Zee5 Global, the world’s leading streaming platform for South Asian content, today announced their upcoming original series Kaakee Circus, a quirky, high‑energy fantasy‑comedy thriller set inside a sub‑jail. The seven-episode series, earlier titled Once Upon a Time in Kayamkulam during development, now arrives as Kaakee Circus, a title that reflects the show’s irreverent humour, eccentric characters and the unpredictable world it unfolds in.
Written and directed by Ameen Barif, produced by Srinithi Sagar under Rise East Entertainment, the series brings together a strong ensemble featuring Munishkanth, Subash Selvam, Rajesh Madhavan, Gowthami Nair, Vinsu Rache, Savithri, Amrudha, Abdul Lee, Maruthupandiyan, Rakesh Ushar, Vigneshwar, Arnukumar Pavumba and Chithtirasenan.
In a quiet coastal town, a bizarre crime turns a sub‑jail into absolute chaos when someone manages to break into the prison instead of out of it. As a book‑obsessed jailer and an overeager constable scramble to make sense of the impossible, a mysterious thief stays several steps ahead, watching the circus he created unfold around him. When ordinary townsfolk, wannabe detectives and unsuspecting inmates start adding to the confusion, the case spirals into a wild chase where nothing is as simple as it looks, and every clue hides a stranger truth.
Director Ameen Barif on Kaakee Circus says, “This story excited me because it lets us play with tone, part comedy, part thriller, part oddball fantasy, without losing the realness of a small‑town world. Even during its earlier development, we knew the heart of the series was its characters and their strange, funny, flawed ways of responding to chaos. ZEE5 Global gave us the freedom to tell it with all its quirks intact, and I’m thrilled for audiences to step into the circus we’ve built.”
Munishkanth adds, “Kaakee Circus was unlike anything I’ve acted in, it’s unpredictable, fast‑moving and filled with characters who are both hilarious and painfully real. What I loved was the balance of humour and tension; every scene feels like it could go in a completely different direction. It’s fresh, rooted and extremely fun, and I’m glad ZEE5 Global is giving this kind of storytelling a platform.”
