The arguably most happening actor in Indian cinema right now, the Malayalam star Fahadh Faasil, is all set to have a grand week as he has two straight Malayalam releases lined up on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video India.
As it happens, both are straight-on-the-OTT releases.
First up, it'll be Irul on Netflix on April 2.
Close on its heels, on April 7, it will be Joji on Amazon Prime Video.
Irul is a mystery thriller while Joji is billed as a crime drama.
With these two movies, together, three of Fahadh Faasil's films have now made it straight to the streaming platforms bypassing the theatres --- probably a record for a mainstream star in India.
His previous release C U Soon, made at the height of pandemic and lockdown, streamed on Amazon Prime Video straight.
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Irul on Netflix
Alongside Fahadh, Irul (which means darkness) will star the ever-reliable Soubin Shahir and Darshana Rajendran in the lead roles. And it is said that there are only these three characters in the film directed by debutant Naseef Yusuf Izuddin.
The official synopsis of Irul reads, “A dark rainy night, an empty house, a stranded couple and an unknown man. A sleek game of the cat and the mouse starts playing on, as the three of them find a dead body in the basement. The movie takes the shape of an old-fashioned whodunit — the kind with mystery, suspense and a house that feels like a mousetrap. Leaving us questioning, who is the killer?”
This experimental thriller was shot primarily in a mansion.
The whodunnit, with minimal cast, is expected to work as well as Fahadh's C U Soon did, which too was shot with limited members and mostly through remote operations.
Considering the quality of films Fahadh Faasil has worked on, the general hope is for another edge-of-the-seat drama.
Joji on Amazon Prime Video
The announcement of Joji's release on Amazon Prime Video was made today.
Directed by Dileesh Pothan, written by Syam Pushkaran, this crime drama stars (aside from Fahadh) Baburaj, Shammi Thilakan, Alistair Alex and Unnimaya Prasad in pivotal roles.
The official synopsis reads: "Inspired by Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth, the movie presents a twisted version of a plot filled with greed, ambition, murder and mystery. The story revolves around Joji, an engineering dropout and the youngest son of the rich plantation family who lives with his aspirations of becoming a super wealthy NRI. But his father sees down on him and thinks of him as nothing more than a loser. Driven by greed and blind ambition, Joji finally decides to execute his plans following an unexpected event in the family."
Fahadh Faasil was quoted as saying: "The moment I got to know about my character and his journey, I knew I had to be a part of the movie. I love to watch movies with unconventional plot twists, and Joji definitely packs in some surprises. I give myself enough time to understand my character and essentially become it, but Joji is one such character that had an edge to it which made the role interesting and appealing to me."
Malayalam movies are a big hit on OTT platforms
The lockdown has made streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon hot properties in India. It is not just movies and series in foreign languages that have gained acceptance. Even movies made in various Indian languages are crossing over territory as the presence of subtitles mean that all is not lost in translation.
And among the Indian language film industries, the Malayalam one has taken the lead and its films have developed for itself a niche market among non-Malayalis in the country.
There are many Malayalam movies that have become must-watch on the OTT platforms.
