The web series Sunflower, also the name of the housing society in which all its quirky characters reside, revolves around a murder that takes place just at the outset of the show. The audience is privy to the murderers, their tactics and the method they used. The police and all the other people in the show are in a quest to find the real culprit. Due to evidence stacked against him because of his own antics, Sonu played by Sunil Grover becomes the prime suspect of the case.

The world of Sunflower, created by Vikas Bahl, is engaging and enjoyable to watch. Its characters and their sub-plots add flesh to the series. First off, Sonu Singh is the most endearing person. He is a lonely 35-year old salesperson,  whose girlfriend left him to marry a hotshot businessman. He only receives automated text messages and the only person who checks on him is his mother. He is both innocent and eccentric. His antics are weird and funny at the same time. His presence in the frame is a guarantee for humour - either slapstick, surreal or dark. 

Then come the couple -  the unnecessarily dominant Mr. Ahuja (Mukul Chadda) and the subdued Mrs. Ahuja (Radha Bhatt). Mr. Ahuja is a double PhD, a school teacher and a totally different person when at home. For outsiders, he is the calm and composed, polite and hardworking “adhyapak”, while at home, he is an entitled prick who blames all the bad things in his life on his wife because she did not fast for him on Karwa Chauth.

The other important characters are the inspector and sub-inspector duo Digendra (DG) and Tambe played by the very sincere Ranvir Shorey and Girish Kulkarni respectively. DG helms the investigation of the case with utmost care and dedication. Unlike the police officers we see in masala Bollywood movies, these men are honest to their profession and do their job responsibly. Though, Tambe’s track does have a little Dabang kind of feel to it.

There is also the old, grumpy, orthodox and extremely regressive building chairman Dilip Iyer and his panel. Dilip is hellbent on making Sunflower a cultural society, with only those people who fall into his list of righteousness. He is aversive to divorced women, couples who have remarried and members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Conversely, his daughter, Paddy presumably in her late teens is totally opposed to her father’s conservative ideology and comes out as a modern girl who identifies as a lesbian. Justina and her roommate Gurleen, as the new residents in the society who dwell in the flat opposite Sonu’s, also add to the list of significant characters in the show.

As mentioned, the main plot of the story is a murder investigation. The thing that immediately pulls you in is the urge to find and understand the ways in which the police look at the case. The constant doubt that the police will not be able to solve this mystery keeps you interested. Although the character arcs are compelling to watch, after a point, they come across as not adding any substance to the show's final act. These sub-plots then seem to be stretched and only increase the length of the episodes. 

Nevertheless, the main storyline and Sunil Grover’s effortless performance keeps you engaged. The cliffhangers at the end of the first season will make for a good potential season two.

Zee 5’s Sunflower is one hundred percent entertaining and I recommend it as a good watch for a lazy weekend binge. 

Rating: 3.5/5