5 new films and series on Indian OTT platforms this week
A varied fare
After The Family Man - Season 2 hogged all the limelight over the last 10 days with regard to the Indian OTT space, the web series is still the talk on the social media platforms. But other new releases are now slowly catching up. And in this week's list of our usual recommendation of movies and series to catch on Indian OTT platforms, we have a good spread.
In the list is a Netflix original movie Skater Girl, a popular mainstream release Rang De, an interesting Hindi comedy-crime thriller web series Sun Flower, a Telugu action movie Ardha Shathabdham, and the suspense flick in English (but Indian made) Triple Whammy.
As we usually say, the fare is varied and interesting.
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Skater Girl
Director: Manjari Makijany
Cast: Rachel Saanchita Gupta, Shafin Patel, Amy Maghera, Jonathan Readwin, Swati Das, Ambrish Saxena, Waheeda Rahman, Ankit Rao
Language: Hindi and English
Platform: Netflix India
Release date: June 11: 2021.
Synopsis: The story follows the life of a village girl in Rajasthan as she discovers skateboarding and fights gender norms and poverty to go, compete at a national tournament. It chronicles the against-all-odds plus journey-of-self-discovery. It is equally a coming-of-age drama that involves bitter truths of caste. Skater Girl draws on real-life stories of skateboarding entering rural India in the past decade. The story will strike a chord with women as it repeatedly underlines the existence of female solidarity. This film is a Netflix original.
Sunflower
Director: Rahul Sengupta and Vikas Bahl
Cast: Sunil Grover, Ranvir Shorey, Girish Kulkarni, Shonali Nagrani, Sonal Jha, Ashish Vidyarthi
Language: Hindi
Platform: Zee5
Release date: June 11, 2021.
Synopsis: A murder happens at house number 1001 in the eponymous Sunflower housing society. Inspector Digendra (Ranvir Shorey) is out to find the killer or killers. Among the suspects is Sonu Singh, played by Sunil Grover. This will give you a clear indication that this web series will be an intriguing mix of mystery and mirth. Comedy and crime are not nature born friends. But this series bravely attempts to bring them together.
Ardha Shathabdham
Director: Rawindra Pulle
Cast: Karthik Rathnam, Krishna Priya, Naveen Chandra, Subhalekha Sudhakar, Sai Kumar, Amani
Language: Telugu
Platform: Aha
Release date: June 11, 2021.
Synopsis: Caste violence and honour killings are popular theme in Telugu cinema. Ardha Sathabdham, using that as a backdrop, delves into the caste system in Telangana. The film starts of as a love story, but even as it unfolds it casts light on the underlying simmering caste fault lines. Love story and village politics are mixed adroitly for a gritty entertainer. In a movie of this nature, an overdose of violence is inevitable. There is also a Maoist angle to the story --- Maoism is pretty rampant in Telangana. In that sense, Ardha Shathabdham may have too much on the plate and may be a bit all over. But the film's heart is in the right place.
Triple Whammy
Director: Anish Chacko
Cast: Urvashi Goverdhan, Sanjay Manaktala, Tarak Ponnappa, Arun Nair, Suhas Avate, Sai Surabhi
Language: Malayalam
Platform: Nee Stream
Release date: June 10, 2021.
Synopsis: It is the story of a couple who keep pranking each other. The man pulls off elaborate pranks on his wife, while the latter is a good old-fashioned prankster. She goes on a long trek to the mountains in Dehradun, where she is disconnected from the world. She comes back after two weeks to find out her husband is nowhere to be found. She assume he is playing another elaborate trick on her and decides not to get drawn into it. But is it really a trick? She faces many hurdles in search of her husband. The film is shot entirely in English.
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Rang De
Director: Venky Atluri
Cast: Nitin, Keerthi Suresh
Language: Telugu
Platform: Zee5
Release date: June 12, 2021.
Synopsis: Venky Atluri as a drirector is known for his intense love stories that are given some fun treatment. Rang De is no different. It is the battle of sexes in a sense. A boy and a girl, who are always at loggerheads, end up getting married. It is not a question of whether the story will have a happy ending or not, the point of movie is the comedy and the run ins the young couple have. Nitin and Keerthy Suresh are the perfect fit for the roles. They are beautiful and are made for such youthful rom-coms. The songs and photography are top notch. The film was released in theatres in the last week of March. This is one of the big-ticket Telugu releases on OTT in recent times.
With international cricket and football on view also, this week will be a good one for entertainment. Happy viewing!
Over three decades as a journalist covering current affairs, politics, sports and now technology. Former Editor of News Today, writer of humour columns across publications and a hardcore cricket and cinema enthusiast. He writes about technology trends and suggest movies and shows to watch on OTT platforms.