| Story Discussion | |
|---|---|
 Season 2 poster | |
| Genre | Drama |
| Created by | Rohit-Sasi |
| Screenplay by | Rohit-Sasi |
| Directed by | Rohit Penumatsa |
| Starring |
|
| Music by | Vivek Sagar |
| Country of origin | India |
| Original language | Telugu |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 10 |
| Production | |
| Cinematography | Bharat Vyas N. |
| Editor | Avanti Ruya |
| Running time | 15 minutes (season 1) 24-30 minutes (season 2) |
| Production companies | Avanti Cinema Tamada Media Karthik Kult Kreations |
| Original release | |
| Network | YouTube |
| Release | 26 July 2017 (2017-07-26) – 12 June 2021 (2021-06-12) |
Story Discussion is an Indian Telugu-language web series that first premiered in 2017, created by Rohit Penumatsa and Camp Sasi, featuring music composed by Vivek Sagar. The series explores the chaotic world behind the scenes of the film industry, with the first season released directly on the YouTube channel RunwayReel Originals unfolding in the office of Mohan Kumar, a director known for successful low-budget action films. The cast includes Camp Sasi, Karthik Sabareesh, Harshavardhana, Laxman Meesala, Gayathri Gupta, SS Varma, and others.
The second season, released on Rohit & Sasi's YouTube channel, Avanti Cinema, shifts its focus to Prakash Chowdary, Mohan Kumar's twin brother, and a once successful filmmaker facing financial struggles. Season 2 introduces new characters and explores Prakash's attempts at a comeback after a decade of inactivity. The series tackles the personal and professional challenges Prakash encounters, including the complexities brought by the return of KV from Season 1. Notably, the first five episodes were released on 22 August 2020, with episodes 6 to 9 coming out a year later on 10 June 2021, and the season 2 finale on 12 June 2021. The series received positive acclaim for its innovative storytelling in Season 1, while Season 2 had a mixed reception, prompting discussions on its worthiness.
Plot
Season 1
The first season of Story Discussion revolves around the chaotic events in the office of Mohan Kumar, a successful low-budget action film director. The narrative unfolds over a 24-hour period, capturing the reactions of the cast and crew when Mohan abruptly decides to abandon their planned action film Yamakinkarulu in favor of a freemake of the Bollywood classic Rangleela (1995). The sudden shift in plans triggers a series of comedic and dramatic situations, as characters navigate the challenges and uncertainties brought about by this unexpected change. The season explores the dynamics within the film industry, the creative process, and the consequences of daring decisions in the pursuit of storytelling.
Season 2
In the second season of Story Discussion, the storyline shifts its focus from Mohan Kumar to his twin brother, Prakash Chowdary. A once successful filmmaker, Prakash now faces financial struggles, living in Krishna Nagar. The season unfolds as a day in Prakash's life, highlighting the challenges he encounters after a decade of inactivity since his last film in 2008. Season 2 explores Prakash's attempts at a comeback, depicting the intricacies of his personal and professional hardships. KV's return from Season 1 adds new complexities, and Prakash works to secure funding for his script. The season concludes with Prakash's potential resurgence, as his new film enters pre-production, navigating industry hurdles with the introduction of dialogue writer MSR.
Cast
Season 1
- Camp Sasi as Mohan Kumar, a very successful movie director who delivered two box-office hits Deva Dasu, Fakeer and is now gearing up for his third, an action film "Yama Kinkarulu" only to cancel it a day before shoots and decides to freemake Rangeela (1995) as Sitara
- Gayathri Gupta as Navi (The Actress)
- Harshavardhana as Harsha (The Writer)
- Laxman Meesala as Laxman (The Cook), a cook at Mani Kishore's production office who turns into actor overnight
- Karthik Sabareesh as Mani Kishore (The Producer)
- Rahul Ramakrishna as Himself (Writer's friend)
- Ravikiran Venkata as Himself
- Dinesh as Dinesh (The Villain)
- Mahesh as KV (The Hero)
- SS Verma as Varma (Chief Assistant Director)
Season 2
- Camp Sasi as Prakash Chowdary, Mohan Kumar's estranged twin brother, Director of a very successful film Kirayi Hanthakudu which was a blockbuster, followed by "100 Bulletlu" and "Paripoina Dongalu" which was huge flops, since Prakash Chowdary was dubbed "one-hit-wonder"
- Mohan Bhagath as Himself
- Pawon Ramesh as Watchman Venkat
- Krishna Pasnoor as Manikya Rao (Loan Victim)
- Bharat Vyas as Nani (The Neighbour), Prakash Chowdary's neighbour
- Shalini Sai as Shalini (The Girlfriend), KV's girlfriend
- Anvesh Michael as Michael, Prakash Chowdary's neighbour
- Abhay Bethiganti as Prasad (Accountant)
- Raj Tirandasu as Nagaraj (Realtor)
- Jagan Yogiraj as Dundagudu
- MSR as Dialogue Writer
- Vijayawada as Muse
- Priyadarshi Pulikonda as Director Of Photography (cameo)
- Jagadeesh Prathap Bandari as Stunt Master (cameo)
Episodes
Season 1 (2017)
| No. overall | Episode | Title | Directed by | Date of Broadcast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Climax" | Rohit Penumatsa | 26 July 2017 (2017-07-26) | |
| The script of Yama Kinkarulu is locked and the new climax is super exciting for the cast and crew. Party on that occasion. | |||||
