Gaalivaana, the Indian adaptation of BBC modern thriller, One Of Us, marks BBC Studios’ first foray into the premium regional scripted market of India. The Indian adaptation will be headlined by Radikaa Sarathkumar and Sai Kumar, popularly known as dialogue king of Telugu, together with a sterling cast formed by Chandini Chowdary, Nandini Rai, Chaitanya Krishna, Thagubothu Ramesh, Saranya Pradeep and Ashritha Vemuganti.  Directed by Sharan Kopisetty and produced by BBC Studios India and NorthStar Entertainment, the title is slated to premiere on ZEE5 on 14 April 2022. Gaalivaana will also be dubbed into Tamil, where it will called as Karmegam.

Gaalivaana revolves around the brutal murder of childhood sweethearts Ajay Varma and Geetha who were found dead upon the return from their honeymoon. As their families cope and attempt to unravel the mysteries behind their deaths, familial bonds are put to the test.  

Manish Kalra, Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 India said, “We are excited to be joining hands with a content partner like BBC Studios to bring an offering as thrilling as Gaalivaana for our audiences. At ZEE5, we have always focussed on working together with the best of creative minds in the ecosystem to bring out multi-genre stories that are real, relevant and resonant. Gaalivaana, featuring some of the best artists of the Telugu industry, will mark the advent of BBC Studios into the regional scripted market, and we are delighted to be a part of this journey since we, at ZEE5, take pride in being the platform of choice for viewers across the country, irrespective of language and genre preferences. And as someone who has seen the original English show, I can safely say that our viewers are in for a joyride with the Telugu version.”

Sameer Gogate, General Manager – BBC Studios said, “We’re delighted to begin our journey in the regional market with ZEE5 to produce this gripping BBC Studios format. Our British scripted formats have found a great connection with the Indian audiences through arresting storylines and complex yet well-defined characters that resonate with the audience.  As we make the leap into producing local language content for the regional Telugu market, we are excited to see the audiences’ reception towards Gaalivaana and look forward to producing more high-quality content for the local market.”  

Sharrath Marar, Founder and CEO- NorthStar Entertainment said, “We are ecstatic to be part of BBC Studios’ debut into the regional scripted market and honoured to partner them and ZEE5 to produce Gaalivaana for the Telugu audience. The series is loaded with suspense as the characters navigate through layers of secrets and blurred lines. I hope the audience will enjoy the series as much as we enjoyed putting it together.”

Originally written by Harry and Jack Williams, the writing duo behind critically acclaimed British drama The Missing, One of Us received the highest number of nominations historically for any television production at the 2017 Scottish Royal Television Society Awards. The original story centres on the mysterious murders of childhood sweethearts Adam Elliot and Grace Douglas, who are found dead in their home soon after their honeymoon. The two families are then forced to contend with their grief, as they search for answers and unearth consequences that hang over all of them, bringing ideas of honesty, loyalty and family into question.