‘Expiry Date’, more than a murder mystery

The love thriller gave me the much-needed break, says director Shankar K Marthand

If you are a fan of gripping plotlines and love thrillers, Expiry Date, the web series currently streaming on ZEE5, can be a good watch this weekend. Directed by Shankar K Marthand, the web series is garnering good praise from both Telugu and Hindi audiences. Starring Sneha Ullal, Tony Luke, Madhu Shalini, and Ali Reza in key roles, Expiry Date is more than a series of episodes unfolding a murder mystery.

Speaking about the success of the series, director Shankar K Marthand said: “I feel glad that it is receiving encouraging reviews in both Hindi and Telugu. Although the Telugu OTT universe has not seen many web series, in English, we have had big titles like Game Of Thrones. Even in Hindi, there have been quite a few popular ones.”

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How project took shape…

As Shankar was inspired to do something different on OTT, he came to know that a producer is looking to bankroll a web series. “I narrated a story to him. I love thrillers and fantasies. I like to transport the audience to a different world. But the project couldn’t take off. After many hurdles, I happened to meet Sharrath Marrar garu and narrated the story of Expiry Date to him. He loved it. ZEE5’s South Indian Creative Head Prasad Nimmakayala garu encouraged the project,” the director added.

Stating that the initial plan was to make it only in Telugu, Shankar said that the original plan was changed after ZEE5’s head Aparna said that it would be worth to make it in Hindi as well. “I have to thank her for the support on this occasion. I also thank Sharrath garu and Prasad garu for being pillars of support in the last one year. I also thank cinematographer Suresh, co-director Shravan and other team members.”

The twists in the tale

“I am glad the screenplay and the twists in the story have piqued the audience’s interest. It’s easy to write twists. What is the big deal is writing the climax. Prasad garu appreciated the ending and the whole screenplay. That boosted up my confidence,” added Shankar who feels that casting is decided upon through deliberation in OTT.

“When I was thinking who should play Vishwa, Badla, the Hindi movie, happened to release on OTT. I watched the film and zeroed in on Tony Luke. Sharrath too said he liked Tony in Badla and asked me to go ahead. Sneha Ullal was chosen after we came to know that she was open to doing web series. She loved the story and came on board. Madhu Shalini, too, was a unanimous choice,” said Shankar, who admits that Expiry Date gave him a much-needed break.

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