| 2 | 2 | "Ade Raatri" | Rohit Penumatsa | 2 August 2017 (2017-08-02) | |
| The night continues. The writer leaves the party to go celebrate with another friend and the party at the office breaks into smaller groups. | |||||
| 3 | 3 | "Rangeela 2017" | Rohit Penumatsa | 9 August 2017 (2017-08-09) | |
| The next morning Mohan Kumar has a change of plans. He no longer wants to make the action film they were gearing up for. He wants the writer to write a brand new freemake script of Rangeela by night. | |||||
| 4 | 4 | "Not An Action Story" | Rohit Penumatsa | 16 August 2017 (2017-08-16) | |
| Mani Kishore (The Producer) wakes up to the news of change in plans. He tries talking to Mohan Kumar to make sense about the change in plans but to no avail. | |||||
| 5 | 5 | "Rakta Charitra" | Rohit Penumatsa | 23 August 2017 (2017-08-23) | |
| KV (The Hero) is the next one to arrive at the office and learn of the change to Rangeela. Mohan asks Varma (The Chief AD) about KV's father and his family's history. | |||||
| 6 | 6 | "Money Mani" | Rohit Penumatsa | 30 August 2017 (2017-08-30) | |
| Dull part of the afternoon and Harsha (The Writer) is trying his best to write something when his girlfriend comes to office hoping to meet Mohan Kumar. Episode ends with Mohan Kumar's interview with a reporter from The Hindu. | |||||
| 7 | 7 | "Gangster Rangeela" | Rohit Penumatsa | 7 September 2017 (2017-09-07) | |
| Navi starts to the office with a piercing hangover, but Mani Kishore doesn't cut her any slack. He fights and argues with her trying to figure out what happened last night. The Stylist and The Photographer are called in the meanwhile to get Navi ready for the Press Meet in the evening. | |||||
| 8 | 8 | "Naach" | Rohit Penumatsa | 17 September 2017 (2017-09-17) | |
| A new and more hyper writer visits Mohan Kumar and contributes a bunch of ideas for the free-make, Harsha is a little intimidate by the new guy. The P.R.O and the choreographer make appearances in this episode. | |||||
| 9 | 9 | "The Name's Mohan" | Rohit Penumatsa | 23 September 2017 (2017-09-23) | |
| KV's dad (Ramana Reddy) makes a surprise visit to the office. Mani tries his best to keep him away from interacting with any of the Mohan Kumar gang. It is Press Meet time and Mohan Kumar is in his element slashing back at the reporters as Harsha writes the new draft of free-make in the bathroom. | |||||
| 10 | 10 | "Antham" | Rohit Penumatsa | 11 October 2017 (2017-10-11) | |
| Producer Dattu drops by for a game of cards with Mohan. And before the night ends Mohan Kumar has one last surprise to deliver. | |||||
Season 2 (2020-2021)
In August 2018, creators of the show have launched a Pitch trailer to raise funds for second season of the show, the storyline picks up right after first season and introduces us to Prakash Chowdary elder brother of Mohan Kumar.
| No. overall | Episode | Title | Directed by | Date of Broadcast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 1 | "Borewell Boys" | Rohit Penumatsa | 22 August 2020 (2020-08-22) | |
| The beginning of Season 2 is at Mohan Kumar's new office and the man has a brand new set of surprises for everyone. | |||||
| 12 | 2 | "A Day In The Life of Prakash Chowdary" | Rohit Penumatsa | 22 August 2020 (2020-08-22) | |
| The year is 2018 and it had been 10 years since Prakash Chowdary had made a film. What had become of his life, what's his daily routine nowadays is this episode. | |||||
| 13 | 3 | "Money Money" | Rohit Penumatsa | 22 August 2020 (2020-08-22) | |
| Prakash had run out of money last night. This morning he's penniless. How does this day pass? | |||||
| 14 | 4 | "Bejawada Mon Amour" | Rohit Penumatsa | 22 August 2020 (2020-08-22) | |
| Prakash is invited to Vijayawada by a potential producer. | |||||
| 15 | 5 | "Dundagudu" | Rohit Penumatsa | 22 August 2020 (2020-08-22) | |
| KV(hero) from Season 1 is back and his troubles only seem to have gotten worse since we last saw him. | |||||
| 16 | 6 | "Masterpiece" | Rohit Penumatsa | 10 June 2021 (2021-06-10) | |
| Prakash is spitting blood in his dreams as his new script tries to find a funder. | |||||
| 17 | 7 | "Back From The Dead" | Rohit Penumatsa | 10 June 2021 (2021-06-10) | |
| An episode of resurrection for Prakash Chowdary after years on inactivity. | |||||
| 18 | 8 | "The Office" | Rohit Penumatsa | 10 June 2021 (2021-06-10) | |
| Prakash's back in a film office and things finally seem to be moving in the right direction. | |||||
| 19 | 9 | "Maatalu" | Rohit Penumatsa | 10 June 2021 (2021-06-10) | |
| Dialogue writer MSR enters the picture as the pre-production of Dundagudu continues. | |||||
| 20 | 10 | "Pathanam" | Rohit Penumatsa | 12 June 2021 (2021-06-12) | |
| Season comes to an end with Prakash Chowdary's epic showdown. | |||||
Music
| Story Discussion | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Soundtrack album of Story Discussion by Vivek Sagar | ||||
| Released | 31 May 2017 | |||
| Recorded | 2017 | |||
| Studio | Tapeloop Records | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Length | 21:09 | |||
| Language | Telugu | |||
| Label | Tapeloop Records | |||
| Producer | Vivek Sagar | |||
| Vivek Sagar chronology | ||||
| ||||
Vivek Sagar composed the music for both seasons, while Sanjay Das, Teja ASGK and Jubin Raj handled Sound Design and Mixing. The album was released independently on Tapeloop Records on YouTube and eventually on all music platforms.
