M, Cheeni and Tope Singh.
Kabir's story is about this boy and his father's attempts to have him grow out of his religion and their realisation at the end that it is impossible in this country.
We also wanted to place the religious angle in a different socioeconomic class with Ansari. What it means to be a rookie Muslim cop trying to make his way up, young and gifted in these highly radicalised times," Sharma said