HYDERABAD: The success of Gods of Dharmapuri (G.O.D), a stylish web series in Telugu streaming on Zee5, has made its producer, Hyderabad-based Radhika Lavu a name to reckon with in the movie circles. Directed by Anish Kuruvilla, G.O.D is a drama that provides thrills at every point along with compelling character arcs. It’s a gripping saga of power struggles set in a fictitious mining town, Dharmapuri, near the Andhra and Karnataka border.
After the success of the first season, the filmmaker is all set to work on another season. Radhika, 34, has over 10 years of experience in the movie field and is the founder of city-based production house El lanar Films. She is next producing a conversation led six-episode web series called Unheard based in Hyderabad in the period from 1900 to 1950. The conversations will revolve around the unheard stories of common people. She talks to Hyderabad Express about the success of her web series, how language is no longer a language barrier with OTTs, and more.
One year of G.O.D
The response received for the first season of G.O.D has been overwhelming. When I look back, I realise that the reason the audience widely appreciated G.O.D, was because the characters were not larger than life, they were relatable, people who you come across in your daily life – the underdogs. The audience could relate to the emotions depicted by the actors and hence, they connected to the show so profoundly.
Season two on the anvil
With the scope, elasticity, and evolution of the characters as well as the story as a whole, we knew that we did not want to limit ourselves to season one but create a new universe. I am excited for season two where we are going to narrate a completely different story set in the backwaters of Andhra, but in the same G.O.D universe with a female protagonist. The second season will very tactfully take off from where the first season ended.
Rise of regional content on OTT, language no longer a barrier
The spike in viewership of OTT is a ray of hope for filmmakers who are keen on providing viewers with a compelling well shot storyline. This provides avenues for new and independent filmmakers from across India to reach out to OTT platforms with their ready made content which has been shot on a low budget. Various OTT platforms can surpass the normal to accommodate new-age genres and various languages. There is a sea of content available in the market and the current scenario gives a chance to deep dive into this sea and fish out the best content.
New trends in film industry
Many big films registered a short run at the box office at the start of the Covid-19 crisis. Filmmakers commenced exploring a re-release on OTT platforms. Medium and small budget films explored the OTT release route to recover investments. With the rise in subscription and eventual viewer base, OTT is steadily taking precedence over the other mediums of entertainment.
The spike in viewership is a ray of hope for filmmakers. While the digital release of films is already a trend, it is picking up even more now. Big OTT players started collaborating for direct releases. This will also open avenues for independent filmmakers whose work does not see the light of the day as well as different genres beyond the commercially profitable ones.
— Tamanna S Mehdi tamanna@newindianexpress. com @tamannamehdi