Amazon Prime is set to unveil its first Telugu web series this May. Titled Gangstars , it will be headlined by actor Jagapathi Babu and directed by Ajay Bhuyan. Writer-director Nandini Reddy takes the honours as creative head for the dark comedy crime caper that will span 12 episodes and will also be dubbed in Tamil and Hindi.
The web series has an ensemble cast that includes Navdeep, Sidhu Jonnalagadda, Shweta Basu Prasad, debutante Apoorva, Posani Krishna Murali, Krishna Bhagawan, Rahul Ramakrishna, Thogubothu Ramesh and Aishwarya. Talking about Gangstars , Nandini Reddy reveals that she had initially penned the story and screenplay for a feature film, “It had a lot of content involving several characters and situations. The feedback I received was I would be trying to cram all of it into a feature film and it would have to be at least of three-hour duration to do justice to it.”
At the same time, when she was offered a chance to pitch for what would be Amazon’s first Telugu web series, she felt this story and screenplay, with a little tweaking, would fit the bill. “I fleshed out the content a little more,” she reveals.
Writing for the digital spaces has a few perks. A writer-director needn’t worry about pandering to box office whims. Nandini found the experience liberating, “The only change was, I had to have a hook for each of the 12 episodes. The digital medium has its advantages. We can cast according to the script and not worry if those actors will be the focal point to draw the audience. Even if you have a big name on board, if the content is not good people will not watch it beyond two or three episodes,” she observes.
Nandini Reddy
Actor Jagapati Babu didn’t need to be coaxed to join Gangstars , says Nandini, who has known the actor for years, “He is eager to try something new and I feel he was waiting for the right content to enter digital space. Within 10-minutes of the narration, he said he’d do it.”
As the web series took shape, Nandini opted to be a creative head and not direct it, since she was scripting for her next feature film. The unanimous choice for the director, Ajay Bhuyan, came from both Nandini and producer Swapna Dutt. “We felt he had the right sensibility for this story, since he has dealt with comedies before,” reasons Nandini. Bhuyan has earlier directed Housefull, Amit Sahni ki List and Dhada , among others.
Nandini Reddy was also the creative head for the web series Mana Mugguri Love Story (directed by Shashank Yeleti, for YuppTV). Gangstars , she says, has the scale and production quality of cinema. Though the web series will be available in three languages, it was written with a Telugu audience in mind. “As a writer, you need to have content that’s true to a region. The racy plot and humour, however, will appeal to everyone,” she points out.
Without revealing much about the story, she says, “It’s a plot where a crime has a domino effect on every character involved. It took me six to seven months to write it initially for a feature film and nearly 70% of the dialogues were in place.”
Shooting is complete for the 12-episode web series.
Gangstars will be available on Amazon Prime from mid-May.
