Pawan Kumar on doing Shodha: It is our responsibility to create work so that networks get encouraged | Exclusive

Pawan Kumar on doing Shodha: Pawan says that if more series get created and there is a certain viewership, more networks will come in and that will create more jobs for actors and technicians

Actor filmmaker Pawan Kumar plays the lead in the upcoming series Shodha

Kannada actor-filmmaker Pawan Kumar, best known for his directorial work in films like Lifeu Ishtene, Lucia and U-Turn, makes his debut as leading man in a web series shortly. Pawan headlines Z5’s newest show, Shodha, which drops on the platform, and on OTTplay Premium, on August 22, 2025. When the announcement came, audiences were pleasantly surprised that Pawan was only acting and not directing, with the expectation being that it would be the other way around.

How did Pawan get talked into an acting gig?

When the team called me, they said that there was a role that they thought really works for me and asked if I’d want to do it. I have done a couple of acting projects whenever I have found something quirky or interesting. And when I heard the synopsis of the show, I knew that I would really enjoy this space. The prospect of what all one would get to do was exciting and I immediately said yes.

The other reason being that there is nobody else coming into the Kannada industry and doing series. Zee is the only one now. They’ve been allotted some budgets to try it out here. I felt it is our responsibility to create some work, so that they get encouraged and more business plans happen. Since the bigger platforms are not doing anything in Kannada, I felt that if these people attach some value to my name and if I go do something, it encourages more people to do it.

One hears that the budgets for Kannada series are abysmally low though…

I have always worked in those budget challenges and am probably still remembered for the movies that I did with little money. Budget was never the issue for me; of course, our remunerations made no sense, but I really did not look at that at all. I came from a very personal space where, in the last couple of years, I have constantly been trying to pitch a Kannada film and have seen the resistance from corporates, whereas it is a red-carpet welcome when it is Telugu or Hindi. I have always felt that like I would love to be at home and do something in the language I know and the stories I know.

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So, I keep telling actor friends that if someone is coming and you need to give only 20 days to create a series, don’t negotiate so much for money and just go do it because we are really at the bottom right now. If at least a dozen series get created and people develop a habit of watching it, once there is a certain viewership, then, maybe other networks will come in and that will create more jobs for actors and technicians. See, there was a buzz that I was charging peanuts to do this show, but if I can do it, then some others also do it and make it happen.

This is the first platform that is actively trying to do something and instead of challenging them, if we show some support, like any business, it may just work in our favour later.

You are also serving as script doctor for the series. What does that entail?

What happened is that they had prepared a script for Shodha and I had gone in, mentally prepared to only act in it because I really don’t like to encroach on the other departments. But when I got in, I felt that certain distinctive ideas of how to take the script from where it was to a level up. The director, Sunil Mysooru, had worked with me on Lucia, so I could tell him that with some tweaking it would go to another zone. The network was also open to any suggestions of improvement.

FAQs

Q. Who is the director of Shodha?

A. Sunil Mysuru, who made the Kannada film Orchestra Mysuru earlier, is the director of Shodha.

Q. When and where will Shodha stream?

A. The 6-episode Shodha is coming to Z5 on August 22. It is a suspense thriller with Pawan Kumar in the lead.

Q. Who is on the cast of Shodha?

A. Shodha stars Pawan Kumar, Siri Ravikumar, Arun Sagar, Anusha Ranganath and Saptami Gowda, among others.

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