Amid a growing appetite for fresh and meaningful content in India, OTT platforms are ramping up their content offerings to cater to the change in audience’s taste. Pandemic has not only widened the scope of storytelling but also opened doors for diverse talents across the country. Had it not been for OTT platforms like Amazon Prime and Netflix, the Hindi-speaking audience might not have been introduced to the brilliance of Samantha Akkineni (Family Man season 2) or Kalidas Jairam(Paava Kadhaigal). Before pandemic, it would have been unfathomable to imagine that a Manoj Bajpayee flick would garner more audience than a Salman Khan starrer. After ending July on a good note, the Indian OTT space has lined up some very promising movies and web series in August too. Take a look.
200 Halla Ho (Hindi)
Inspired by true events, 200 Halla Ho depicts the story of a group of woman who took law into their own hands by lynching a gangster in open court. The makers released the teaser yesterday, July 29. With a promising cast of Amol Palekar, Barun Sobti, Rinku Rajguru and Sahil Khattar, the film examines the circumstances that drove these women to take such a drastic step. 200 Halla Ho will be premiered on ZEE5 by mid-August.
Navarasa (Tamil)
One of the most anticipated films of the year, Navarasa marks the coming together of the finest and most acclaimed talents from the Tamil entertainment industry. Produced and presented by Mani Ratnam and Jayendra Panchapakesan, the nine-part anthology series explores the nine human emotions of Indian aesthetic theory. The teaser features actors Suriya, Vijay Sethupathi, Prasanna, Aditi Balan, Prayaga Martin Siddharth, Parvathy and Revathy, to name a few. Navarasa will release on Netflix on August 6th 2021 in over 190 countries. Several artistes associated with film have graciously offered their services pro-bono contributing the proceeds from the films towards the well-being of film workers in Tamil cinema impacted by the pandemic
Kuruthi(Malayalam)
Cold case may not have got great response from audience but actor Prithviraj will have his hopes pinned on his latest film ‘Kuruthi’. Directed by Manu Warrier, the film depicts how enduring human relations that transcend boundaries, struggle to survive trials of hatred and prejudice. Bankrolled by Prithviraj Productions, the movie has a talented ensemble cast of Roshan Mathew, Srindaa, Shine Tom Chacko, Murali Gopy, Mamukkoya, Manikanda Rajan, Naslen. Kuruthi is set to premiere on Amazon Prime on August 11.
Netrikann (Tamil)
Finally, we have a release date for keenly-awaited Tamil thriller that will see actor Nayanthara portraying a visually challenged girl who takes on a serial killer who preys on innocent girls in Chennai. Netrikann is believed to be an official remake of Korean thriller Blind. Even the title font in the first look poster is written in Braille so it’s safe to assume that Nayanthara plays a blind character. The film has been directed by Milind Rau, who is best known for his Tamil horror-thriller Aval. The film is scheduled for release on Disney+Hotstar on August 13. It will be available in four languages including Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.
Dial 100 (Hindi)
Manoj Bajpayee fans can expect another great perfromance after Family Man season 2 and Ray. The trailer of Dial 100 begins with a cryptic call to the police control room with a woman threatening to hurt someone. The 2 minute 50 sec trailer has garnered nearly 7 million views since July 20. Directed by Rensil D’Souza, Dial 100 promises to be another edge-of-the-seat thriller. Produced by Sony Pictures Films India, ‘Dial 100’, will also actors Neena Gupta and Sakshi Tanwar in pivotal roles. Dial 100 will premiere on Zee5 on Aug 6. So, expect the unexpected with Dail 100.
Boomika (Tamil)
Aishwarya Rajesh’s upcoming Tamil film is set to premiere on Vijay Television on August 22. Helmed by filmmaker Rathindran R Prasad, Boomika is touted to be ecological thriller. In the poster, Aishwarya Rajesh is seen against a forest-like backdrop, sporting an intense look. Set in Nilgiri hills, the film is expected to highlight the issue of forest encroachment. The technical team of the film includes cinematography by Italian cinematographer Roberto Zazzara, music by Prithvi Chandrasekar and editing by Anand Geraldin.
18 hours (Malayalam)
18 hours is yet another offering from filmmaker Rajesh Nair, director of movies such as Escape from Uganda, Salt Mango Tree and Thrissur Pooram. The film is set to premiere on Mazhavil Manorama and its OTT channel, ManoramaMax on August 1. 18 hours is a survivor thriller that revolves around an abduction incident with female characters in the thick of the action
The story is about six Class XII students by a travelling in a bus from Kerala to Bengaluru for an inter-school competition. A group of armed men hijack the bus and take them as hostages. How these girls stand up against the kidnappers forms the narrative of the film.
SherShaah (Hindi)
Based on the life of Kargil hero Captain Vikram Batra, SherShaah is billed as a “story of valour, love and sacrifice. Directed by Vishnu Varadhan and jointly produced by Dharma Productions and Kaash Entertainment, the Siddharth Malhotra starrer is all set to premiere on August 12 on Amazon Prime Video. The film also stars Kiara Advani, Shiv Panditt, Raj Arjun, Pranay Pachauri, Himmanshu Ashok Malhotra among others. Going by the trailer, SherShaah will also chronicle relationship between Batra and his love interest Dimple, who did not marry after his demise.
REKKA (Bangla)
REKKA, an acronym for Robindronath Ekhane Kawkhono Khete Aashenni (Better be chef than be sorry) is a web series based on a eponymous novel of Bangladeshi writer Mohammad Nazim Uddin. The series touted to be thriller will be released on Bengali language OTT platform HoiChoi. Helmed by filmmaker Srijit Mukherji, who had recently made ‘Forget Me Not’ and ‘Bahrupiya’ in the 4 film series ”Ray”. The series stars Rahul Bose, Anirban Bhattacharya, Azmeri Haque badhon among others.
