''Sunflower'' is a

black comedy Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...

ZEE5 ZEE5 or Z5 is an Indian subscription video on demand and over-the-top streaming service, owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It was launched in India on 14 February 2018 with content in 12 languages. The ZEE5 mobile app is available on We ...

original

web series A web series (also known as webseries, short-form series, and web show) is a series of short scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet (i.e. World Wide Web), which first emerged in the late 1 ...

directed by

Vikas Bahl Vikas Bahl is an Indian filmmaker, best known for directing Chillar Party (2011), ''Queen (2013 film), Queen'' (2013), ''Super 30 (film), Super 30'' (2019), and ''Shaitaan (2024 film), Shaitaan'' (2024). Early life and education Bahl was born a ...

and Rahul Sengupta. It is produced by

Reliance Entertainment Reliance Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. is an Indian media and entertainment company. It is a division of Reliance Group, handling its media and entertainment business, across content and distribution platforms. The company was founded on 15 February ...

, starring actor-comedian

Sunil Grover Sunil Grover (born 3 August 1977) is an Indian actor and comedian who works in Hindi and Punjabi language films and television. He came into limelight for his portrayal as Gutthi on television show '' Comedy Nights with Kapil'' but gained popu ...

in the lead role as Sonu. The cast includes actors like

Ranvir Shorey Ranvir Shorey (born 18 August 1972) is an Indian actor and former video jockey. Since making his debut in '' Ek Chhotisi Love Story'' (2002), he has worked in both mainstream and independent cinema. His commercially successful ventures include ...

Girish Kulkarni Girish Pandurang Kulkarni (born 25 November 1977) is an Indian actor, writer, and producer. He is a recipient of two National Film Awards namely, National Film Award for Best Actor in 2011 for his performance in '' Deool'' and National Film Aw ...

Mukul Chadda Mukul Chadda is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. Early life and education Mukul was born in Chennai, in the state of Tamil Nadu. He completed a bachelor's in Mathematics at the prestigious St Stephen's College, Delhi and is an MBA gra ...

Shonali Nagrani Shonali Nagrani is an Indian actress, tv host and beauty pageant titleholder. She hosted Indian Premier League. She has also appeared in Hindi language films. She entered the Femina Miss India pageant in 2003 and was crowned Femina Miss India ...

Sonal Jha Sonal Jha (born 29 July 1971) is an Indian film and television actress. Sonal Jha is best known for her roles in films such as '' Lipstick Under My Burkha'', '' 3 Storeys'', '' Chillar Party'' and TV Serials such as ''Na Aana Is Des Laado'' a ...

and

Ashish Vidyarthi Ashish Vidyarthi (born 19 June 1965) is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, English, Odia, Marathi and Bengali films. He is noted for his antagonist and character roles. In 1995, he receive ...

. The first season consisted of 8 episodes, it started streaming on

Zee5 ZEE5 or Z5 is an Indian subscription video on demand and over-the-top streaming service, owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It was launched in India on 14 February 2018 with content in 12 languages. The ZEE5 mobile app is available on We ...

on June 11, 2021, and received generally positive reviews from critics and audience for its direction, writing and acting. Following the success of the season, ZEE5,but it did not did well and failed to grab audience in May 2023, revealed that the series would be back for the second season. Actress

Adah Sharma Adah Sharma (born 11 May 1992) is an Indian actress who appears predominantly in Hindi and Telugu films. Sharma, after finishing her schooling, made her acting debut with a leading role in the 2008 Hindi horror film, ''1920'', a box office succ ...

joined the cast for the season. The second season premiered on March 1, 2024.

Plot

The story revolves around a murder mystery based in a middle-class housing society in Mumbai called "Sunflower".

Cast

as Sonu Singh *

as Rosie Mehta *

as Inspector S. Digendra *

as Sub Inspector Chetan Tambe *

as Mr. Ahuja * Radha Bhatt as Mrs. Ahuja *

as Dilip Iyer * Ashwin Kaushal as Mr Raj Kapoor * Ria Nalavade as Paddy Iyer *

as Naina Kapoor *

as Mrs Iyer * Nirvair Bhan as Monty * Navdeep Tomar as Society Watchman *

Sameer Khakhar Sameer Khakhar (9 August 1952 – 15 March 2023) was an Indian film and television actor in Bollywood. Some of Sameer Khakhar's notable work was in TV shows "Nukkad", "Circus" and "Shrimaan Shrimati", and films such as " Pushpak", "Parinda" and ...

as abusive heart-patient *

Sal Yusuf Sal Yusuf is a British actor and comedian who works in Indian films. Career Born in London to Cypriot immigrants, he moved to Bangalore, India, where he became a stand-up comedian and is also a part of the comedy group, The Improv. He was o ...

as Chairman of Sonu Singh's Company * Salonie Patel as Aanchal * Annapurna Soni as Maid Kamini * Dayana Erappa as Justina * Pallavi Das as Juhi *

Ajay–Atul Ajay-Atul is an Indian music composer duo comprising brothers Ajay Ashok Gogavale and Atul Ashok Gogavale. Known for their works in Cinema of India, Indian cinema; predominantly in Marathi cinema, Marathi and Hindi cinema, Hindi films. They are ...

as judges of singing competition (guest appearance) * Simran Nerurkar as Gurleen * Aarav Chowdhary as Ramesh Kapoor * Jaimin Panchal * Shayank shukla as Aditya khanna

Series overview

Episode list

Season 1

Season 2

Release

The first seasons of this

original web series premiered on June 11, 2021. The second season premiered on March 1, 2024.

Critical reception

Season 1

Archika Khurana from

TOI Toi or TOI may refer to: Places * Toi Market, in Nairobi, Kenya * Toi, Niue, a village in Niue * Toi, Shizuoka (土肥町 Toi-chō), Japan * Toi Toi, a suburb of Nelson, New Zealand People and characters * Toi (Bible), a Biblical figure * ...

says that Sunflower Season 1 is an engrossing thriller laced with dark humor. TOI rates the web series at 3 out of 5. The web series could have been a bigger success if it did not have a laid-back execution. Sunil Grover gets full marks as he plays the role of Sonu Singh to perfection. From Vakaao, Aashna Varshney says that the web series is a great watch as Sunil Grover and the major plotline both impresses you as the season progresses. Many different subplots make the web series a little disturbing as the focus seems to be losing from the main murder mystery plot. However, the main storyline and Sonu Singh's performance is worth the watch and a recommended entertainer. Divy Tripathi from Film Companion says that this web series is a beautiful experience with spot-on direction and acting. Ranveer Shorey plays the character of a no-nonsense cop with perfection and teamed with Girish Kulkarni, the duo looks perfect as investigating officers.

Season 2

The season drew mix response from critics.

The Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...

rated it 3 out of 5 and called it as "Overall, ‘Sunflower 2’ offers a compelling continuation"

News 18 Network18 Media & Investments Limited, (d/b/a Network18 Group) is an Indian media conglomerate owned by the Reliance Industries, headed by Mukesh Ambani. Rahul Joshi is the managing director, chief executive officer and group editor-in-chief, a ...

too rated it 3 out of 5 while praising the work of Sunil Grover and Adah Sharma.

Firstpost Firstpost is an Indian news website owned by Network18 Group, which also runs CNN-News18 and CNBC TV18. It has posted misinformation on multiple occasions. The Network 18 group was originally owned by Raghav Bahl. In January 2012, the gro ...

was less welcoming of the show, commenting, "Sunflower tries to pack in way too many things into one season, mainly to create a complete package."

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=tt13304410 *
Sunflower
' at

Hindi-language television shows Indian drama television series