Teja Sajja has been facing the camera since he was a little over two. Debuting as a child actor and later transitioning into an adult lead actor, he has over 30 films to his credit. Yet, something about his new assignment made him a tad nervous. Making his debut as a reality show host for The Traitors Telugu, which will stream on Prime Video from October 15, he found himself having to deliver several pages of the script in a single take.
“When I face the camera for a film, I am confident of pulling off lengthy dialogues in a single take. But somewhere at the back of my mind, there’s a comforting thought that if I miss something, I can always go for another take. On the first day of filming this show, I had to explain the show’s format and rules to the contestants at a stretch. It was a lengthy script. Unless I do it in one take, it may not have the intended effect on the contestants. That thought made me nervous,” he says, during an interview following the trailer launch in Hyderabad.
However, years of experience as an actor helped him adapt to the challenge rather swiftly. “In a couple of hours, I was at ease,” he adds.
The 20 celebrity participants with Teja Sajja and representatives of Prime Video
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
The Traitors Telugu marks the first expansion of the reality show outside Hindi, a version that has witnessed two seasons hosted by director-producer Karan Johar.
The participants
The participants: Chinmayi Sripada, Harsha Vardhan, Pragathi Mahavadi, Sridevi Chowdhury, Nikhil Vijayendra Simha, Vidyu Raman, Vishnu Oi, Shravya Varma, Dr. Meghnath Reddy, Mounisha Chowdhury, Sweekar Agasthi, Ashika Padukone, Varsha D’Souza, Pranav alias Abhinavakavi, SS Vardhan, Rahat Achanta, Gaurav Sunil, Sai Ronak, Puppala Dhananjaya, and Falguni Bangera.
This opportunity came Teja’s way, soon after the release of his last Telugu film, Mirai, in September 2025. He recalls binge-watching The Traitors India hosted by Karan Johar, in two days. “I jumped at the opportunity to do this in Telugu,” says Teja.
The actor earlier hosted awards functions and featured as a guest in an episode of The Rana Daggubati Show. The spontaneity required for a reality show, he believes, comes naturally to him. “I am also spontaneous whenever I interact with the media,” he quips.
Jokes aside, Teja states that while he is confident about his conversation skills and can easily host a show without a script, The Traitors Telugu required him to put on a stern mask. “I was often reminded by the show’s producers not to be myself. I had to be serious, unlike my real personality.”
The show will feature 20 celebrity contestants in a palace, with the ‘innocents’ having to identify the ‘traitors’ among them before time runs out.
Teja Sajja
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
“I was excited to see people play the game,” says Teja. “I know some of the participants personally and know of the others, and it was interesting to watch them play the game.”
Teja also watched episodes of US and UK editions of The Traitors, and the Dutch original De Verraders. “I watched the show in five or six languages and observed the hosts. In Telugu reality shows, the hosts are normally a version of themselves. In The Traitors, all the hosts put on a serious demeanour, which brings an element of mystery to the show.”
Teja points to a few takeaways, such as learning when to pause or throw sudden glances to build intrigue. “The other hosts never smiled, but I couldn’t help smiling occasionally.”
Teja reveals that the 10-episode show was filmed in 11 days, which made it easier for him to schedule it amid his movie projects. Currently working on Zombie Reddy 2, he is also part of the sequels of Mirai and Hanu-Man. “Everyone knows that my films take considerable time to complete and inevitably there are gaps. So this show was ideal.”
He also views this experience as a short break from cinema, which will help him return fresh to the movies. “I wanted to understand how reality shows are filmed and how an international digital platform works. It felt like I was on a holiday and I genuinely enjoyed doing this show.”
The Telugu outreach
Nikhil Madhok, director and head of SVOD Originals, Prime Video India, says the platform has been looking to step up its focus in Telugu with more original movies, series, and reality shows, and The Traitors Telugu is a step in that direction. “This region loves entertainment and reality shows with drama, which is why we were keen to bring the show in Telugu, following Hindi.” He added that the contestants hail from different walks of life, and were chosen for their sharpness in manipulating and creating drama. “We also saw to it that the contestants do not know each other too well so that they are not too familiar with each other’s behavioural nuances.”
Fazila Allana, managing director of Sol Productions Pvt Ltd, observes that in her years of producing shows, the Telugu region is a thriving market that gives the Hindi entertainment industry a run for its money.
Away from the camera, Teja says he is a people person, intuitively observing body language and behavioural patterns. Psychological play is a part of this reality show, but he asserts that he is a facilitator rather than a manipulator in the game.
Trust and deceit are the driving factors of the show. “When you bring 20 people to a place and take away their phones, they are likely to start fighting with each other at some point. The show’s format is fantastic and some of the contestants were phenomenal in how they conducted themselves. Seeing them through the monitor, we were struck by how smartly they played the game.” Teja adds that observing the contestants helped him learn more about human behaviour.
Having been in showbiz long enough, Teja says he does not trust easily. “A lot of people have told me that I have the ability to notice subtle details and make sharp judgements. Perspicacity is one of my attributes.”
There will be no box office number crunching when the show drops, but Teja will be closely gauging the reception. “I want this IP to go further into several seasons.”
(The Traitors Telugu will stream on Prime Video from October 15, with one episode dropping every Thursday)
Published – October 10, 2026 07:00 am IST