Season 1
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Artist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Rangu Rangula Sitralanni" | Camp Sasi, Kala Sandeep, Vivek Sagar | Laxman Meesala | 2:52 |
| 2. | "Durmargudu" | Vivek Sagar | 1:10 | |
| 3. | "Rangu Rangula - The Herald Version" | Wilson Herald | 2:00 | |
| 4. | "The Office" | (Instrumental) | 1:12 | |
| 5. | "Tikamaka Mix" | (Instrumental) | 1:45 | |
| 6. | "The Name's Mohan" | (Instrumental) | 4:40 | |
| 7. | "Rangu Rangula - 2nd Line Version" | (Instrumental) | 2:37 | |
| 8. | "Antham Begins" | (Instrumental) | 2:13 | |
| 9. | "Antham Chivara" | (Instrumental) | 2:40 | |
| Total length: | 21:09 | |||
Season 2
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Artist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Jatha Kalisina" (a song from Prakash Chowdary's Kirayi Hanthakudu) | 4:50 | ||
| 2. | "Meka Dekhani Poster" | Niklesh Sukonji | Vivek Sagar, Dake Balaji, Smaran | 3:48 |
| Total length: | 8:38 | |||
Reception
The first season of Story Discussion garnered widespread acclaim, marking a novel approach to long-format content on YouTube. The second season faced heightened expectations but received a mixed reception. Karthik Keramalu of Film Companion expressed ambivalence, stating, "Is this a story of a director who's dubbed a one-hit wonder? Yes. But is this a story that's worth your time? That's definitely debatable". A critic from VoxSpace wrote that "The show again, like its first season works because of the brilliant ensemble on display. While most of the original cast is back, the new additions are just as good and quirky for the lack of better word" and opined that "The show changes up certain stylistic flourishes that sometimes work for and sometimes against the pacing".
Story Discussion Universe
The Story Discussion Universe (SDU) consists of 2 seasons of Story Discussion, a feature film Ranganaayaki, and a short film Ajeeb Dastan. Camp Sasi plays a pivotal role across all properties of SDU, primarily as Director Mohan Kumar, Sasi also appeared as an estranged twin of Mohan Kumar, as Prakash Chowdary in Season 2 of Story Discussion. While also appearing as director Mohan Kumar in the spin-off feature film Ranganaayaki and Ajeeb Dastan.
References
- Dundoo, Sangeetha Devi (1 December 2021). "Telugu indie filmmakers Camp Sasi and Rohit Penumatsa talk about their film 'Sheesh Mahal' and their journey". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
- "Two indie filmmakers believe their alternate platform could change filmmaking model in Tollywood". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
- "Rangu Rangula Sitraalanni On YouTube".
- Today, Telangana (8 December 2021). "Hyderabad filmmakers aim to create OTT platform". Telangana Today. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
- "Story Discussion 2". Avanti Cinema. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
- "On a regional dark new film making mode". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
- "'The sets of Pushpa was my film school'". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
- "'I am an accidental actor,' says Jagadeesh Prathap". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
- "Story Discussion 2 Pitch Trailer by Rohit and Sasi". YouTube.
- "Story Discussion Season 2 on Indie Birds".
- "Story Discussion 2 – A Crowdfunding CallOut". Vox Space.
- "Jatha Kalisina (From "Story Discussion")". Amazon Music. 30 March 2021.
- "Meka Dekhani Poster (From "Story Discussion") - Single". Apple Music. 2020.
- Keramalu, Karthik (30 June 2021). "The Second Season Of Story Discussion Is Bigger, But Poorer". www.filmcompanion.in. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
- Vadlapati, Rajashekar (26 August 2020). "Review Of Story Discussion Season 2: A Rewarding Experience For Cinephiles". VoxSpace. Retrieved 10 December 2023.