Queen (web series)
Queen is a 2019 Indian historical drama web television series. It is based on the novel of the same name by Anita Sivakumaran, which is loosely based on the life of the late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa. The series was directed by Gautham Menon and Prasath Murugesan, written by Reshma Ghatala, and produced by Times studio originals and Ondraga Digital. It stars Ramya Krishnan and Indrajith Sukumaran.[1][2]
Queen | |
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Genre | Historical drama |
Created by | Reshma Ghatala |
Based on | Queen by Anita Sivakumaran |
Written by | Reshma Ghatala |
Directed by |
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Starring | |
Country of origin | India |
Original language(s) | Tamil |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 11 |
Production | |
Cinematography | S R Kathir |
Editor(s) | Praveen Antony |
Production company(s) | MX Player Ondraga Digital |
Release | |
Original network | MX original |
External links | |
Website |
The eleven-episode first season was released in its entirety exclusively via MX Player streaming service on December 14, 2019.
Premise
This first season has eleven episodes which depicts the life and evolution of Shakthi Sheshadri. This starts from the childhood days of her and the reason behind her entry into the cinema industry, The way she learned everything in the cinema, The relationship between Shakthi and GMR and finally her political entry.
Cast
- Ramya Krishnan as Shakthi Seshadri
- Anikha Surendran as the young Shakthi Seshadri
- Anjana Jayaprakash as the vicenarian Shakthi Seshadri
- Indrajith Sukumaran as G. M. Ravichandran (GMR)
- Vamsi Krishna as Chaitanya Reddy
- Lilette Dubey as an interviewer
- Tulasi as Ranganayaki, Shakthi Sheshadri's mother
- Sonia Agarwal as young Ranganayaki, Shakthi Sheshadri's mother
- Gautham Menon as Sridhar
- Karuppu Nambiar as Syed
- Munna Simon as Srikanth, Shakthi Sheshadri's brother
- Vanitha Krishnachandran as Janani Devi
- Viji Chandrasekhar as Suriyakala Dhanraj
- Vivek Rajgopal as Pradeepan
- Rajie Vijay Sarathy as Flavia
- Hans Kaushik as Maya Rangaswamy
- Charmila as Shakthi Sheshadri's grandmother
- Sruthy Jayan as Malar
- Sarjano Khalid as Vinith
Episodes
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "The Breach" | Gautham Menon | Reshma Ghatala | December 14, 2019 |
2 | "The Wall" | Prasath Murugesan | Reshma Ghatala | December 14, 2019 |
3 | "Circle of Light" | Gautham Menon | Reshma Ghatala | December 14, 2019 |
4 | "HIM" | Prasath Murugesan | Reshma Ghatala | December 14, 2019 |
5 | "Tipping Point" | Gautham Menon, Prasath Murugesan | Reshma Ghatala | December 14, 2019 |
6 | "Home & Away" | Gautham Menon, Prasath Murugesan | Reshma Ghatala | December 14, 2019 |
7 | "The Dream" | Gautham Menon | Reshma Ghatala | December 14, 2019 |
8 | "The Nightmare" | Prasath Murugesan | Reshma Ghatala | December 14, 2019 |
9 | "The Prophecy" | Prasath Murugesan | Reshma Ghatala | December 14, 2019 |
10 | "The Fall" | Gautham Menon, Prasath Murugesan | Reshma Ghatala | December 14, 2019 |
11 | "The Rise" | Gautham Menon | Reshma Ghatala | December 14, 2019 |
Production
![](../I/m/Ramya_Krishnan.jpg)
Indian online OTT platform, MX Player announced plans of making a web television series about the life of former actress and politician Jayalalithaa and named the character Shakthi Sheshadri, and signed on director Gautham Menon to direct the project in August 2018.[3] The script for the series was written by Reshma Ghatala, while Prasath Murugesan was also signed to direct a few episodes.[4] By December 2018, the makers had silently completed work on a significant portion of the project with Ramya Krishnan cast as Shakthi Sheshadri reel version of J.Jayalalithaa, Indrajith Sukumaran cast as GMR M.G.Ramachandran character and Vamsi Krishna cast as Chaitanya Reddy Shobhan Babu character.[5] Actors Vineeth and Ranjith were also reported to be a part of the cast.[6]
A first look poster was released in early September 2019 depicting Ramya Krishnan's character addressing cadres at a political rally.[7] Following the release of the poster, Jayalaithaa's nephew Deepak Jayakumar threatened to file a defamation case against the makers for showing the personal life of the politician.[8]
In November 2019, Deepa Jayakumar, the niece of Jayalalithaa, filed a suit to restrain the makers from releasing the series. She claimed that Jayalalithaa's family were not consulted about the project and that the series would affect the family's privacy. The Madras High Court subsequently called on the makers to respond to the allegations.[9]
Release
A teaser trailer for the series was released on 1 December 2019 on YouTube.[10] The eleven-episode first season was released in its entirety exclusively via MX Player streaming service on December 14, 2019.[11]
References
- "Queen: Ramya Krishnan Resurrects Jayalalithaa, And How!". The Quint. 2019-12-17. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
- ChennaiDecember 16, Janani K.; December 18, 2019UPDATED; Ist, 2019 15:00. "Queen Review: Ramya Krishnan is a majestic political leader in new web series". India Today. Retrieved 2019-12-29.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- "Filmmaker Gautham Menon to helm a web series on Jayalalithaa - entertainment". Mid-day.com. 2018-08-30. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
- "Gautham Menon, Vetrimaaran, Vignesh Shivn, Sudha Kongara to direct series for Netflix?". The News Minute. 2019-09-02. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
- "Gautham Menon silently directing Jayalalithaa biopic!".
- Manikandan, Rajeshwari (2018-12-22). "Gautham Menon To Direct A TV Series On J Jayalalithaa –". Silverscreen.in. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
- "Queen, the first look of JJ series out!".
- "Fam says no to J Jayalalithaa flick". Deccanchronicle.com. 2019-09-12. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
- "Jayalalithaa biopic row: Madras HC sends notices to directors AL Vijay, Gautham Menon". The News Minute. 2019-11-05. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
- "Teaser of 'Queen' released: Web series on Jayalalithaa starring Ramya Krishnan". The News Minute. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
- "Indrajith confirms his role in Queen".