With the last episode 'নিশির ডাক' being released, the much-acclaimed horror miniseries 'ষ' has come to an end. The series is the first of its kind in Bangla and has encompassed a lot of themes within the four episodes, which themselves are quite short.
Although the first episode 'এই বিল্ডিং এ মেয়ে নিষেধ' has been a bit below par with some instances of jump scare, the series has gotten better with time.
The second episode 'মিষ্টি কিছু' is arguably the finest episode to come out of the series with themes as diverse as popular Bengali urban legends of jinns haunting sweet shops to existential dread and angst.
All four episodes revolve around some popular and common urban legends. The first episode is about a petni - the Bengali equivalent of witches coming to a house where fish has been bought. Despite some criticism, the episode has a fantastic twist at the end which will shock the viewers.
The third episode 'লোকে বলে' captures the rustic countryside and the superstitions that come with it. With themes as subtle as gender dysphoria being examined in the episode with an eerie and unsettling set-up at the end, the episode is bound to give anyone goosebumps.
The last episode 'নিশির ডাক' is bloodcurdling in its own way. Set in the seasides of Cox’s Bazar, it’s about a modern man willing to debunk the fact that something supernatural is drawing the children near water, rather it is something completely explainable. The ambience of this episode is breathtaking and it has given the entire series a great farewell.
Director Nuhash Humayun has been successful in depicting the details and from the point of view of a pedant, it is a masterpiece.
The buildup of the stories with sound effects being not too flashy with the actors communicating in a very low tone has been one of the idiosyncrasies of the series which has been liked by viewers across the country.
The mixture of genres is another thing the series does well. Starting with folk tales, psychological horror with a supernatural tinge has been the ubiquitous feature of all the episodes which has added to the beauty of the series.
Although the episodes start a bit slowly, the viewers totally get engulfed in the screen within a short time which brings the comparison with Martin Scorsese's movies.
It might sound too far-fetched at this moment, but viewers who have watched the series might just agree.
The anthology series is an original production of Bangladeshi OTT platform Chorki and everyone should subscribe to the platform to watch the show, rather than download it from pirated sites, in order to let a local platform grow and encourage the native storytellers like Nuhash Humayun.
