Siddharth Naidu and Rajashekar Vadlapati, co-directors of the Telugu web series paruvuThe web series, which will be streaming on Zee5 from June 14, was expected to take the digital space by storm in 2017-18. At that time, web series were not a big trend in India, except for a couple of occasions. Sacred GamesIn Telugu, it was a new territory. He recalls, “We had ideas for workplace comedies, romantic comedies, crime…” Siddharth wrote seven scripts keeping in mind the budgets feasible for the digital platform, but none of them were picked up. Though it took time, his first web series paruvu It is an important series that explores the socio-political dynamics in the Guntur-Vijayawada region of Andhra Pradesh. Starring Nagababu, Naresh Agasthya, Nivetha Pethuraj, Pranitha Patnaik and many others, the series analyses caste, class divisions and the struggle for survival.
in an interview session Hindu In Hyderabad, the writer of the series Siddharth revealed that paruvu (Respect) events resulting from paruvu hatyalu (Honour killings) were something she and her friends came to know about in Andhra Pradesh. “In urban areas, many people are not aware of this reality. This disparity in knowledge was one of the reasons for me to write.”
During the pandemic, Siddharth and Rajasekhar were also moved by director Vetrimaaran’s powerful Tamil short film Oor Iravu for the Netflix anthology Pava KadhaigalIn which honor killings were investigated. “There are other examples as well, Sairat (Marathi) Premiste (dubbed from Tamil movie Kaadhal“We wanted to explore this subject in Telugu too,” says Rajasekhar.
Having collaborated earlier for their media company Voxspace, the friends put all their energy into creating a story revolving around respect and what it means to different people. As offline events came to a halt during the lockdown, so did Voxspace.
a demo short film
Rajashekar, Bindu Chandramouli and Siddharth on the sets of ‘Peruvu’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Siddharth wrote a short story of 10 pages and by pooling resources, the duo made a 30-minute film, taking an indie approach. Here’s a glimpse of what happened in the opening episode paruvu It is from this short story. “This part has three characters and is mostly shot in a car and some scenes on a deserted road in the dark. We completed it,” he says. Their plan was to upload the film on YouTube, but it seemed like a good demo film for a larger story. “Coincidentally, Zee5 was looking for interesting stories and we presented our story with this demo film,” says Siddharth. The film was shot before the second wave of COVID-19. Soon after, Siddharth developed it into a 12-episode web series and the screenplay was around 750 pages long. Zee5 wanted a shorter screenplay and it was shortened to 10 episodes and later to eight. The co-directors have a blueprint for the second and third seasons.
Siddharth is from Vijayawada and grew up in Hyderabad, while Rajasekhar is from Chittoor and grew up in Bengaluru. Over the past few years, when they visited their hometowns, both of them witnessed the clash of cultures. “I have seen how they try to put us down and we feel stuck in the social dynamics dictated by caste and class. We wanted to show this clash in the series. The character played by Naresh Agastya is a city dweller who faces the heat in Guntur-Vijayawada and Nivetha Pethuraj, who has come to Hyderabad after a lot of struggle, expresses her feelings on returning home,” explains Siddharth.
What worked in Paruvu’s favour, he says, was that ZEE5 put its faith in the narrative for its ability to grab the attention of people in tier II and III cities. Things moved quickly when producer Sushmitha Konidela (Chiranjeevi’s daughter) of Gold Box Entertainment collaborated with ZEE5. Writer-director Pavan Saadineni stepped in as the showrunner and helped debut directors Siddharth and Rajashekar plan the filming of the series and design some scenes that required visual effects. Sushmitha’s keenness to explore socio-political dynamics further encouraged the directors. Also on board was the presence of veteran actor Nagababu (for those not familiar with Telugu cinema, he is Chiranjeevi’s elder brother).
Over 750 auditions
Naresh Agasthya and Nagababu in ‘Paruvu’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Pre-production took a lot of time and 750 candidates auditioned for various characters. “We wanted people who looked unique and had different qualities so that if they appeared in even a few scenes, they would be instantly remembered,” says Rajasekhar. Barring 10-12 well-known actors from Telugu cinema, the rest were either newbies or amateur actors who had worked in Telugu cinema or YouTube series.
One actor who surprised them was newcomer Siddh, who plays a mute character. He learned ASL (American Sign Language) and also taught it to other characters who interact with him in the series. Siddharth and Rajasekhar conducted training sessions for the new actors, after which they worked with established actors.
Siddharth and Rajashekar are avid cinema lovers, their reference ranges from series Wire And mirzapur for movies like Get out, do the right thing And Rudra Veena in terms of producing a narrative that examined the dynamics of a city and its class differentiation. While all of these served as an undercurrent, they particularly emphasised that paruvu reflects the native ethos. Sharp conversations, sometimes laced with sarcasm, serve as the cornerstone of the writing. Siddharth attributes this to his observation of people. “When friends and relatives gather for the funeral at home, emotions run high.” The female characters are no easy prey and no character, big or small, is entirely black or white.
The directors encouraged the actors to bring in their own observations and improvise in their acting. “For example, in a scene where Bindu Chandramouli is sitting in an armchair and eating food, it was his idea to sit on the armchair with her legs folded, which would indicate her place in the house. These little things made a lot of difference. Similarly, when Pranitha raised the pitch of her performance, Nagababu sir also brought in additional nuances.”
On the set, both directors worked together. One would take charge of a shot, while the other would prepare the actors for the next sequence, so that no time was wasted. The footage for the eight episodes was shot in 65-70 days and Viplav Nishadam spent about six months on editing.
For Siddharth and Rajashekhar, paruvu The first step is to get started. Rajasekhar is a computer systems engineer who worked in advertising before joining Voxspace. Siddharth is a CA and worked as a strategic investment and risk evaluator before getting into cinema. Like many other aspirants, they met other indie filmmakers at Lamakaan in Hyderabad and learnt the tricks of storytelling for the visual medium. “We have plans and hope to execute them,” says Siddharth.
