5 OTT offerings in India for this weekend viewing
Two each in Telugu and Hindi, and one in Tamil
For our weekly recommendation column on streaming platforms in India, we generally broad-base our choices so that the interests of a wide cross section of audiences are covered. And this week, without us attempting to look for any variety, the releases in themselves slotted fine.
There is a brilliant love and loss tale from Malayalam, now available in a dubbed version in Telugu (Moothon). An intriguing series of love and crime that is on its second season (Poison). A story of greed and financial smarts that long ago captured the headlines of the country (Scam 1992). A morality play on social mores in an urban setting (Addham). If the previous series is helmed by three directors, our next recommendation for the weekend (Putham Pudhu Kaalai) is also an anthology handled by five top directors.
As we said, the five offerings ticks almost all the boxes in entertainment over streaming platforms in India.
- Amazon Prime Video to globally premiere nine Indian movies
- Where to watch the La Liga matches from India
- 5 cricket movies and series to keep you company as IPL mood kicks in
- 6 interesting offerings on Indian OTT platforms
Addham
Directors: Siva Ananth, Sarjun, Barath Neelakantan
Cast: Prasanna, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Kishore, Jayaprakash and Rohini Molleti.
Synopsis: This mini-series, handled by three different directors, tackles the idea of what is right and what is wrong, with the interesting tagline "morality is a changing goal post." Shot during the lockdown with considerable curbs on people and their movement, the three different stories convey the idea that morality is not exactly cast in stone. The stories, though directed by different persons, have been penned by Siva Ananth, who is a director in his own right, and is also the associate of ace director Maniratnam.
Language: Telugu
Get the best Black Friday deals direct to your inbox, plus news, reviews, and more.
Sign up to be the first to know about unmissable Black Friday deals on top tech, plus get all your favorite TechRadar content.
Platform: Aha
Release date: October 16, 2020.
Poison Season 2
Director: Vishal Pandya
Cast: Aftab Shivdasani, Raai Laxmi, Pooja Chopra & Rahul Dev
Synopsis: Poison season 1 was enjoyable, and it was only natural that the makers had a second season for it. But this time it has big screen actors Aftab Shivdasani and Raai Laxmi making their debuts on a web series. The story will have the usual element of crime and passion, glitz and glamour. The plot is said to be different from the first series, and revenge is believed to be the cornerstone of this story.
Language: Hindi
Platform: Zee5
Release date: October 16, 2020.
Moothon
Director: Geetu Mohandas
Cast: Nivin Pauly, Shashank Arora, Sudeep, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Sobhita Dhulipala, Roshan Mathew
Synopsis: This Geetu Mohandas (who is also a well-known actress) directed film has won a few impressive awards in the festival circuit. The Malayalam original, which is now dubbed in Telugu, has Nivin Pauly in the lead, and he is every bit impressive as Moothon (elder brother). The film is set in Lakshadweep and Mumbai, and interestingly the dialogues for the Hindi part have been penned by the ace director Anurag Kashyap. It is such tales and their enactment on screen that explain why we choose to watch movies. Gripping and moving.
Language: Telugu
Platform: Aha
Release date: October 16, 2020.
Scam 1992
Director: Hansal Mehta
Cast: Pratik Gandhi, Sharib Hashmi, Shreya Dhanwanthary Hemant Kher and Nikhil Dwivedi
Synopsis: This series, which is, as of now, the highest rated Hindi web series on IMDb, was released last week. And it has wowed everyone. The story is about Harshad Mehta, the stock broker who caught the nation's imagination in the early 90s with his rags to riches story, and his eventual fall due to greed and for gaming the system. The story, broken in real-life by the journalist Sucheta Dalal, is a sensational one. It is about human imagination that can spur growth as well lead to fall. A momentous event told brilliantly as a web series.
Language: Hindi
Platform: SonyLiv
Release date: October 9, 2020.
Putham Pudhu Kaalai
Directors: Sudha Kongara, Gautham Menon, Suhasini Maniratnam, Rajiv Menon, Karthik Subbaraj
Cast: Jayaram, Urvashi, Kalidas Jayaram, Kalyani Priyadarshan, M S Bhaskar, Shruti Haasan, Suhasini Maniratnam, Anu Hasan, Kathadi Ramamurthy, Komalam Charuhasan, Andrea Jeremiah, Gurucharan C, Leela Samson, Bobby Simha, Sharath Ravi, K Muthukumar
Synopsis: As directors, Sudha Kongara, Gautham Menon, Suhasini Maniratnam, Rajiv Menon, Karthik Subbaraj are among the top in Tamil now. And when their short takes become part of an anthology centered on the 21-day lockdown in March, you better take notice. And look at the cast, it is again very interesting and inspired. The five stories broadly cover hope, love, and new beginnings in the pandemic times. Just what the doctor ordered for the situation we are in.
Language: Tamil
Platform: Amazon Prime Video
Release date: October 16, 2020.
All in all, the five different fares will surely keep you engrossed so much so that the other popular stuff on digital screens now in India, the IPL matches, may even taken a backseat. Have a fun-filled viewing, folks!
- Apple iPhone 12 price in India, availability and pre-orders
- Best tech deals and new launches in India this festive season
- Upcoming smartphone launches in India for October: Specs, launch date, price