Pawan Kumar about Shodha being set in Coorg: It has its own identity and presents a visually-pleasing background

Kannada filmmaker-actor Pawan Kumar (of Lucia and U-Turn fame) is quite the fan of rooted story-telling, which, he remarks is what works best with audiences these days, case in point being the recent hit film Su From So. Pawan’s next acting gig, the Kannada web series Shodha, in which he plays the lead, is set in Madikeri (Coorg), which begets the question if the geography and culture of the land is pivotal to the narrative.

Pawan Kumar: A parallel track fits into why story is happening in Coorg

“Technically, the story can be set anywhere, if you want to. But there is actually an interesting bit, which has not been revealed in the trailer. Today, we are all exploring how to fit our stories and touch base with different regions of our state. I am happy that the makers chose Coorg, because it has its own identity and there’s a visually-pleasing background that you get. When I started reading the script, they told me that they were looking at setting it in Coorg and added a parallel track that fits into why the story is happening there. I thought it was quite intelligently done,” said Pawan, who plays a lawyer called Rohit in Shodha, which drops on Z5 (via OTTplay Premium also) on August 29, 2025.

Pawan cites the example of Raj B Shetty’s Su From So, which works because it invites audiences to a completely different community. “It piques interest and makes you want to observe what they do and how they speak. Having said that, Shodha is not too authentically Madikeri; it is about urban Kannadigas, but set in that background,” he adds.

The 6-episode suspense thriller follows Pawan’s character Rohit, whose wife Meera goes missing, and when ‘she’ returns, he insists that the woman in his house is not his wife. Is there some sinister plot at play to paint Rohit crazy or is he dealing with trauma that has led him to forget portions of his life? That is what Shodha deals with.

Also read: Shodha on OTT: Pawan Kumar-led suspense thriller the remake of THIS Hindi series? 

Written by Kyaabre maker Suhas Navarathna, with Pawan chipping in as script doctor and fine-tuning it, the show was directed by Sunil Mysooru. Shodha also stars Siri Ravikumar, Anusha Ranganath, Saptami Gowda and Arun Sagar, among others.

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 29. 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.

Q. Is Shodha a remake?

A. According to reports, Shodha is the remake of a Hindi series called Khoj - Parchaiyo Ke Uss Paar, which is also on Z5.