Netflix chose a birthday to drop one of its biggest trailers of the season. On Saturday, October 17, as Keerthy Suresh celebrated her birthday, the streaming giant unveiled the first teaser of Akka, its long-gestating gangster saga starring Keerthy alongside Radhika Apte. With the teaser came the news fans had been waiting for: Akka will premiere on Netflix on October 30, 2026.
The announcement finally puts an end to months of speculation around the Yash Raj Films-backed series, which was first announced back in November 2023 and has been quietly in production since. For Netflix India, which has been leaning hard into female-led crime dramas, Akka is shaping up to be one of its most ambitious bets this year.
What the teaser reveals
The teaser introduces a world most Indian audiences have never seen on screen: Pernuru, a fictional city in South India in the 1980s, where women run the streets. Not quietly, not from the sidelines, but as full-throated power brokers who have built, governed and defended their kingdom for generations.
Keerthy Suresh appears as Bhavani, while Radhika Apte plays Rudra. The two women sit at the centre of the story, and the teaser makes it clear they are not on the same side. Their positions of influence collide when an outsider enters Pernuru, threatening the order these women have protected with everything they have. The result, as the teaser hints, is a chain of violence and a fight for survival that runs through the heart of the series.
The visuals lean into the era: grainy textures, period costumes, and a colour palette that feels straight out of 1980s South India. There are no wasted shots. Every frame seems designed to tell you that this is a world with its own rules, and breaking them comes at a cost.
A revenge saga written and directed by a debutant
Akka is written and directed by Dharmaraj Shetty, making his directorial debut. The series is described by the makers as a gangster saga centred on women and their influence in a world governed by its own rules.
The project is produced by YRF Entertainment, the streaming arm of Yash Raj Films, with Aditya Chopra, Yogendra Mogre and Akshaye Widhani serving as executive producers. That backing matters. YRF has been selective about its streaming output, and placing its weight behind a debut director signals real confidence in the material.
- Keerthy Suresh as Bhavani, one of the two women at the centre of Pernuru’s power struggle
- Radhika Apte as Rudra, Bhavani’s rival and the story’s other anchor
- Tanvi Azmi in a key supporting role
- Writer-director: Dharmaraj Shetty (directorial debut)
- Executive producers: Aditya Chopra, Yogendra Mogre, Akshaye Widhani
Keerthy and Radhika on the project
Keerthy, whose birthday became the launchpad for the teaser, called the timing special. “The love I receive from the audience every year makes this day incredibly meaningful,” she said in a statement released with the teaser. “Being able to celebrate it by unveiling the teaser of Akka, a project so close to my heart, feels truly special.”
Describing her character, she added that Bhavani is one of the most unique and memorable roles she has played so far. The series also marks Keerthy’s first project with Netflix and YRF Entertainment, a double debut she said she took up because of the distinctiveness of the story and the world it inhabits.
Radhika Apte, whose Rudra promises to be the teaser’s most unpredictable element, said she found it wonderful that the date announcement coincided with Keerthy’s birthday. “Rudra is a fascinating character, driven by her own convictions and an instinct to challenge the world around her,” she said. “What drew me to the series was the complexity of its characters and the tensions that emerge from their differing perspectives.”
Why Akka matters
The gangster genre in Indian streaming has largely been a men’s club. From Mumbai’s underworld sagas to Bihar’s crime belt, the camera has almost always followed the dons, never the women who held the strings. Akka flips that script completely. Here, the women are not the wives, the mothers or the collateral. They are the system itself.
That premise, set in a fictional 1980s South Indian city, gives the series a canvas few Indian web shows have attempted. The first look, unveiled in February 2025, had already generated curiosity. The teaser suggests the wait may have been worth it.
For Netflix, the October 30 premiere slots Akka into the festive season corridor, when viewership typically spikes. And for Keerthy Suresh, who has been steadily expanding beyond her National Award-winning turn into pan-Indian territory, this is arguably her boldest swing yet.
Akka: frequently asked questions
When does Akka release on Netflix?
Akka premieres on Netflix on October 30, 2026. The date was confirmed along with the teaser release on October 17.
Who stars in Akka?
The series stars Keerthy Suresh as Bhavani and Radhika Apte as Rudra, with Tanvi Azmi in a key role.
Who has directed Akka?
Akka is written and directed by debutant Dharmaraj Shetty. It is produced by YRF Entertainment, with Aditya Chopra, Yogendra Mogre and Akshaye Widhani as executive producers.
What is the story of Akka?
Set in the 1980s in the fictional South Indian city of Pernuru, Akka is a revenge thriller about a world ruled by women. When an outsider enters their territory, it triggers a violent struggle for power and survival.
Where can I watch the Akka teaser?
The teaser was released by Netflix on its official platforms on October 17, coinciding with Keerthy Suresh’s birthday.
Mark the date: October 30. If the teaser is anything to go by, Pernuru is about to make some very loud noise.
