Dayaa creator Pavan Sadineni: JD Chakravarthy is a director’s delight | Exclusive

Pavan Sadineni, who shot to fame with his intriguing romance Prema Ishq Kaadhal, has made a name for himself in the digital space with projects like Pilla, Ee Office Lo, Senapathi and Commitmental. He has another digital hit in his kitty, thanks to Disney+ Hotstar’s latest OTT show Dayaa, headlined by JD Chakravarthy, Ramya Nambessan, Eesha Rebba.

In a chat with OTTplay.com, the filmmaker opens up on his tryst with the digital medium and Dayaa.

The inception of Dayaa

Hotstar had approached me to watch Taqdeer, a Bangladeshi show and I liked a few aspects of it. The story revolves around an ambulance driver in the original but I didn’t quite relate to the backdrop as much. We’ve recreated the world entirely for Dayaa and it was ultimately dubbed in Bengali. Though it’s technically an adaptation of Taqdeer, it’s quite different from from Dayaa.

Enjoying the reception for the show

I’m thrilled with the response from viewers and the fraternity; it’s the best feedback I’ve ever received for any of my projects. I just narrated a few plot points to JD Chakravarthy initially - the trajectory of the story, the highs and lows of his character, the twist surrounding his equation with Alivelu. Given his experience, he didn’t even read the script and said yes to the role.

While Chakravarthy garu was remembered as Satya by many, he’s now being addressed as Dayaa. People were chasing him across the streets of Vijayawada, Vizag during the promotions and it shows how the crowds have lapped up the show. Unlike other web series that audience watches it at their leisure, many caught Dayaa the same night as its premiere and it feels great. 

Also read: Dayaa OTT release date: When and where to watch JD Chakravarthy, Eesha Rebba’s Telugu show 

Casting JD Chakravarthy for Dayaa and why he was a director’s dream

JD Chakravarthy wasn’t my first choice; the suggestion came from Hotstar. I was unsure if he would be keen because he’d stopped doing Telugu films and was more into Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam projects. He was a director too and I didn’t know how he would receive me.

The way he responded to my narration and developed an understanding of the show gave me the confidence that he was my Dayaa. He is a director’s delight. He went out of the way to promote the show, gave over 90 interviews to media and celebrated the product. Everybody should learn from the seniors like him, Chiranjeevi and take their content to audiences.

‘Prabha’s character wasn’t meant for Josh Ravi’

Prabha’s character was to be played by a Youtuber - local boy Nani. I approached him for the role and wanted to cast him but he was scared about acting. He was apprehensive about acting in front of the camera, delivering dialogues. We asked him to audition for it but it didn’t go as per plan. When Josh Ravi came to our office with long hair, he looked apt for the part and came on board.

What if Dayaa was meant for theatres and not OTT?

The story has many layers - there’s a thread for the driver, journalist, her husband, subordinate, the culprit. We’d have compromised on the depth in the characterisation had we made it for theatrical viewing. The story is not still complete - the first season is just a glimpse of how an incident affects the life of Satya and Alivelu. The second season will have a bigger canvas.

Was the mystery around Alivelu intentional? What could we expect from season 2?

We only wanted to offer glimpses of Alivelu. This season is more about Kavitha, her husband’s search and how she stood up for the truth. We only shot a small portion of season two because we wanted to be sure of the reception for the first season. It requires huge resources and you need to wait and watch to know our plans for the next instalment. The opening scene will be a delight to watch.

On the contributions of the composer, crew

Shravan Bharadwaj is a hugely underrated composer, be it Kalki or Malli Raava and he truly heightened the impact of many sequences. For most of us involved with the show, it was our magnum opus, we got the budgets we wanted - the cinematographer Vivek, composer and actors gave their best to it and it was a culmination of many contributions across crafts.

Challenges of making an OTT show

We finished the shoot in 47 days and 50 days in the sound design - which explains the effort that went into it. It’s no less/big than a film; the effort remains the same. Writing a web show is more difficult than a film but we must shoot within a lesser duration. Making a film is in fact easier.

‘I don’t use dialogues/sequences for sensationalism’

I showcase only what’s necessary for the content. Even if I use cuss words in a show, it’s to highlight the pain of the character and is situational. There’s a certain liberty I enjoy as a filmmaker to heighten the impact of a scene on OTT - be it how Kavitha’s body is ripped apart or Kabir’s head is inserted in a crusher. I may have been asked to not depict such scenes for theatres, but it’s crucial to capture the essence of the story.

OTT platforms and their priorities

OTT platforms have clear priorities. If they are catering a show to family crowds or the younger lot, they inform us about what works and what won’t for their target audience. Even Hotstar asked if we could do away with Prithviraj’s intro scene in Dayaa because they felt it was the only scene that could alienate family viewers. I could understand their concern but I informed how it was the best creative choice to establish the character.

What’s in store for the coming months?

I am currently working on a project with Geetha Arts. I had time till April to wrap up Dayaa and Allu Aravind (garu) gave us the approval because of a few formalities associated with the film. It has a huge lineup - it’s an ambitious project. I’ll most likely wrap up Dayaa’s season 2 before it takes off. The second season may release in April-May next year.

Also read: Dayaa review: JD Chakravarthy is at his absolute best in this banger of a crime drama