D/O Prasad Rao Kanabadutaledu

We live in times when filmmakers are increasingly insecure about keeping restless viewers invested in a story. This has resulted in storytellers shaping narratives that frenetically jump from one sequence to another, without context or substance, so that distraction may not be an option. The characters do not talk; they shout. And the bombastic background score screams for attention. Every scene turns into a loud statement. ZEE5’s Telugu web series D/O Prasad Rao Kanabadutaledu (Prasad Rao’s daughter is missing), helmed by Krishna Poluru, takes this desperation to new heights. While leaving little to a viewer’s imagination right from its title, the show shifts between three timelines that influence the events in the life of a missing girl. The crime scene is visualised as a narrative hook to unpack discussions on conservative parenting, the dreams and aspirations of a girl child, intergenerational trauma and vigilante justice.