Inspector Rishi S2 Adds Dravid Selvam and Deepika

Season 2 of the Tamil horror web series Inspector Rishi has added two fresh performers: Dravid Selvam and Deepika Venkatachalam. Creator Nandhini JS announced the cast additions on Instagram and explained the reasoning behind both choices — and the details are a useful window into how OTT casting is changing.

The series, led by Naveen Chandra, premiered in March 2024 and follows a police officer investigating strange incidents in a remote village. The second season now gets a new mix of comic and dramatic energy.

Who’s joining the case

• Deepika Venkatachalam has been cast in a significant role. Nandhini JS says she was looking for a “talented, dark-skinned, Tamil-speaking actor” and signed Deepika after watching her work in Kana Kaanum Kaalangal and Uppu Puli Kaaram.
• Dravid Selvam, known from the Parithabangal YouTube sketches, joins in a supporting role with limited screen time.

Deepika was chosen for craft, not clout

In her Instagram note, Nandhini JS put the casting logic plainly. She said she did not know Deepika was a popular content creator when she picked her. The brief was specific: a performer who could bring the right Tamil fluency, look and authenticity to a difficult part. After seeing selected scenes, she was convinced.

Nandhini also said Deepika worked extremely hard on set, memorising lengthy and difficult dialogue. That matters in a horror series, where even a strong visual mood can fall apart if the performance does not stay grounded in Tamil speech and emotion.

Dravid’s small role, big comic impact

Nandhini wrote that she has long followed the Parithabangal team’s sketches, so she was excited when Dravid came to her office. The risk was whether he would accept a supporting part with little screen time. He did, and she called him a “true professional” who never treated the role as small.

The payoff, she said, is that his comedic performance became extremely entertaining and his presence works well for the show. Dravid is simultaneously building a wider film career: Dude, Idhayam Murali and Drones, plus dialogue writing on Scene, the Suriya and Jithu Madhavan film that released in theatres on November 6.

Why this casting matters

For OTT viewers, season 2 casting signals the creator’s priorities: choose performers for the part, not the follower count. Deepika’s online popularity is a bonus, but Nandhini’s stated process was driven by language, screen presence and hard work. Dravid’s acceptance of a compact role also shows how a focused comic turn can widen a show’s appeal without expanding the plot.

The series still has its atmospheric hook — a police officer, a remote village, strange incidents — but the new names suggest the second season is looking to deepen its supporting bench rather than rely only on star casting.

Source: The Times of India