5 releases on Indian OTT platforms for this weekend

Still from the Telugu film Naandhi
(Image credit: Aha)

The choices for this weekend on our weekly recommendations on Indian OTT platforms are dominated by South Indian movies. Three, to be precise. One each from Tamil, Telugu and Kannada.

And one of them is straight on the streaming platform release. That would be the Tamil movie Teddy.

The Kannada movie Act 78 is making it to the OTT platform very soon after its release in theatres.

The Telugu release, Naandhi, is also fresh off cinema halls.

These three top movies once again underline the rising power of OTT platforms in India.

We round off the weekly recommendation with two web series in Hindi. Qubool Hai 2.0 and Love J Action --- both, incidentally, belong to the romance genre.

Naandhi

Director: Vijay Kanakamedala

Cast: Allari Naresh, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Priyadarshi

Synopsis: It is a gripping thriller. It is about a middle-class youngster who is a software engineer. His wedding is fixed with a girl of his choice, and in the happiness, he books a flat. As it happens, while returning home, he is stopped by the police and arrested for the murder of a social activist. the case drags on and the young man is undertrial for five years.

Now, a new woman cop follows up this case, and he manages to get a bail. Can he prove his innocence as he is out now? Allari Naresh's bravura performance as the sinned-against youngster is the talking point of the industry now.

Language: Telugu

Platform: Aha

Release date: March 12, 2021.

Teddy

Director: Shakti Soundar Rajan

Cast: Arya, Sayesha Saigal, Sakshi Agarwal, Sathish, Karunakaran, Magizh Thirumeni, Shabeer Kallarakkal

Synopsis: Any movie that skips release in theatres and makes it to an OTT platform carries in it an attraction. Any movie that features real-life couple in the leads adds its own attraction.

Teddy, releasing directly on Disney+ Hotstar, with the husband and wife team of Arya and Sayesha, ticks both the boxes.

This is said to be a fantasy thriller, and one that seems to have borrowed from the Hollywood comedy movie Ted. But this one is not an out-and-out comedy movie as it tackles the story of organ trafficking.

The talking teddy bear is the major attraction of the film. But it has enough meat in the writing to keep you invested in the lives of the other characters in the film. Maghizh Thirumeni, who is a director, plays an important role in the film. The action scenes have been shot entirely in Azerbaijan.

Language: Tamil

Platform: Disney+ Hotstar

Release date: March 12, 2021.

Love J Action

Director: Saurabh Tewari

Cast: Anud Singh Dhaka, Kangan Baruah Nangia, Puru Chibber, Rohit Chaudhary, Priyank Tiwari

Synopsis: This romantic-drama-meets-suspense series traces the aftermath of a lover-boy's quest to find the girl of his dreams. It's a large-hearted story set in a small city. It is about making sincere attempts in life. As one line from the series' promo said "Koshish karne walo ki Kabhi har nahi hoti" (There is no defeat for those who keep trying).

The story is about love but there is plenty of drama and action surrounding it. There is a case of mistaken identity. There is false understanding of kidnap. Everything adds up to a nice spicy broth.

Language: Hindi

Platform: SonyLiv

Release date: March 12, 2021.

Qubool Hai 2.0

Director: Ankush Mohla and Glen Baretto

Cast: Karan Singh Grover, Surbhi Jyoti, Lillete Dubey, Mandira Bedi, Sourab Raj Jain

Synopsis: The characters of Asad and Zoya that made a huge impact on many viewers when they arrived through in the first season of Qubool Hai. Not just them, many characters in the 10-episoded second season of this Hindi series make a comeback. 

But their "universe" is entirely different this time. For starters, it has been shot at different locations. And the treatment with more action and intrigue offer a fair bit of variety. Karan Singh Grover, as the taciturn man with OCD, is at again. His action capers are the highlight of the series, which, as it happens, is still about love and bonding.

Language: Hindi

Platform: Zee5

Release date: March 12, 2021.

Act 78

Director: Mansore (Manjunatha Somashekara Reddy)

Cast: Yajna Shetty, Pramod Shetty, B Suresha, Achyuth Kumar, Avinash

Synopsis: This was the first Kannada film to be released in theatres after the Covid-19 lockdown was relaxed. Already, the film has made it to Amazon Prime Video. The trailer of the film tickled most viewers' expectation. A pregnant walks into a government building and holds the office and the people who work there as hostages, after it is revealed that she is a human bomb.

This premise is good for enticing most people. And it is supposedly based on an incident that the director Mansore had witnessed.

But the story is about bureaucratic apathy and red-tapism. It brings out the pain that government Acts (refer to the title) inflicts on those governed by them. The film also adroitly manages to faithfully portray the media’s insensitive role in such issues.

Language: Kannada

Platform: Amazon Prime Video

Release date: March 12, 2021.

Three action packed movies and two love-based series. You can't ask for a better weekend viewing.

Balakumar K
Senior Editor

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. 

Read more
A collage image of Alan Ritchson's Jack Reacher in season 3, Sonic in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and Robert de Niro in Zero Day
7 new movies and TV shows to stream on Netflix, Prime Video, Max, and more this weekend (February 21)
A collage image showing Kaitlyn Dever wearing a white dress, next to an animated Mark Grayson, next to Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh smiling at each other.
7 new movies and TV shows to stream on Netflix, Prime Video, Max, and more this weekend (February 7)
A collage image showing an animated robot and duck, a man with crossed arms and two people looking over a barrier
7 new movies and TV shows to stream on Netflix, Prime Video, Max, and more this weekend (January 24)
A college image showing artwork from the movie Unstoppable, show Severance and movie Alien: Romulus
7 new movies and TV shows to stream on Netflix, Prime Video, Max, and more this weekend (January 17)
A collage image showing stills from the movie The Gorge, season 3 of The White Lotus and season 6 part 3 of Cobra Kai.
7 new movies and TV shows to stream on Netflix, Prime Video, Max, and more this weekend (February 14)
The TV show posters for The Secret Lives of Animals, The Six Triple Eight and Virgin River season 6 in a collage.
7 new movies and TV shows to stream on Netflix, Prime Video, Max, and more this weekend (December 20)
Latest in Websites & Apps
Quordle on a smartphone held in a hand
Quordle hints and answers for Saturday, March 15 (game #1146)
NYT Strands homescreen on a mobile phone screen, on a light blue background
NYT Strands hints and answers for Saturday, March 15 (game #377)
A smartphone on a sofa showing the WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal apps
Forget AI – WhatsApp is planning a simple messages feature that could be its most useful upgrade in years
Quordle on a smartphone held in a hand
Quordle hints and answers for Friday, March 14 (game #1145)
NYT Strands homescreen on a mobile phone screen, on a light blue background
NYT Strands hints and answers for Friday, March 14 (game #376)
Quordle on a smartphone held in a hand
Quordle hints and answers for Thursday, March 13 (game #1144)
Latest in News
Man using iMessage on an iPhone
Apple will finally enable encrypted RCS messages between iOS and Android, and it's about time
Jason Sudeikis' Ted Lasso pointing at someone in Ted Lasso season 2
Believe it, baby: Ted Lasso season 4 is officially in development for Apple TV+ and Jason Sudeikis will reprise his role as the titular soccer coach
Quordle on a smartphone held in a hand
Quordle hints and answers for Saturday, March 15 (game #1146)
NYT Strands homescreen on a mobile phone screen, on a light blue background
NYT Strands hints and answers for Saturday, March 15 (game #377)
NYT Connections homescreen on a phone, on a purple background
NYT Connections hints and answers for Saturday, March 15 (game #643)
Wix automation
The world's leading website builder aims to save businesses time with new tool