General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20265 min read

Gaalivaana

Gaalivaana (గాలివాన) is a 2022 Indian Telugu-language crime mystery web series directed by Sharan Koppisetty and streamed on ZEE5, adapted from the BBC mini-series One of Us. It stars Radikaa Sarathkumar and Sai Kumar as the heads of two families whose children are murdered on their return from their honeymoon, and whose lives are upended when the suspected killer arrives at their doorstep.¹

Key fact	Detail
Premiere	14 April 2022 on ZEE5; Telugu audio with English subtitles; U/A 16+ rating¹
Format	One season of seven episodes, running from 26 to 45 minutes each²
Source material	Official Telugu remake of the BBC mini-series One of Us, written by Harry and Jack Williams³
Lead cast	Radikaa Sarathkumar as Saraswathi, Sai Kumar as Komarraju, with Chandini Chowdary, Chaitanya Krishna, Nandini Rai, Charith, and Nikitha Shree⁴
Production	BBC Studios India and NorthStar Entertainment; producers Sameer Gogate and Sharrath Marar⁴
Setting	A coastal village in the Godavari region of Andhra Pradesh; the crime occurs on a cyclonic night⁵
Reception	IMDb 6.5/10 from about 630 users; critic ratings of 2/5 (Cinema Express), 2.5/5 (Times of India), and 3/5 (123telugu)⁶^•⁷^•⁸

Spoilers

Premise

Childhood sweethearts Ajay Varma (Charith) and Geetha (Nikitha Shree) are brutally murdered on their return from their honeymoon. Ajay is the son of Saraswathi (Radikaa Sarathkumar) and Geetha the daughter of Komarraju (Sai Kumar), so the crime binds the two grieving families together. A badly injured stranger, Patamata Srinu (Nanaji Karri), turns up at their doorstep and is suspected of the killings, but he is found dead the next morning, opening the question of who killed him.¹^•⁶ The families then face the dilemma of whether to show mercy to the murderer or take revenge.⁹

A police officer from Vizag, Nandini (Nandini Rai), is appointed to investigate the murders.¹⁰

Title and setting

Director Sharan Koppisetty explained that Gaalivaana means a cyclone or tornado in Telugu, and that the series is set against the backdrop of a coastal village in Amalapuram, Andhra Pradesh, with the crime taking place on a cyclonic night, hence the title.⁵ Reviews describe the setting as the Godavari region, and the cinematography by Sujatha Siddharth was noted for capturing the landscape of East Godavari.¹¹^•⁸

Production

The series was produced by BBC Studios India in collaboration with Sharrath Marar's NorthStar Entertainment, with Sameer Gogate producing for BBC and Neelima Marar as executive producer.⁴ Trade coverage described it as BBC's first foray into premium scripted production for regional India, and the makers stated it was the first time a European show had been adapted into Telugu, with changes made to suit Telugu nativity.¹²^•¹³

Filming began in November 2021, with Hyderabad and Amalapuram as primary locations, and the final schedule was shot at Gachibowli in Hyderabad in early 2022. Koppisetty said he shot the show in 46 working days over about four months, coming on board when the writing was largely finished; the screenplay and dialogues are credited to Chandra Pemmaraju with a BBC screenplay team.⁵^•¹⁴^•¹⁵^•⁴

The show marked the OTT debut of Sai Kumar, a film actor of five decades, and brought Radikaa Sarathkumar, a veteran of film and television, into the OTT space.¹³ Gowra Hari composed the music and Santhosh Kamireddy edited.⁴^•⁸

Adaptation choices

Koppisetty said he did not watch One of Us before directing, since a readied script was given to him, and that he treated the adaptation as a mix of family drama and thriller set in a village, a register he noted had been rare in Telugu web fiction. To keep the narrative gripping while introducing a large cast, he alternated episodes advancing the killer's story with episodes introducing characters.¹⁵

The Times of India review criticized the expansion: the original BBC series could have been wrapped up in four episodes, it argued, but the Telugu version ran seven episodes with additional characters and plot points.³

Reception

Critical response was mixed. The Times of India gave 2.5 out of 5, calling the plot and performances good but the narrative weak.³ The New Indian Express's Cinema Express rated it 2/5, finding the plot the only element that worked and judging the treatment short on finesse, though it called the show "a step forward" for Telugu OTT.⁷ 123telugu rated it 3/5, praising the performances of Sai Kumar, Radikaa Sarathkumar, Chandini Chowdary, Sharanya Pradeep, and Chaitanya Krishna, while faulting the motive behind the killings and some padded characters.⁸ TeluguCinema's review found the first two episodes the strongest and judged that the series "does justice to the original drama."⁹

On IMDb the series holds a 6.5/10 rating from about 630 users.⁶ It was also released dubbed in Tamil as Kaarmegam.⁶ ZEE5 announced a second season during production, though listing services record the show as a single seven-episode season.¹⁴^•¹⁶

References

Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › South and Southeast Asian serials › Telugu serials

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026

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