Vikkatakavi is the title of an upcoming web series on ZEE5. Director Pradeep Maddali's series, co-starring Naresh Agastya and Megha Akash, recreates the 1940s and 1970s.
In his latest interview, Maddali talked about the origin of the series. "Writer Teja Desiraj wrote the story and impressed the OTT platform. He has previously worked under Prasanth Varma on AWE and Kalki. We aimed to present the series with a royal look while also delivering a strong thriller element," the director says.
The title has a solid justification. Naresh Agastya's characterization is a riff on the legend of Tenali Ramakrishna. Set in a fictional village named Amaragiri in Telangana, Vikkatakavi presents a layered story. "It's always a challenge to do a periodic drama. The lighting, costumes, looks, language and other elements have to be authentic. The production designer, the costumer, the cinematographer have to be on the same page. My personal networking helped me a great deal in pooling the right set of technicians. I happened to watch a Bengali film whose texture I liked. I roped in a technician who worked on that movie through a friend," Maddali said.
"The palace set you see in the series is real. We used VFX only where absolutely necessary and shot almost entirely on real locations. We filmed at places like Ramoji Film City and an aluminum factory in Hyderabad. However, we adapted the existing locations to fit the story, and the production design team was instrumental in this," the director added.
Vikkatakavi, also starring Raja Narasmha Rao, has this premise: "In the 1970s, the people of Amaragiri are devastated by a plague that causes memory loss. A detective, Rama Krishna, arrives to investigate the case. Will he find the cause or fall prey to the curse?"
