There are very many interesting and compelling web series. But among them, only a few go on to get a cult status. Among foreign web series, Game of Thrones, Money Heist, Breaking Bad, Friends et al belong to this league. In India, which is a bit of a newcomer to the web series world, the likes of Mirzapur, Sacred Games are hugely popular. And then there is The Family Man. It was a huge hit in its first season last year. And when its second season dropped this week ahead of the appointed day, it, needless to say, is hogging all the limelight.
This week's recommendation list is dominated by it. But we also have for you the Malayalam hit Kho Kho, the interesting web series Crime Next Door, the Telugu dubbed version of Malayalam movie Kala and the straight Telugu movie Balamitra.
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The Family Man - Season 2
Director: Raj & DK, Suparn S Varma
Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, Samantha Akkineni, Priyamani, Sharib Hashmi, Shreya Dhanwanthary, Sunny Hinduja, Sharad Kelkar, Darshan Kumaar, Dalip Tahil, VipinKumar A Sharma, Seema Biswas
Language: Hindi
Platform: Amazon Prime Video
Release date: June 3, 2021.
Synopsis: The first season, of 10 episodes, tasted enormous success. The second season, with 9 episodes, already hit the headlines for an unwitting controversy with the impassioned section of Tamils cut up with the alleged representation of Sri Lankan Tamil Tigers (LTTE). The series' biggest success is that it manages to tell a story of a family man even while backdropping the whole thing with a gritty, action-packed international terror drama. This takes some doing, both in terms of writing as well as direction. And to cap it, the episodes also have an understated humour about them.
In the second season, Manoj Bajpayee returns to his iconic common-man character Srikant Tiwari. This season also stars Samantha Akkineni as the lead antagonist. If the first season was around Kashmir, this season, it traverses South to Chennai.
Kho Kho
Director: Rahul Riji Nair
Cast: Rajisha Vijayan, Mamitha Baiju, Venkitesh V.P.
Language: Malayalam
Platform: Amazon Prime Video
Release date: June 2, 2021.
Synopsis: It is a sports story. As with such movies, it is about the triumph of an underdog team that has been put together by an inspirational coach against many odds. As a story, sports films can't offer newness. But it is the treatment that matters. It is where national award-winning director Rahul Riji Nair shows his expertise. The ever dependable Rajisha Vijayan brings spunk and solidity to a demanding role. In a sense, this film is also about teacher who comes to terms with her own troubled past while inspiring a bunch of not-particularly-ambitious kids in an unambitious school.
Kala (Telugu)
Director: Rohith V S
Cast: Tovino Thomas, Sumesh Moor, Divya Pillai, Lal Paul
Language: Telugu
Platform: Aha
Release date: June 4, 2021.
Synopsis: This is of course the Telugu dubbed version of the Malayalam hit with the same name. The film, which is unapologetic about its depiction of violence, is a moral tale on toxic masculinity. There is also ego, lust, vengeance woven into the story. The tone of the film also evokes very primal energy. You can almost smell blood and flesh that gets splashed on the screen. The film's violence is raw, so much so that while filming, the hero Tovino suffered an internal injury. Due to the critical nature of the injury, he had to halt shooting and undergo hospitalisation for a week.
But the film offers more than just a bloody duel. It will give you something worthwhile to think about.
Balamitra
Director: Shailesh Tiwari
Cast: Ranga, Sashikala Dharmavarapu, Laxman Meesala, Kiya Reddy Dayanand Reddy
Language: Telugu
Platform: Amazon Prime Video
Release date: June 2, 2021.
Synopsis: This seems to be a season of thrillers on the OTT platforms in India. This film belongs to that genre. It is a suspense movie that packs in elements of romance and sentiments. A medical student's lover is kidnapped. In the process of his search, he commits a couple of murders. The whys and whats of the whole tale unfolds rather dramatically. And to go with the story of this kind, there is plenty of interesting action scenes that have been choreographed with agreeable reality.
Crime Next Door
Director: Deepankar Prakash
Cast: Boloram Das, Anupriya Goenka, Rajendra Gupta, Mohan Kapur, Girish Kulkarni, Ravi Sah, Aham Sharma, Trishna Singh
Language: Hindi
Platform: Disney+ Hotstar
Release date: June 3, 2021.
Synopsis: The crime series revolves around mysterious events occurring in one city. The story follows five cases that link together five different stories with only one cop to catch the killer. It is a thriller and starts with husband-wife complications. There is a party and there is an accident after it, and then there are a series of incidents unfolds. It is very unpredictable and it is a tale of misunderstandings and misconceptions. It is based on a true story.
The web series will be available to stream on the free short-format medium Quix on Hotstar the platform.
Happy binge watching. And stay safe!
