Actor Gul Panag says the coronavirus pandemic has laid bare the "inconvenient truth" of the socioeconomic divide in our society and her latest project "Paatal Lok" drives home the very point.
The neo-noir series, also starring Jaideep Ahlawat and Neeraj Kabi, takes a deep dive into the hinterland India in the form of an investigative thriller, while talking about crime, politics, caste, and class divide.
Gul said the Amazon Prime Video Original series isn't an "empty entertainer".
"It'll leave you with a lot to think about things which otherwise you wouldn't think about... With the migrant crisis that has come out post COVID-19, the inconvenient truth that we would barely talk about or refer to... It's exactly the kind of truth that 'Paatal Lok' has brought home to all of us," the actor told PTI in an interview.
"The timing couldn't have been more apt. There's a layering of society we see on the show and there's a layering of society that the COVID crisis has revealed," she added.
Gul hopes people who watch the web series amid the lockdown take away "greater empathy" in the current times.
"'Paatal Lok' reveals a deep dark side of our society, one which is simmering with a lot of stress and conflict beneath its surface. I hope in the light of what the lockdown has also revealed about our society, people walk away with a sense of greater empathy.
"(I hope) they walk away with compassion for those who aren't like us. They could be better off than us or worse off, but we must have empathy."
"The writers had layered the narrative with so much with the socioeconomic divide that exists across our society. It's a difficult thing to do, to manage so many layers and not diverge from the narrative that they were setting in."
"It's gratifying to know that something you're a part of is being appreciated by the people. It's a gritty show and a brave attempt to be able to tell so many different stories in one section. The fact that the attempt has paid off is very rewarding."