Vella Raja: Amazon unveils first Tamil series
David Farnor | On 07, Dec 2018
Amazon Prime Video has unveiled its first Tamil series today, with Vella Raja now available to stream worldwide on the video service.
Set in Chennai, the hostage thriller unfolds after a drug heist. The cat and mouse game begins with Theresa’s posting in the city. Her vow to clean up its drugs trade leads her to Deva, whose drive to be the drug lord is paved with murders and politics. People who enter Bava Lodge on that day are caught in the crossfire of deceit and betrayal between Deva and Theresa. Who will survive in the lodge? Will Theresa be able to catch Deva and end the drug war?
Starring Bobby Simha (Jigarthanda), Parvatii Nair (Overtake), the series is produced by Dream Warrior Pictures and directed by Guhan Senniappan (Sawaari).
The show is being released for the first time by Amazon Prime Video in Tamil, with a Hindi version also available to stream. The move will not only cater to the large Tamil-speaking population in India, but will also attract subscribers in Singapore, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.
S.R. Prabhu, co-founder of Dream Warrior Pictures, told Variety at the Asia TV Forum & Market this week: “We have delved deeper into each character, establishing their back-stories and building a complex, grim, dark drug world with undertones of humor.”
Amazon’s director and head of content for India, Vijay Subramaniam, also spoke at the event, announcing another series, Four More Shots Please, a romantic drama produced by Pritish Nandy Communications. Directed by Anu Menon (Waiting) and starring Sayani Gupta (The Hungry), Kirti Kulhari (Pink), Bani J (Zorawar) and Maanvi Gagroo (Guy In The Sky), it will launch on Amazon Prime Video on 25th January 2019.
“We have worked with a strong, female-led task force – right from the cast to the crew. Four More Shots Please reflects the voices of the generation of Indian women who are independent in mind, body and thought,” said Subramaniam.
Vella Raja is available to watch online on Amazon Prime Video, as part of a £5.99 monthly subscription.