Niharika Konidela: We cannot rely on OTTs to recover 80% of our investment

A decade since the first Telugu web series

In late 2025, Niharika completed a decade since her first production — Muddapappu Avakai, the first Telugu web series. OTTs were yet to make an entry, and this series streamed on YouTube. She remembers being enthusiastic to explore a new territory as a 21-year-old.

The move also helped to circumvent the expectations that came with her legacy — she is actor Nagendra Babu’s daughter and grew up watching films of her uncles Chiranjeevi and Pawan Kalyan. Niharika says hers was not a calculated move. “I liked the idea and the characters. We knew Muddapappu Avakai would not work as a feature film. YouTube was a popular platform for short films and in Hindi, TVF and others were putting out interesting content. We thought it would be interesting to do something in Telugu.”

Niharika was hosting a television show at the time and used some of her earnings to produce and act in Muddapappu Avakai (now streaming on Zee5). Since then, she produced several series for YouTube and OTT platforms, and acted in some of them. She also acted in a few Telugu and Tamil feature films.

Not all of it was met with warm reception. “Anything that did not work was a learning,” says Niharika. She is proud of trying to push the envelope with some of the series. “In one of them, we tried an interactive format where viewers can choose how they want the story to progress by pressing a few options on their phones.”

Niharika and Manasa Sharma
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

She acknowledges both her privilege and limitations. “I do not have to act to put food on my table and it is a privilege; so I am selective. I have realised that I have better control over how a project shapes up as a producer. When I am acting in someone else’s production, I cannot overstep and share my ideas on marketing the film or choosing the release date. That would be unfair.”

A platform for new directors

As a producer, Niharika has mostly worked with first-time or emerging directors. Her method has been to attentively listen to how new directors aspire to narrate their stories. “I have a good production team and we do a lot of pre-production. We assess if the director can translate an interesting script into an engaging show or a film. Once we collaborate, it’s almost like family and directors keep returning to us.”

This is Niharika’s second collaboration with Sangeeth Shobhan after the web series Oka Chinna Family Story. Sangeeth has since established himself as a reliable actor in the comedy hero space with films such as MADand MAD Square, and RaaKaaSaa marks his first film as a solo lead. Talking of his evolution, she observes, “He has a hands-on approach; he questions the director about the story and his character arc. Manasa and I have also discussed how we can logically narrate a fantasy comedy to make it convincing to the audience. She is a fan of Vittalacharya movies of the past and felt that while the West was leaning towards fantasy, we have moved away from it.”

Niharika Konidela
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

A challenge that Niharika and Manasa faced had to do with the visual effects. “It was a new zone for both of us. We looked at films for reference and used AI to conceptualise a few visuals that could serve as references for the visual effects artists.”

Being a producer has also warranted adapting to changing business dynamics, as OTT platforms have become selective in buying films. “We can no longer count on OTT rights to recover 80% of our investment. The focus has to be towards bettering the art and promoting it smartly to draw people into the theatres. RaaKaaSaa has everything that one can expect from a big budget film, in terms of entertainment and engagement, but it has been made with a modest budget.”

Profitability, she says, is pivotal. “I look to balance between creative satisfaction and commercial viability. Only when a project is profitable for the production house can I support more directors who are eager to narrate their stories.”