''Unheard'' is an Indian

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

-language historical fiction drama streaming television series created and directed by Aditya K. V. for

Disney+ Hotstar The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

. The series has an

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to ...

Srinivas Avasarala Srinivasa Saambasiva Avasarala (born 19 March 1984) is an Indian actor, film director, screenwriter, and television presenter known for his works in Telugu cinema. He received two Nandi Awards and a SIIMA Award. Early life Srinivasa Saambasiva ...

Priyadarshi Pulikonda Priyadarshi Pulikonda (born 25 August 1989) is an Indian actor and comedian who works in Telugu films. He gained recognition for his role in ''Pelli Choopulu'' (2016). In addition to supporting roles, Priyadarshi played the lead in films such as ...

, Ajay, Baladitya,

Chandini Chowdary Chandini Chowdary is an Indian actress who works in Telugu films. She appeared as a lead in '' Kundanapu Bomma'', '' Howrah Bridge,'' ''Colour Photo,'' '' Bombhaat'', ''Super Over'' and Sammathame''.'' Early life Chandini Chowdary was born ...

, and

Ananda Chakrapani Ananda Chakrapani is an Indian actor who works in Telugu-language films. He garnered acclaim for his performance in '' Mallesham'' (2019). Early life He was born in Gaddamvari Yadavalli village of Kanagal mandal in Nalgonda district of Telang ...

. The series premiered on 17 September 2021.

Premise

Set in the period of 1905–1950, the series is based on the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

in the

Hyderabad State Hyderabad State () was a princely state located in the south-central Deccan region of India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and t ...

in common people's

point of view Point of view or Points of View may refer to: Concept and technique * Point of view (philosophy), an attitude how one sees or thinks of something * Point of view (literature) or narrative mode, the perspective of the narrative voice; the prono ...

on various major events during the said period.

Cast

* Baladitya as Dr. Chalapathi *

as Padma *

as Badri *

as Jailer Satyanarayana * Ajay as Mallesh *

as Anwar * Venkat as Ramaiah * Jay Jha as Ahmed

Episodes

Production

Filming of the series was done between September and November 2020 following the COVID-19 protocols in and around

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

. Cast and Crew were connected virtually for workshops on their individual roles. As the show pans decades, a lot of prosthetic work was involved on the cast to look appropriate for the year the sequences take place.

Themes

Aditya is an author who wrote the book ''Daitya Dairies.'' After making 13 years of research on the events, he has written the story and making debut as the filmmaker. ''

Deccan Chronicle ''Deccan Chronicle'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded by Rajagopal Mudaliar in the 1930s & currently owned by Samagrah Commercial Pvt Limited. It is published in Hyderabad, Telangana, by Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited ( ...

'' reported that "The 1918 influenza pandemic, the

Spanish flu The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

, which killed around 25 million, is one of the important episodes.

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

also suffered from the Spanish Flu and was in isolation. The series chronicles how these deaths fuelled the freedom moment. It was during this time the movement gained momentum and began to spread." The series also showcases the lives of the people of the period and the battle they had fought against

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and the

Nizam of Hyderabad The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, Mar ...

. Some of the major events that are shown are

non-cooperation movement The Non-cooperation movement was a political campaign launched on 4 September 1920, by Mahatma Gandhi to have Indians revoke their cooperation from the British government, with the aim of persuading them to grant self-governance.

chauri chaura incident 200px, Chauri Chaura Martyrs Memorial, alt= The Chauri Chaura incident took place on 4 February 1922 ( according to the Indian government's official data ) at Chauri Chaura, in the Gorakhpur district, in the United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh ...

and others.

Release

Billed as the first Telugu

Hotstar Specials Disney+ Hotstar (also known as Hotstar) is an Indian brand of subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Novi Digital Entertainment of Disney Star and operated by Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, both d ...

show, all the episodes of the series were premiere on

on 17 September 2021, although it was initially scheduled to premiere on 15 August 2021. The series was initially screened privately for the

Vice President of India The vice president of India (IAST: ) is the deputy to the head of state of the Republic of India, i.e. the president of India. The office of vice president is the second-highest constitutional office after the president and ranks second in the ...

Venkaiah Naidu Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu (born 1 July 1949) is an Indian politician who served as the 13th vice president of India from 2017 to 2022. He is the first Indian vice president born in independent India. He has also served as the minister of Housi ...

. The show was also selected for screening at the 11th Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival. In the United States, the show was streamed exclusively on

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...

Reception

Sangeetha Devi Dundoo writing for ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'' said, "If you can look past the staged theatre-like presentation, ‘Unheard’ can whet the appetite to know more about India's freedom struggle, through conflicting ideologies." Praising the performances, ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...

'' critic Thadagadh Pathi wrote, "Actors like Ajay, Priyadarshi, Srinivas Avasarala, Chandini Chowdary and Baladitya deliver mature performances, which works well for the series. It is not an easy feat to perform such dialogue-driven characters and stories."

References

External links

*
''Unheard''
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Unheard, Hotstar Telugu-language web series 2021 web series debuts Telugu-language Disney+ Hotstar original programming Indian period television series Indian historical television series 2021 Indian television series debuts Indian drama television series Indian independence movement fiction