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In our series Streaming Guide, we list the works of a filmmaker or actor which are available on streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hotstar, Eros Now and YouTube among more.
This edition features Bollywood director Prakash Jha who has films like Mrityudand, Gangaajal, Apaharan and Pareeksha among more to his credit.
Hip Hip Hurray, the 1984 drama starring Raj Kiran, Deepti Naval and, Satish Anand, followed the story of a Bombay-based engineer, also a sports enthusiast, who temporarily takes up the job of a sports teacher in a school in Ranchi. After facing resistance from school authorities, he forms a football team, comprising of schoolboys, for a match against a strong team.
Damul is a moving tale about bonded labourers and is counted among the best works of Prakash Jha. Set in rural Bihar of 1984, the film focuses on caste politics and oppression of the lower castes in the region. Starring Annu Kapoor, Sreela Majumdar, Manohar Singh and Deepti Naval, the movie won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in 1984.
Prakash Jha created a 13-episode series for Doordarshan titled Mungerilal Ke Haseen Sapne. Inspired by James Thurber’s short story The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, the TV series focussed on the life of a common man named Mungerilal, played by Raghuvir Yadav. He shifts from Munger district of Bihar to Delhi for better job opportunities but often becomes a subject of ridicule. Written by Manohar Shyam Joshi, the show is a social satire packed with situational comedy.
Parinati holds a 7.3 rating on IMDb. Its story is based on a folk tale from Rajasthan. Surekha Sikri, Nandita Das, Basant Josalkar and Anang Desai play pivotal roles in the movie.
The 1997 film, starring Madhuri Dixit, Shabana Azmi, Ayub Khan, Mohan Agashe and Om Puri, is a commentary on social and gender injustice in Indian society. Set in a remote village of Bihar, the film has Madhuri’s Ketki who after suffering domestic abuse at the hands of her husband, decides to fight oppression and male dominance prevalent in her village. She also empowers the other women of the village. Madhuri, who was known for her dancing skills, established herself as an actor of repute with Mrityudand.
Rahul, starring Neha Bajpai, Jatin Grewal and Yash, showcases the dilemma of a child whose parents get separated. Rahul lives with his father Akash (Jatin Grewal) after Akash divorces wife Meera (Neha). Rahul has been brought up to believe that his mother Meera is a bad woman. But soon he discovers that she is a caring mother. The film seems to be developed in a haste and suffers from a stale storyline with the usual rich-girl-poor-guy angle being at the centre of its plot.
The crime drama is a good pick if you like masala entertainers. Once again Prakash Jha has set the film in his home ground Bihar. It follows the story of Police Superintendent Amit Kumar (Ajay Devgn) who has been posted in Tejpur, Bihar. An honest police officer, Amit struggles to bring justice to the people of Tejpur since here the law is controlled by local mafia and corrupt politicians. How he manages to clean up the system filled with corruption, makes for the film’s narrative. Devgn is supported by able actors like Mohan Joshi, Yashpal Sharma and Mukesh Tiwari.
With Apharan, Prakash Jha delved into Bihar’s kidnapping industry. Ajay Devgn plays the good guy who turns bad after a kidnapping goes wrong. He turns against his father, a righteous man, who is against corruption. This clashing ideology of the father and the son benefits mafia kingpin Tabrez Khan (Nana Patekar) as Ajay joins him and takes his business to new heights. The best thing about the film is its taut screenplay and its lead actors Nana Patekar and Ajay Devgn.
Prakash Jha’s political thriller Rajneeti, starring Nana Patekar, Ajay Devgn, Arjun Rampal, Manoj Bajpayee, Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif, is the story of brothers and cousins doing everything that it takes to head a political party in Madhya Pradesh. The film is a modern take on Indian epic Mahabharata.
Prakash Jha’s film Aarakshan explores the reservation system in India for scheduled tribes and castes in educational organisations and government departments. The film stars Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan and Manoj Bajpayee among others.
This multi-starrer features Ajay Devgn, Amitabh Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Amrita Rao, Arjun Rampal and Manoj Bajpayee. The film revolves around a fight to get justice using social media and conventional media to drive the message. It leads to plenty of drama, including a riot, which culminates in Devgn and Rampal’s characters deciding to enter politics to clean up the rotten system.
Featuring Adil Hussain, Priyanka Bose and Sanjay Suri, Pareeksha is a story that makes you question the Indian education system. Prakash Jha has narrated the story through a rickshaw puller who wants his son to study in an English medium school. It is not easy for him to provide quality education to his kid as he faces discrimination by the privileged at the school. Also, it becomes difficult for the rickshaw puller to pay the fees of a private school.
If you want to catch up on Prakash Jha’s acting chops, watch him play a patriarch in 2019 film Saand Ki Aankh. The film revolves around the story of elderly sharpshooters Chandro and Prakashi Tomar.
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