You know her life in and out, from all that you have read and heard, and when Gautham Menon and Prasath Murugesan (a shout-out to Reshma Ghatala, who has written the 11-episode show) give you a glimpse of Shakthi’s life, you can’t help but compare notes. When you watch Queen, you know deep within that this is the story of a woman who left an indelible mark in the history of Tamil Nadu, and that, precisely, is both the boon and bane of the web series. Many hits, flops and strained relationships later, Shakthi takes on another new avatar – a determined politician who wants to lead the state. A chance to act with superstar GMR (Indrajith Sukumaran) proves to be a high point in her career, which also changes the course of her life. She wants to be the best in what she does, and with the same panache, she embraces acting. A dejected Shakthi dabs on the greasepaint and faces the camera, and life, as she knew it, changes forever. Life seems good for her, until her mum Ranganayaki (Sonia Agarwal), a has-been actress and now an extra in the film industry, tells her there’s no money left and that she has to do just one film to earn some so she could join college.

Here, Lillete Dubey, the interviewer, jumps in and asks the iron lady, oops, Shakthi Seshadri (Ramya Krishnan) if she was always this strong, and we get the answer to her question in flashbacks.Ī young Shakthi is brilliant at what she does in school – she’s the head girl, is exceptionally good at academics and is all set to pursue a degree in law. The show opens with a recreation of one of Amma’s most popular interviews ever – a heart-to-heart with Simi Garewal. The web series is based on Anita Sivakumaran’s Queen, which, in turn, is inspired by a true story, which, we all know, is that of actress and former CM of Tamil Nadu, J Jayalalithaa! If there ever was an inkling of doubt, the introduction scene in the series puts that to rest.

Mastram web series characters cast