Stories of Telangana, a docu series in the works to celebrate art, culture, traditions unique to Telangana

The first episode of the series conceptualised by D Sameer Kumar, a documentary based on the Telangana dance form Perini was screened at Annapurna Studios

Stories of Telangana

Stories of Telangana, a new docu series, is in the works to celebrate the diverse art-forms, architecture, skilled crafts and festivals unique to the Telangana state. Aimed to educate and inform the people of Telangana about the cultural riches of the state, Stories of Telangana is a melange of documentary films, each focusing on a different dimension of the art forms, traditions. The episodes will encompass anecdotes, history and knowledge on practices distinct to the land. The series is a brainchild of Sameer Kumar, a graduate of Annapurna Film School, who assisted cinematographer PS Vinod on films like Dhruva, Hello, Arvinda Sametha Veera Raghava, Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, Vakeel Saab, to name a few.

The first documentary in Stories of Telangana, focusing on Perini Natyam was screened at Shive Preview Theatre, Annapurna Studios, Hyderabad commemorating the 100th birth anniversary of Nataraja Ramakrishna, credited to have revived the Perini dance form that was most popular during the Kakitya rule in Telangana. The premiere of the Perini documentary was graced by Amala Akkineni, Supriya Yarlagadda and Perini experts Kala Krishna, Vittal, Kumar, Perini Kumar, Perini Pavan Kumar and Perini Srinivas Satwika . Talking about the documentary film at the event, the creator D Sameer Kumar said, “This is only a pilot episode of this docu series, the first step towards a cultural revolution.”

For the uninitated, Perini, earns its name from Prerana, a dance form aimed to motivate and inspire soldiers before they went for wars. While Sameer Kumar conceptualised and cinematographed the Perini documentary himself, it was edited by Sai Murali and had a music score by Kalyan Naik. The project commenced in 2021 and the documentary was made during the second and third waves of COVID-19. "Perini Pavan Kumar and Kala Krishna were a backbone to this project, and we received great support from Mamidi Hari Krishna, Director of Department of Language and Culture. This documentary takes a cinematic approach to storytelling," Sameer added.

Stories of Telangana will comprise 17 documentaries, encompassing exhaustive details and research on artforms, handicrafts, architecture and festivities in the state. This series is produced by Supriya Yarlagadda under Annapurna Studios in collaboration with Tikvah Films. The makers say the sole aim behind this documentary series is to inspire people in Telangana to revive the region's cultural grandeur.

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