Office drama gets serious!

HYDERABAD : A straight-forward and focussed boss, a feme-fatale who calls the shots, a meek nerd who pulls everyone’s weight, a young immature fresher who is just trying his very best... Aren’t these people you often bump into in an office-scenario? Inspired straight out of real life observations, Ee Office Lo, the latest web series produced by Tamada Media, presented by Annapurna Studios and streming on Viu app.

Pavan Sadineni who wrote and is directing the series says, “It’s a very relatable story and the audience would see a part of themselves in each of the characters.” With six main characters each representing various personalities, the series has a lot to offer. With that many artists in the frame, it can’t be easy to do justice to all the characters. But Pavan Sadineni doesn’t fret about it. 

“I take it up as a challenge as a filmmaker to ensure every character gets its due. It’s a fun team to work with and they make it very easy to finish a day without a hassle,” he says.The 13-episode show is already airing an episode each every Friday and is eight episodes into the season. The response Pavan says has been great. “It’s the life of every guy. All those who have been in an office will relate to the characters and the situations and that is what is making the series work,” he says.

While the characters themselves are unique in nature, so are the people playing them. We chatted them up about what the series and their character mean to them. 

Rakendu Mouli
Hari Kiran has been a part of this company since before the new boss, Vikram takes position as the boss. He is a little jealous that despite working so loyally for the company someone else took away his opportunity. There’s a little grey in this character. He looks presentable and well-behaved but there is another side to him, which is unpredictable. What happens due to that is what you see in the show. I haven’t done a role like this so far. I am also writing for this series, the title song and the bit songs that are going to be in it. I’ve never worked in an office before in my life, so through Hari, I am exploring new horizons. 

Vaishnavi
I play my namesake in Ee Office Lo. She is a regular woman who isn’t motivated by career. She is a simple homely woman, who just wants to be a homemaker. But her situations make her have to take up a job which she doesn’t like initially but eventually learns to love. Her life changes after she chooses her career over her personal life. I am nothing like on-screen Vaishnavi. Work is everything for me and I have never wanted my personal life to get in the way of my work neither did I ever want to be a homemaker.  

Chaitanya Krishna
I play Vikram, a US-return who comes to Hyderabad to run a startup and the journey that he goes through with his Indian clients and the market requirements. He is kind of irritated with the unprofessional environment. There is a love interest in the mix as well. The trials and the tribulations of the character Vikram who chases his passion to be an entrepreneur, gives up his life in the US and comes here. That is why he is so uptight about his work and comes across as strict. As an actor the pursuit to find opportunities is also similar to what Vikram is experiences. There is a lot of self-doubt that you feel when you see your kin doing well in their corporate jobs while you picked an unconventional path. That’s where I resonate with the character.  

Abhijit Poondla
Vishal is secretly an insecure guy who overcompensates by dressing up and being sarcastic at the office. He tries to cover his shortcomings or his idea of them by his external demeanor. But there comes a point in the company when he shines through much to the amazement of everyone. He turns out to be the underdog who tastes success. I’ve never played a stylish character so far - I have only played the boy next door kind of characters. It’s nice to be the self-indulgent narcissist for once. (laughs)    

Rakesh Rachakonda
Ee Office Lo is a situational comedy set in an office set up. I play Mahesh, and I am one of the employees in the office. Mahesh takes his work very seriously and how he lets it affect him provides for the comic relief. He doesn’t admit it when he is wrong- kind of like a first bencher. He manages to float through even without knowing what is required. The background that this role has was something that was very close to my heart. That was one of the reasons I took up the project. All of us play characters which are genuinely being themselves, the comedy in this show happens organically and is not dependent on a character or a track.    

Swetha Varma 
I play the bosslady who calls all the shots in the office. Lekha is a confident, straight-forward woman who knows exactly what she wants at work. But when it comes to the matters of the heart she can be a little shy. She doesn’t know how to deal with romance and is often confused with her feelings. While most of the independent and confident part of her character resonates with me, I and Lekha are very different. I am more of a tom boyish person while Lekha is quite feminine. I’m a lot more jovial while Lekha likes to keep to herself and stay in control. 

 srividya.palaparthi@newindianexpress.com@PSrividya53