‘Ee Office Lo’ : Of dreams and aspirations

Director Pavan Sadineni’s new web series ‘Ee Office Lo’ is an office drama tracking entrepreneurial spirits and challenges

Director Pavan Sadineni’s new web series Ee Office Lo, an office drama, has made its way into the digital space without publicity frenzy. The 13-episode series began to stream during the Dasara weekend, with the first four episodes now available online. Produced by Tamada Media and presented by Annapurna Studios, the series streams on Viu app.

Starring Chaitanya Krishna, Rakendu Mouli and Abhijeet among others, the series will track seven prime characters as they embark on a dream journey. Pavan Sadineni reveals that the strategy was to release the official trailer a day before the web series begins to stream, so as to cash in on the immediate curiosity. The director has feature films like Prema Ishq Kaadhal and Savithri , as well as the web series Pilla to his credit.

A software engineer turned filmmaker, Pavan Sadineni drew from his personal experiences to write the part of Chaitanya Krishna. Pavan did what was considered the norm for several youngsters — study engineering and head to the US to work in the IT sector. “My heart was set on cinema. About one and a half years later, I returned to India. I had been making short films before I directed my first feature,” he recalls. The story of a guy returning from the US to pursue his dreams was the trigger for

Ee Office Lo . Chaitanya Krishna plays someone who invests all that he’s earned over five years into launching his own IT firm. What follows is a juggernaut — friendships being forged, unlikely comrades, office politicking and challenges that are bound to resonate with the experiences of several people in the work force.

Director Pavan Sadineni (right) during the shoot

Pavan observes that there’s been a shift in scenario since the time he set out to make a mark, “Students today are more outspoken and convince their parents if they do not want to pursue engineering. Parents are also willing to listen. I wanted the web series to reflect this change.”

While he could see shades of himself in Chaitanya’s character in his way of speaking and dealing with situations, Pavan also dug into the well of experiences of his friends to shape up other characters. “Every character has a purpose and individuality,” he says, while commending Chaitanya Krishna, Rakendu Mouli, Abhijeet and others. “I had watched Rakendu’s work in

Saahasam Swaasaga Saagipo and was impressed, later I learnt that he is lyricist Vennelakanti’s son. He’s done a terrific job,” says Pavan.

The director feels that his own story of shifting to cinema from the IT field has the scope to turn into a story some day, “While I was working in the US, I’d spend the weekends watching films and wanted to see my name on the screen. I am happy I took the risk of working towards that dream and today I can sleep in peace because I made it happen. Similarly, the protagonists here want nothing more than realising their dreams. There’s a lot at stake while embarking on the journey. If you succeed, you set an example for others. If you fail, there will be 10 others who will hold you as an example of what not to be.”

Ee Office Lo has cinematography by Sidha Karumuri and music by Shravan Bharadwaj.

Each episode will be of 18 to 20 minutes duration and the team has shot seven episodes so far. Shooting is on for the remaining portions.