iWorld
TV not ready for the characters I write: ‘Pushpavalli’ creator Sumukhi Suresh
NEW DELHI: Amazon Prime has been investing heavily in Indian originals for its platform, and it seems like comedy is one of the most preferred genres. Several stand-ups and sketches by Indian comics have been hosted on its home page and have gained immense popularity as well. One such show is Sumukhi Suresh’s Pushpavalli, directed by Debbie Rao, which recently came out with its second season.
Speaking to Indiantelevision.com about her experience of creating Pushpavalli, Suresh went all praise for the platform stating that she is glad that the show is on Amazon Prime. “No other OTT platform would have done it the way Prime did. My fellow writer had a very dark vision for the show. I was very sure that we wanted to show revenge. During my meeting with Prime, sometime in March 2018, I was pleasantly surprised to see their reaction to my vision. They supported me in making it darker. They told me to make her murder someone,” she said.
Suresh further added, “Also, there are many OTT platforms which are apprehensive about taking up a show (Indian original) in English. It was so wonderful that they let me keep the show in English and also supported me.”
She also revealed that the platform gave her full liberty to plan and execute the marketing for the show. “They helped me in understanding what is wrong and what will work more but they truly supported my vision. For example, the whole 'explain the season within 60 seconds' videos we did for Instagram was my idea and we did that with full support from Prime.”
Asked if making season 2 of the show added pressure given the first season was a raging hit, Suresh quipped that her team and she are very self-critical and that helped them deal with the expectations.
“We were very cognizant of the fact that we need to write a tighter script and we needed to be very fast-paced. The first season had ended on a very dramatic note and it was our responsibility to take it back to comedy and then to drama,” she explained.
According to Suresh, the writing team gave a very close-to-shooting script to director Debbie Rao who then added her thought process to make the wonderful show. Rao also edited the show herself to make sure everything was pitch-perfect.
Another difference that the show had this time was a better budget. Suresh mentions that the first season was shot within just fifteen days because of the tight budgets. But this time, she had better control over the finances and a better amount of money to spend.
Asked if she wrote the show with business in mind, or to get creative satisfaction, Suresh found herself in a tight spot. The very loquacious woman took a brief pause before answering, “If I have to write something and I have this dilemma if the scene has to make business sense or should fit the narrative of the show, I will go with the latter.”
She also added that she is writing for the female audience. “I have no shame in admitting that I write for the women. I don’t care if a man doesn’t like my show at all. I will continue to write for women.”
She, however, admitted that while creating shows for platforms like Prime, one of her goals is to get more subscribers for them. She feels that she should be able to give a return on investment to the platform so they are eager to get her back on the platform.
Asked if she has some other shows up her kitty for the platform other than Pushpavalli season 3, Suresh said that she is busy juggling between three other writing rooms currently but there isn’t any OTT platform in her head where she would be putting them.
“One of the shows is going to be a thriller, one is an out and about comedy. The third show is very close to my heart that I am developing from a slice of my mother’s life. This will be a mix of comedy and drama,” she noted.
Will she be open to taking any of the shows to television? Suresh thinks that the platform is not ready for the sort of characters she writes.
“I can give you two hundred and five hundred and even more episodes but you will not like the characters that I write,” she said with laughter.
She, however, is willing to work on a movie with director Debbie Rao, which she feels will be a blockbuster if ever made.
iWorld
Prime Video to stream Tamil thriller Exam from May 15
Seven-episode series from National Award-winner A. Sarkunam streams in India and 240-plus countries
MUMBAI: Prime Video announced on April 27th that Exam, a taut seven-episode suspense drama set against the crucible of high-stakes competitive testing, will premiere on May 15th in India and across more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.
Written and directed by A. Sarkunam, a National Award-winner, the series is produced under the Wallwatcher Films banner by the creative duo Pushkar and Gayatri, who have previously delivered Suzhal: The Vortex (both seasons) and Vadhandhi: The Fable of Velonie for the platform. Dushara Vijayan and Aditi Balan lead the cast, with Abbas in a pivotal role.
The show will stream in Tamil with dubbed versions in Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada, and subtitles in 15 languages, including English, a distribution sweep that underscores Prime Video’s push to globalise Indian regional content.
Nikhil Madhok, director and head of originals at Prime Video India, framed the series as both timely and commercially astute. “Exam is a very timely and relevant story that captures the emotional intensity of competitive exams and masterfully transforms it into a thrilling high-stakes drama,” he said. “We believe it is a story that will resonate deeply with millions.” Madhok noted that it was a privilege to once again collaborate with Pushkar and Gayatri following the success of Suzhal and Vadhandhi.
For Pushkar and Gayatri, the series is as much a moral reckoning as a thriller. “With Exam, we wanted to dig into ambition, injustice, and those moral crossroads that people face when pushed to the edge,” the creative producers said. “At the heart of this story is a young woman who refuses to remain powerless. Her journey is not about glamorising defiance, but about exploring the emotional and ethical cost of standing up to a system stacked against her.” They described Prime Video as “an incredible collaborator” and “the perfect home” to bring the series to global audiences.
Wallwatcher Films, which Pushkar and Gayatri founded and run, has been on a productive streak with the platform. Beyond Exam, the company is also readying Vadhandhi Season 2 for Prime Video, making the duo one of the platform’s most active regional creative partners.
The real exam, it seems, is for Prime Video itself: can a Tamil drama about systemic injustice and a young woman’s defiance crack audiences from Chennai to Chicago? If Pushkar and Gayatri’s track record is anything to go by, the answer is likely yes, and the results will be out on May 15th.
