Amrutham Dhvitheeyam

Amrutham Dhvitheeyam (lit. 'Elixir 2') is an Indian Telugu-language sitcom web television series created by Gunnam Gangaraju and directed by Gunnam Sandeep. It is a standalone sequel to the television sitcom Amrutham (2001–2007). It was released with the tagline Moorkhatvaniki maranam raadu (lit. 'Stupidity never dies'). The series featured Harsha Vardhan, L. B. Sriram, Satya Krishnan, Vasu Inturi, Sivannarayana Naripeddi and Ragini in the main roles. It premiered on ZEE5 on 25 March 2020 and ended on 25 March 2021.

Overall synopsis
Amrutham, along with his friend, Anji, runs a restaurant named Amruta Vilas which is legally owned by Appaji and dreams of making it successful. However, the duo's attempts at improving their business fail, resulting in hilarious situations.

Main

 * Harsha Vardhan as Icchapurapu Ksheera Sagara Panchamrutha Rao "Amrutham"
 * L. B. Sriram as Amudala Anjaneyulu "Anji"
 * Sivannarayana as Gongali Appaji
 * Vasu Inturi as Sarveswaran "Sarvam"
 * Ragini as Shanta, Anji's wife
 * Satya Krishnan as Sanjeevani "Sanju", Amrutham's wife
 * Kasi Viswanath as Parandhamayya, Amrutham's father-in-law
 * Raghava as Rubber Balaji, Amrutham's cousin

Recurring

 * Aanamolu Surya Teja as Jootha Manager
 * Sanjay Reddy as Venture Capalist
 * Gajula Sandeep as Assistant
 * Getup Srinu
 * Chandrasekar Azad
 * Pappu
 * Rajashree as food blogger
 * Muralikrishnam Raju
 * Koduru Subrahmanyam
 * Masthan
 * Madhulika
 * Prasad
 * Sai Kiran Yadav
 * Kathri Yogi
 * N. Sridhar Reddy
 * Naveen
 * Jabardasth Sunny
 * Auto Ram Prasad
 * Abhishek Maharshi
 * Kovvuri Srinivas Reddy
 * Ansala
 * Nekkanti Madhu
 * Edidha Sai Kiran
 * Surya
 * Gunnam Ayathi
 * Tanishq
 * Riteish
 * Bhanu
 * Gunnam Vibha
 * Thagubothu Ramesh
 * Hari Babu
 * Satyam Annamareddy
 * Sankara Mahanthi
 * Priyadarsini as Sanjeevan's mother

Development
The first season Amrutham was highly rated and was one of the most viewed television sitcoms of Indian television of the time. Due to its immense popularity the series was re-telecasted on ETV Plus from 2016 to 2018. Even during its re-telecast, the series got decent viewership. Gunnam Sandeep, then decided to direct the sequel to the series in 2018 with new stories but with the same concept.

Casting
Harsha Vardhan, Ragini, Vasu Inturi and Sivannarayana Naripeddi are the only actors who reprised their roles. Due to the death of Gundu Hanumantha Rao, his role was replaced by L. B. Sriram. Satya Krishnan and Kasi Viswanath were chosen for the main roles. Kasi Viswanath replaced senior actor Devadas Kanakala who played the role of Amrutham's father in-law.

Principal photography
The series was finally announced in late 2019. Essel Group has announced that it is going to produce along with Gunnam Urmila and release it on ZEE5. First three episodes were filmed in the early 2020. Due to COVID-19 pandemic, filming was paused until August. Next two episodes were shot digitally and were marketed as lockdown specials. Filming was resumed in August 2020. Majority of the scenes were shot at Annapurna Studios and Ramanaidu Studios in Hyderabad.

Music
Title track is composed by Kalyan Malik and the background score is by Ajay Arasada.

Release
The official trailer of the series was released on 12 March 2020 announcing that it will be premiered from 25 March 2020 on ZEE5. The trailer was released by noted director S. S. Rajamouli.

Reception
IndiaGlitz wrote that "The new avatar of 'Amrutham' makes for an enjoyable ride.  The characters retain their quintessential qualities and the actors showcase their performative skills with ease.  The vibe is nostalgic."