In this week's recommendations on shows and films on Indian OTT platforms, Hindi decidedly dominates. Out of the five offerings, four are in Hindi. One other is in Telugu. Darbaan is a Hindi film based on Rabindranath Tagore's story, Suraj Pe Mangal Bhaari is a Hindi comic caper, Naxalbari is a gritty action adventure series while Bhaag Beanie Bhaag is a rollicking fun-filled series on a comic in the making. Bombhaat is a Telugu romantic science fiction.
As we said, the five offerings tick almost all the boxes in entertainment over streaming platforms in India.
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Darbaan
Director: Bipin Nadkarni
Cast: Sharib Hashmi, Sharad Kelkar, Rasika Dugal, Flora Saini, Harsh Chhaya
Synopsis: This is an adaption of the 1918 short story 'Khokababur Pratyabartan' penned by Nobel Prize winner Rabindra Nath Tagore. It is about the friendship between a boy and his caretaker who belong to different economic and social backgrounds. Both grow old. The young man is now a father, and seeks out his old caretaker and asks him take care of his kid. Now something happens, and the whole relationships changes tack. Can the two get back to their old ways?
Language: Hindi
Platform: Zee5
Release date: December 4, 2020.
Suraj Pe Mangal Bhaari
Director: Abhsihek Sharma
Cast: Diljit Dosanjh, Manoj Bajpayee and Fatima Sana Shaikh
Synopsis: This was the first Hindi film to be release in theatres after movie halls reopened last month. Now, Zee Studios, the film’s producer, is set to release it on the digital pay-per-view platform Zee Plex for 199. It is a comedy set in 1995 and Manoj Bajpayee has been a scene stealer. In feel and fervour, it is a Hrishikesh Mukherjee-style light-hearted lark.
Language: Hindi
Platform: Zee Plex
Release date: December 4, 2020.
Bombhaat
Director: Raghavendra Varma
Cast: Sai Sushanth Reddy, Chandini Chowdary, Simran Choudary
Synopsis: Sai Sushanth and Simran Choudary who were seen together in "Ee Nagaraniki Yemaindhi’ are paired together again in the romantic science fiction, which in itself is an interesting sub-genre. Veteran director K Raghavendra Rao has chipped in with his inputs for this film. And that should further heft to the movie's content. ‘Bombhaat’ in Telugu slang is a remark of appreciation like ‘super’, ‘awesome’. The expectation from this film is that, too.
Language: Telugu
Platform: Amazon Prime Video
Release date: Dec 4, 2020.
Naxalbari
Director: Partho Mitra
Cast: Rajeev Khandelwal, Tina Datta, Aamir Ali, Sreejita Dey, Narayani Shastri and Satyadeep Mishra.
Synopsis: Naxalbari, as anyone with even half decent knowledge of Indian political history, is the name of a place from armed Communist revolt started, giving the Indian lexicon the much-reviled word Naxalite/Naxal.
The story is about a Special Task Force (STF) officer sent on a secret undercover mission to a Naxal hotspot. He has to nip in the bud a Naxal uprising. But the mission is dangerous to his well-being not only in physical terms, but also emotionally. The story is set in the city and also in the thick forests of Maharashtra. This is an action adventure web series.
Language: Hindi
Platform: Zee5
Release date: November 28, 2020.
Bhaag Beanie Bhaag
Director: Abi Varghese
Cast: Swara Bhaskar, Ravi Patel, Varun Thakur, Mona Ambegaonkar, Dolly Singh
Synopsis: This web series is about a woman who decides to pursue her impulsive dream of becoming a stand-up comedian. This surprise plan of hers comes as a shock to both her family and boyfriend but she continues to carry on with her dream. She walks out on her family and she is also helped by another comedian in her ambitious tryst. There are some typical but funny twists and turns. Being about comics, the lines are smartly funny.
Language: Hindi
Platform: Netflix
Release date: December 4, 2021.
Fun, action, horror, romance, science fiction...well, you have a full palette of emotions and ideas in this week's offerings on Indian OTT platforms. Have a fun weekend, folks!
