Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 22 (ANI): Actors Keerthy Suresh and Radhika Apte are set to explore a different side of their craft in Netflix’s upcoming female-centric gangster series ‘Akka’. While Keerthy called her character Bhavani "powerful" yet "subtle", Radhika described her role as complex and different from her previous work.
In an interview with ANI, director Dharmaraj Shetty said the idea for ‘Akka’ emerged while he was working on a gangster film and researching matriarchal and matrilineal societies in southern India. He said combining these two worlds allowed him to create a fictional setting with its own rules, traditions and culture, while giving the series a grand visual scale.
“I love challenging roles. I love powerful roles, and this is one such,” Keerthy said, describing her experience of playing Bhavani. She added that the show's unique world initially made her wonder how the team would bring it to life, but credited the entire cast and crew for making it possible.
Keerthy also spoke about the preparation that went into shaping her character, including reading, understanding the language, script readings, look tests and extensive discussions with Shetty.
“I love talking to the director because they've written the script, they know what it is about, they know what direction they have to take it towards,” she said, adding that she kept asking Shetty questions to understand the depth of the character.
The actor described ‘Akka’ as her first web series and her first project with Yash Raj Films (YRF), calling the combination of YRF and Netflix a promising start to this phase of her career.
“I couldn't have asked for a better start. So, I'm very, very glad that I'm here doing this,” she said.
For Radhika, the series offered an opportunity to step into a genre and a fictional setting she had not explored before. She said the gangster drama's theatricality and distinctive world made the experience new and exciting.
“It's also a very fictional, different world as Dharma just put it,” she said, describing the show as “very classy, very dramatic, filmy in a positive way”.
Radhika said her character, Ruthra, is traditionally positioned as the antagonist but has been written with layers of complexity.
“It's written very nuanced the character. So, I've never done that before. So, it was all very new and exciting,” she said.
Shetty said the series grew in scale as he developed the story, leading him to seek the backing of a major production house to realise his vision. He praised YRF for supporting him and helping him find his own voice as a filmmaker.
“When I started writing it, you know, I realised this story was becoming really big. And you realise, you know, you needed a big production house to back this, you know, to make this right,” he said.
Radhika also spoke about the opportunity to work with YRF, saying she had grown up watching its films and that working with the production house had been a dream.
Explaining what makes ‘Akka’ distinctive, Shetty said the contrast between the grandeur of its fictional world and the human emotions at its centre was central to the series.
Keerthy echoed that thought, saying she hoped audiences would find the world convincing despite its fictional setting.
“I'm sure by the end of the show, you'll feel, did this actually exist? Is there something like this?” she said.
The makers unveiled the trailer of Keerthy Suresh and Radhika Apte starrer 'Akka', offering a glimpse into the rivalry between two "female gangsters" to protect their reign.
Produced by YRF Entertainment and directed by Dharmaraj Shetty, the trailer takes viewers into the kingdom of Pernuru and its powerful houses.
It teases a world where women lead from the front and fiercely guard what is theirs. Keerthy Suresh, portraying the role of an impeccable leader and fighter, faces the challenge from Radhika Apte who wishes to challenge the legacy that has long ruled Pernuru.
The trailer is full of action scenes and impactful dialogues.
Netflix shared the trailer on their Instagram handle on Thursday.
"At the heart of Akka are Bhavani (Keerthy Suresh) and Rudra (Radhika Apte) — two formidable women whose differing ambitions and beliefs fuel a gripping rivalry. As their conflict threatens to disrupt the established order, the series explores themes of power, loyalty, family, and revenge," read the press note shared by Netflix.
Led by Keerthy Suresh and Radhika Apte, the ensemble also features Tanvi Azmi, Mahesh Manjrekar, Anshuman Pushkar, and Monica Panwar, amongst others.
'Akka' is set to premiere on October 30 on Netflix. (ANI)
