Mumbai, Apr 26 (IANS): The trailer of the social thriller series 'Escaype Live' was released on Tuesday. The series presents the realities of social media in today's time both in its dark and vanilla form.

The series, which stars Siddharth, Jaaved Jaaferi, Shweta Tripathi Sharma, Swastika Mukherjee, Plabita Borthakur, Waluscha D Souza, Ritvik Sahore, Sumedh Mudgalkar, Geetika Vidya Ohlyan, Jagjeet Sandhu, Rohit Chandel and child actor Aadyaa Sharma, is set in the landscape of contemporary India.

It explores the different journeys of six regular Indians, who are content creators as they struggle to win, fame and fortune on a social media app called 'Escaype live' which promises big money to the winning contestant.

Director Siddharth Kumar Tewary has created and directed the show from the script written by himself and Jaya Mishra.

Talking about what made him direct this series, Siddharth Kumar, "I wanted to tell a story of the world we live in today, where social media is not just a habit but has become a form of emotional expression. Life has moved beyond being liked and disliked or being followed and unfollowed."

The series is all set to stream on Disney+ Hotstar from May 20. The director further mentioned, "Whether social media as an entity is good or bad is subjective depending on whose story we are telling and what they actually want out of their lives - are their dreams real? Or are they merely trying to escaype their reality!

At its core Escaype Live gives us an insight into the minds of people living in the world of social media. Are we ready? Or are we already in it? For me, Gaurav and Nikhil along with the entire team at Disney+ Hotstar has always displayed big ambition and it's their desire to push boundaries with original content choices that made them my first and only choice to collaborate with on this series."

Revealing what appealed to him about the story, Siddharth, who plays the series lead, said, "What drew me to 'Escaype Live' was the script and my character. It excited me that it dealt with social media, and while one has the freedom to do as they please, sometimes with anonymity and sometimes without, it also always brings up the ethical question of what is right and what is wrong. That to me is what makes the show explosive, yet exciting."

For Jaaved Jaaferi, this story about the technology climate impacting our lives is unique. He said, "The show is layered with intricately crafted characters, who have dual personas in reality and as content creators."

'Escaype Live' is an intriguing tale that captures the majority of contemporary humankind's desire to create a name, be remembered, and succeed; sometimes going to any length to achieve that. In this emerging digital era, the series is poignant as it recognises the beauty and the darker side of social media", he added.

Shweta Tripathi Sharma, who plays a pivotal role in the series said, "The rise of social media has taken the world by storm! While it comes with advantages, we have to evaluate a lot about its flip side as 'Escaype Live' is one such story that talks about the same and its impact in today's age and time."

She further said, "As soon as I read about the concept, I knew I had to tell this story because it was relevant and a much-needed conversation. The character I play is full of hope and love, someone I resonate with a lot. It is a surprise package! I am sure the audience will like her a lot."

Produced under Siddharth Kumar Tewary's One Life Studios, the nine-episodic series has leveraged different dialogue writers for each city to add regional authenticity.