Tamannaah says Telugu OTT series 11th Hour will have universal appeal

Southern star Tamannaah Bhatia, who makes her OTT debut with the Telugu corporate thriller series "11th Hour", feels despite language restriction the show has a universal appeal.

"It's a boardroom drama, and it's my first show on OTT. The show is in Telugu language but I think it's extremely universal. I hope, even the audiences who don't understand Telugu but like good shows will watch it," says Tamannaah.

The show is her first offering after she recovered from Covid-19 infection. Talking about her experience of returning after being down with the coronavirus, she says: "It was a super experience. For me it was a bit exhausting because it was right after I got Covid, but I think I used it as fuel and I hope that will be seen in the show."

Bollywood celebrities including Akshay Kumar, Aamir Khan, Alia Bhatt, Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Vicky Kaushal, Govinda, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Bhumi Pednekar, Ajaz Khan, Shubhangi Atre and Ritwik Bhowmik have been afflicted by the virus so far, and Tamannaah wishes everyone a speedy recovery.

"It is pretty bad right now. I just want everyone to recover well and I hope whoever is going through it, gets out of it and feels healthy and good," she says.

She has a note of caution for fans, too: "Guys, as much as possible, please be safe. It's really bad right now. We should just all follow the guidelines. It will be a lot better for us and the city as well because Mumbai is really crowded. We need to help each other to not get infected. This all depends on us."

Her debut series "11th Hour" is directed by Praveen Sattaru. The eight-episode web series is inspired by Upendra Namburi's 2017 book "8 Hours", in which the protagonist Aratrika Reddy (played by Tamannaah), faces a multi-layered high stakes boardroom challenge that unfolds over one night. It streams on Aha, April 9 onwards.