Puli Meka preview: Aadi Saikumar, Lavanya Tripathi and Kona Venkat set for OTT debut

ZEE5, which kickstarted 2023 with Dil Raju’s first web production, ATM, created by Harish Shankar and directed by Chandramohan, is gearing up for another major release, Puli Meka. It comes with a lot of firsts - several leading names including actors Aadi Saikumar, Lavanya Tripathi, director K Chakravarthy Reddy and writer Kona Venkat are set to foray into the web space with the show.

Siri Hanumanth, Suman, Raja Chembolu are other prominent faces in Puli Meka, a cop thriller. Produced in collaboration with Kona Film Corporation, the show arrives on the streamer tonight (February 24). While Lavanya is cast as an IPS officer, Aadi Saikumar plays a forensic expert. Veteran actor Suman, who’s in his 45th year of filmdom, essays the part of a top-rank officer.

The premise of the show is fairly simple. There’s a psychopath in town who’s in the news for the wrong reasons regularly and the cops are under immense pressure to find him. The battle gets personal for the police force when the killer is after many officers. He/she alters the modus operandi from time to time to confuse the investigating officers. Will the cops get hold of the killer?

There’s an astrological link to the plot as well that promises to pique the curiosity of viewers. Lavanya Tripathi’s much-needed departure from the girl-next-door roles and her power-packed character, evident from the promos, is a good reason for you to catch the show. A resurgent Aadi Saikumar, whose Crazy Fellow, Top Gear earned good reviews, will be keen on sustaining his momentum.

Siri Hanumanth is a reasonably familiar face in the digital space and the fact that Puli Meka has a good mix of young and experienced actors should help it draw more eyeballs. The director K Chakravarthy is not entirely new to the industry either, having helmed Pantham and worked in the writing team of many films like Jai Lava Kusa, Waltair Veerayya, Balupu, Venky Mama and Winner.

The technical team includes known names like cinematographer Ram K Mahesh, composer Praveen Lakkaraju, editor Chota K Prasad, costume designer Neeraja Kona and production designer Brahma Kadali.