Siddharth Naidu and Rajashekhar Vadlapati, co-directors of the Telugu web series Paruvustreaming on Zee5 from June 14, had hoped to make a splash in the digital space in 2017-18. Back then, web series were not a phenomenon in India, except for an occasional Sacred Games. In Telugu, it was a new domain. “We had ideas for workplace comedies, rom-coms, crime…” they recall. Siddharth had written seven scripts, keeping in mind the budgets feasible for digital platforms, but none of them were picked up. Though it has taken time, their first web series Paruvu is a significant one that explores socio-political dynamics in the Guntur-Vijayawada region of Andhra Pradesh. Starring Nagababu, Naresh Agastya, Nivetha Pethuraj, Praneeta Patnaik and several others, the series dissects caste, class divisions and the struggle for survival.
At an interview session for The Hindu in Hyderabad, Siddharth, the writer of the series, reveals that Paruvu (honour) stemmed from incidents of paruvu hatyalu (honour killings) that he and his friends had learnt of in Andhra Pradesh. “In urban pockets, not many people are aware of this reality. This knowledge disparity was a trigger for me to write.”
During the pandemic, Siddharth and Rajashekar were also shaken by director Vetrimaaran’s hard-hitting Tamil short film Oor Iravu for the Netflix anthology Paava Kadhaigalwhich explored honour killings. “There are other examples as well, from The sick (Marathi) to Premist (dubbed from the Tamil film Kaadhal). We wanted to explore the topic in Telugu,” says Rajashekhar.
Having collaborated earlier for their media company VoxSpace, the friends put all their energy into fleshing out a story revolving around honour and what it means to different people. Since offline events had come to a standstill during the lockdowns, VoxSpace was paused.
A demo short film
Rajashekhar, Bindu Chandramouli and Siddharth on the sets of ‘Paruvu’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Siddharth wrote a 10-page short story and pooling resources, the duo made a 30-minute film with an indie approach. A chunk of what happens in the opening episode of Paruvu is from this short story. “This portion involves three characters and is mostly filmed in a car and a few scenes on a lonely street in the dark. We pulled it off,” they say. Their plan was to upload the film on YouTube, but it seemed like a good demo film for a larger story. “Incidentally, Zee5 was looking for interesting stories and we pitched ours with this demo film,” says Siddharth. The film was shot prior to the second wave of COVID-19. Soon after, Siddharth developed it into a 12-episode web series and the screenplay was approximately 750 pages. Zee5 wanted a shorter screenplay and it was trimmed down to 10 episodes and later, eight. The co-directors have a blueprint for seasons two and three.
Siddharth hails from Vijayawada and grew up in Hyderabad, while Rajashekhar has roots in Chittoor and grew up in Bengaluru. Over the years, both had observed the clash of cultures when they visited their hometowns. “I have seen how they try to put us down and we think they are stuck in social dynamics dictated by caste and class. We wanted to show this clash in the series. The character played by Naresh Agastya is an urban dweller who faces the heat in Guntur-Vijayawada and Nivetha Pethuraj, having moved to Hyderabad after much struggle, vents her emotions when she returns home,” Siddharth points out.
They point out that what worked in favour of Paruvu is Zee5 reposing faith in the narrative for its potential to draw eyeballs in tier two and three cities. Things came to speed when producer Sushmita Konidela (Chiranjeevi’s daughter) of Gold Box Entertainments collaborated with Zee5. Writer-director Pavan Sadineni stepped in as the showrunner and helped debut directors Siddharth and Rajashekhar plan the filming of the series and design a few sequences that required visual effects. Sushmita’s eagerness to explore socio-political dynamics further encouraged the directors. Added to this was the presence of veteran actor Nagababu (for those unfamiliar with Telugu cinema, he is Chiranjeevi’s older brother).
Over 750 auditions
Naresh Agastya and Nagababu in ‘Paruvu’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Considerable time was spent in pre-production and 750 candidates auditioned for the various characters. “We wanted people who looked unique and had distinct traits so that even if they appear in a few scenes, there is an instant recall,” says Rajashekhar. Except for 10-12 well-known actors from Telugu cinema, others were either novices or amateur actors who had worked in Telugu cinema or YouTube series.
An actor who surprised them was newcomer Siddha, who plays a mute character. He learnt ASL (American Sign Language) and also taught it to other characters who interact with him in the series. Siddharth and Rajashekhar had training sessions for newer actors, after which they worked alongside established actors.
Siddharth and Rajashekhar being avid cinephiles, their references ranged from series The Wire and Mirzapur to films such as Get Out, Do The Right Thing and Rudraveena in terms of building a narrative that investigates the dynamics of a city and its class differentiations. While all these served as an undercurrent, they were particular that Paruvu reflects the native ethos. Sharp conversations, at times dripping with sarcasm, work as the cornerstones of the writing. Siddharth attributes this to his observation of people. “When friends and relatives gather for a funeral back home, emotions run high.” The female characters are no pushovers and no character, big or small, is strictly black or white.
The directors encouraged the actors to bring in their observations and improvise their performances. “For instance, in a scene with Bindu Chandramouli seated on a recliner and having a meal, it was her idea to fold her legs and sit comfortably on the recliner, asserting her place in the house. These small things made a difference. Similarly, when Pranita amped up the pitch of her performance, Nagababu sir also brought in additional nuances.”
On set, the two directors worked in tandem. While one was in command for a shot, the other prepped the actors for the next sequence, ensuring no time was wasted. Footage for eight episodes was filmed in 65-70 days and Viplav Nyshadam spent nearly six months on editing.
For Siddharth and Rajashekhar, Paruvu is the first step. Rajashekhar is a computer systems engineer who worked in advertising before joining VoxSpace. On his part, Siddharth is a CA and worked as a strategic investment and risk assessor before being drawn to cinema. Like several aspirants, they met other indie filmmakers at Lamakaan, Hyderabad, and learnt the ropes of storytelling for the visual medium. “We have plans and hope to execute them,” says Siddharth.
