Abhiroop Das
In the Netflix series ‘Akka,’ written and directed by Dharmaraj Shetty, worldbuilding is among the many narrative tools that bring the story to life. With everything revolving around the setting, namely the kingdom of Pernuru, we often travel a lot through its length and breadth, covering an entire spread of social and geopolitical differences. In this world, Pernuru is broadly divided into three territories, each ruled by one of the three monarchical sisters. Malemar, Perplady, and Herkada all serve different purposes in the act of kingdom-building, but are ultimately tied together by their shared legacy and cultural heritage, making them distinct and united at the same time.
Malemar, Perplady and Herkada Have Loose Parallels to Real-Life South Indian Villages
Malemar, the principal locality of Pernuru, is a fictional place created by the series’ writer, Dharmaraj Shetty. Interestingly, though, Malemar is also the name of a real neighborhood in coastal Karnataka, in the Derebail area of Mangaluru. While Shetty hasn’t confirmed whether he used this place as a reference point, this is more likely to be a coincidence, given how the show’s rendition of Malemar is entirely rooted in a fictional historical-cultural context. Also dubbed the land of the sea, Malemar represents the coastal front of Pernuru, and while the sequences themselves are a blend of extensive VFX and on-site filming in and around Mumbai, the atmospheric effect speaks for itself.
Complementing Malemar is the locality of Perplady, and much like its sister setting, it too has a loose real-life antecedent in Karnataka. The village of Perlampady is located in the Puttur taluk of Dakshina Kannada district and is home to diverse cultures. While Kannada is widely used in the region, the primary spoken tongue of the local community is Tulu, with small pockets reportedly using Beary Bashe, Konkani, and Malayalam. This is particularly relevant because the land of Perplady, in the show, is a hub of many cultures and tribes, which in turn creates room for a commentary on Pernuru’s systemic discrimination, thus bringing shades of grey and a touch of realism to the story.
Herkada, the smallest of the three localities in Pernuru, is also known as the land of the hills and represents the part of the kingdom that connects to the Western Ghats, which run along India’s western coast, stretching for close to 1000 miles. Though Herkada doesn’t share its portrayal with any real-life counterparts, one superficial comparison can be made to Herkada, a village in Karnataka identified in a court record concerning the area of Siruguppa taluk. While the series shows Malemar as the business hub of the kingdom and Perplady as its melting pot, Herkada is home to various warrior tribes that specialize in guerrilla warfare, making it a fairly novel setting. All three of these fictional localities ultimately play a delicate balancing game, giving the story its unique character.
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