Disney+ Hotstar announces a slew of Tamil shows. (Photo: Disney+ Hotstar)Disney+ Hotstar on Friday announced a slew of original Tamil web series. Some of the leading names of the south Indian film industry, including Kajal Aggarwal, Tamannaah, Sathyaraj and Venkat Prabhu, will be making their debuts in the digital space.
Venkat Prabhu has directed a web series called Live Telecast, which he said fell outside of his “comfort zone.” He is known for making comedy movies. But, his maiden web series is an out-and-out horror show. “I have watched a lot of web shows. I always wanted to make something like that,” said the Biryani director.
Live Telecast follows the ordeal of a bunch of television producers, who come into the grips of evil while trying to capture paranormal activities. Venkat said that he has cast Kajal Aggarwal against the grain.
“I wanted to show Kajal in a new shade. She usually plays bubbly and lively characters. But, in the series, she plays a very strong character. She is the boss of the team, and she controls the team. She has done her role very well. And you will see a very different Kajal in this,” he added.
Kajal Aggarwal is also very grateful for Live Telecast, which marks her foray into the web space. “One should be very versatile as an actor. In movies, we can only do so much, but in web series, you can push the envelope. It was also great to work with Venkat Prabhu again. I couldn’t have asked for a better debut,” she said.
Tamannaah Bhatia also shares the sentiments of Kajal Aggarwal as she seemed quite upbeat about her maiden web series titled November Story.
Tamannaah Bhatia makes her digital debut with November Story.
“You are not in a rush in a web series. There is no time limit like in movies. In a web series, you can explore characters. This is the medium where the writing can really flourish,” said the actor.
She also considers November Story as the best work of her career. “Indira Subramaniyam has written and directed the show. He has written the show so well that it made our jobs super easy. When you do a thriller, performing is very difficult as there will be too many twists and turns. However, Indira made it super simple. I have not done a thriller like this before. It is about a father and daughter relationship, and there is no better platform to explore that relationship,” she said, adding that the audience will instantly get hooked to the upcoming crime thriller.
My Perfect Husband is another web-series lined up by Disney+ Hotstar. Billed as a comedy entertainer, the show stars veteran actors Sathyaraj and Seetha. It also features Aajeedh Khalique, who has now become a household name after participating in Bigg Boss Tamil season 4.
Karthik Subbaraj has also created a web series called Triples with Vani Bhojan and Jai. The series is written by Balaji. “For a long time I wanted to make a comedy show for the web space. Balaji’s script has elements that we see in Crazy Mohan’s writing,” said the Petta director, who was recently part of an anthology movie, Putham Pudhu Kaalai, for Amazon Prime Video.
Jai promised that the web series will have a lot of laugh-out-loud moments like Kamal Haasan’s iconic movie Michael Madana Kama Rajan.
Karthik Subbaraj has bankrolled Triples.
Disney+ Hotstar has not revealed the premiere dates for these shows yet. However, the streaming giant’s offering will begin with RJ Balaji’s directorial debut Mookuthi Amman.
RJ Balaji noted that in recent years the Tamil film industry has not made a full-fledged movie on gods, which was a rage in the 1990s. “Mookuthi Amman is a socially responsible film,” he added.
Mookuthi Amman stars Nayanthara in the lead role and is set to premiere on Disney+ Hotstar on October 29 right around the time of Diwali celebrations.