The entertainment industry was amongst a few sectors that saw growth even during a pandemic-infested 2020. And in this segment, it was the OTT platform to which the audience flocked as they were struck indoors during the Covid-19 led lockdown.
Ever since the country went into lockdown, OTT platforms became the first choice for entertainment, a trend that was not limited only to the metro cities. Popular titles such as Sacred Games (Netflix in 2019) and Mirzapur (Amazon Prime Videos in 2020) came out with a second season, reports surfaced of upcoming seasons for some of the other titles that made waves last year.
We at TechRadar thought it would be a best time to sneak a peak into some of the titles that are getting ready as we speak and could hit the screens in 2021. Of course, we are limiting our research only to web series and will possibly follow it up with one more where we will discuss movie titles slated for launch this year.
Don't know about the timer here, but we're exploding with excitement 💥@BajpayeeManoj @sharibhashmi @Samanthaprabhu2 @shreya_dhan13 @SharadK7 @SrikantTFM #Priyamani #TheFamilyManOnPrime pic.twitter.com/LQYJTyxWl2December 29, 2020
On top of this list is Family Man Season 2, with Amazon Prime Video sharing a teaser claiming that they were "exploding with excitement" over the web series that takes a look at the life of a secret service agent.
Directors: Raj Nidimoru & Krishna D.K.
Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, Priyamani, Gul Panag and Shreya Dhanwantry
Platform: Amazon Prime Video
Launch Date: February 2021
Synopsis: The first season, released in July 2019, captured our imagination as we tracked the life of special agent Srikant Tiwari (Manoj Bajpayee), whose work life is not even known to his family, comprising his academician wife (Priyamani) and two kids. The story tracked a potential nuclear attack on Delhi with the first season ending on a razor's edge. The second season was delayed due to the lockdown as shootings got cancelled. Interest in the sequel got heightened as the cast was joined by another southern superstar Samantha Akkinenni.
Maybe it is just our expectations from the crew or could be the fact that Saif Ali Khan is the biggest Bollywood star to feature in web series (Sacred Games), but there is no denying that Tandav is amongst the most eagerly sought title on OTT in 2021.
Directors: Ali Abbas Zafar
Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Dimple Kapadia, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Kumud Mishra, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayub.
Platform: Amazon Prime Video
Launch Date: January 2021
Synopsis: Not much is known about the plot as the production company has kept a thick veil of secrecy even in the teaser. What we do know is that it is a political thriller with a large cast that also includes Dino Morea, Sunil Grover, Gauhar Khan, Sarah Jane Dias and Sandhya Mridul among others. All that we get to hear in the teaser is "हिंदुस्तान को सिर्फ एक ही चीज़ चलती है - राजनीति। इस देश में जो प्रधान मंत्री है वो ही राजा है"
While we patiently wait for the third season of Netflix's top title Sacred Games, here is another that is garnering interest due to its director's past work. The series is titled "Bombay Begums" and it is already garnering interest around its posters.
Directors: Alankrita Shrivastava, Bornila Chatterjee
Cast: Pooja Bhatt, Shahana Goswami, Amruta Subhash.
Platform: Netflix
Launch Date: Not announced
Synopsis: The series tells the stories of five women from different generations as they struggle with societal ethics, their own ambitions and personal crises. Set in the modern contemporary urban India, the stories specifically define how Indian cinema was always about men with women only essaying supporting roles. This series seeks to overturn the narrative by having no men's tales synced to the women.
The obvious talking point of this series slated to release on Zee5 is Amit Sadh, whose power-packed performance as a Special Forces officer in Sony's "Avrodh" caught our collective fancy last year.
Directors: Vishal Mangalorkar
Cast: Amit Sadh, Amrita Puri and Sushant Singh
Platform: Zee5
Launch Date: mid-January
Synopsis: Available information suggests that Amit Sadh once again plays a Special Forces officer in this series that is based on the real-life experience of one. The makers suggest that it is based on the life of Kargil hero Major Deepender Singh Sengar, who not only fights the enemy outside but also doubt within to emerge victorious in his pursuits.
We are making a small exception here and including "Black Widows" on Zee5, which was released on December 18. This is the eighth adaptation of the famous Finnish series with the same title which was first released in 2016 and ran for two seasons.
Director: Birsa Dasgupta
Cast: Mona Singh, Shamita Shetty, Swastika Mukherjee, Sharad Kelkar, Raima Sen, Parambrata Chattopadhyaya
Platform: Zee5
Launch Date: Released on December 18, 2020
Synopsis: As with the original, this web series too tells the tale of story of three women who are facing marital discord and decide to end their sufferings. They fake mourn the deaths of their husbands while sharing a common secret. Into this milieu comes a cop who is keen on tracking their past lives to see what's actually wrong with their present existence.
And a few more...
Of course, these are our choices made on the star cast and the directors who are at the helm. There are several others lined up for release in the early part of 2021 and some of these include:
- Paurashpur featuring Milind Soman
- Nail Polish featuring Arjun Rampal and Manav Gohil
- Mumbai Diaries featuring Konkana Sen Sharma
- Apharan Second Season
- Asur Second Season
- The Gone Game Second Season
