Here’s what you can watch on streaming platforms today.
There is no hint as to when the current situation with COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown induced by it will cease. For now, it is expected to go on like this for at least several months until a vaccine is invented.
People are having to stay at home and amuse and cheer themselves up by watching TV, films and other content.
This unprecedented phase may change the very field of television and cinema as we know it — at least for the time being. Social distancing and maintaining minimal contact with each other to avoid the spread of infection may create lots of problems to make compelling television.
Streaming Guide | May 2 | April 27 and 28 | April 25 and 26 | April 22, 23 and 24 | April 19, 20 and 21 | April 18 | April 15, 16 and 17 | April 12, 13 and 14 | April 10 and 11 | April 7, 8 and 9 | April 5 and 6 | April 3 and 4 | April 1 and 2 | March 30 and 31 | March 28 and 29 | March 26 and 27| March 24 and 25 | March 22 and 23 | March 20 and 21 | March 19 and 18 | March 17 | March 16
It is another matter that many actors may not be so willing to even come on the set due to fear of contracting the infection.
Tech-geeks and gamers, Memories of the Alhambra is the perfect show for you. The series earned praise for its original plot and twists which kept viewers on the edge of their seats.
There is class conflict at the heart of this romantic drama, directed by Prabhudheva. Trisha plays the sister of a farmer and Siddharth is a rich spoiled brat with a good heart. They both meet at a wedding and get off on a wrong foot and predictably fall in love. But, Siddharth’s Santosh Prakash has to make a dramatic lifestyle change to win the approval of his lover’s brother. Trisha is a total charmer in Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana. To stream more Trisha films, click here.
This documentary film chronicles Chinese city Wuhan’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic in its initial days. For those who do not know, Wuhan is now considered to be the place from where the novel coronavirus originated.
This series really represents the rage of a man who avengers the death of his pet in the most brutal way imaginable. The movie and the series is cathartic in many ways. The action scenes are amazing and mostly realistic.
Manoj Bajpayee plays agent Srikant Tiwari who has to deal with his domestic life whilst leading dangerous missions. Leading a double life can be hard on anyone, and The Family Man shows how tiresome and stressful the whole thing can get after a point. Srikant smokes cigarettes and eats chocolates when the pressure gets too much. He sometimes vents out his frustration on close friend and agent JK Talpade (played wonderfully by Sharib Hashmi).
The short stories in Apple TV+’s anthology Little America are focused on the lives of immigrants in America. Through the 30-minute duration of each episode, the makers try to paint a picture that’s hopeful but leaves you melancholic. Read More.
Uriyadi (2016), starring Vijay Kumar in the lead role, is considered one of the best political thrillers in Kollywood. The film is set in the 1990s and follows four socially-conscious college-going boys. Even though the second part which hit screens last year was a let-down, Uriyadi is an unmissable film, and I highly recommend it.
This coming-of-age movie is a wonderful celebration of a young girl trying to find her freedom and learning from her mistakes. Kiki, a 13-year-old witch, leaves the comforts of her home along with her cat Jiji, and goes to a new town to earn a living. Despite the simple premise, the movie is endearing and full of adventure. Kiki’s Delivery Service is a highly recommended watch and Kiki, especially, will serve as a role model for many young women who are trying to find their own way in the world.
Directed by Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang, One Child Nation talks about the ramifications of the one-child policy of China that lasted for almost 25 years. It’s a harrowing account of people who emotionally talk about the harsh experiences their families went through as China enforced the policy on all its citizens.
Marathi film Aga Bai Arrecha! is directed by Kedar Shinde and stars versatile actors Sanjay Narvekar and Dilip Prabhavalkar and Priyanka Yadav. It is a classic modern day urban comedy directed by Kedar Shinde and is loosely based on Hollywood comedy What Women Want.
This psychological thriller film written and directed by Mysskin, has an ensemble cast featuring Udhayanidhi Stalin, Nithya Menen and Aditi Rao Hydari in the lead roles. Click here to read more about the movie.
If you are looking for a fun movie to watch, then be sure to check out Detective Pikachu. Ryan Reynolds stars as the adorable Pokemon who teams up with a teenager, Tim, as they attempt to uncover the mystery of Tim's father's disappearance.
Set in the early 1900s, Mr Sunshine is about a group of activists who are fighting for Korean independence. Everything about this series, from its cinematography, storytelling to the acting of the leads deserves high praise. If you are a history buff, then Mr Sunshine will be a treat for you. The series traces the geo-political changes that took place in countries such as Russia, the United States, China, and especially Japan and the impact it had on a newly-emerging Korea.
This film was all about repairing the supposed damage that the previous entry in the sequel trilogy, The Last Jedi, did. Essentially, it tried to please the fanboys and turned out to be so messy that it did not please anybody. However, as a send off it is pretty good and if you are a fan, it will make you emotional and teary-eyed.
A sitcom about a bunch of police officers in a New York precinct, Brooklyn Nine-Nine is continuously funny. The performances are great, and the uniquely written characters never let you get bored.
Horpal, written and directed by Aniket Kulthe, is a story based on the condition of migrant workers of Maharashtra, from the point of view of a school going boy, Gunaa. In less than 12 minutes, the film throws light on how children of migrant workers lose out on education because of their constant migration in search of work.
Dulquer Salmaan's Malayalam comedy-drama film written and directed by Anoop Sathyan is now availble on Netflix.
A science fiction drama TV anthology series, Tales from the Loop is a gripping, superbly shot and well-written piece of entertainment that will delight everyone, but specifically those who liked HBO's Westworld and FX's recent series Devs.
K Asif’s grand epic Mughal-E-Azam is the ultimate tale of doomed love. Prithviraj Kapoor plays Emperor Akbar who uses all his might to suppress the “illicit love” between his son, heir-to-the-Mughal-throne Prince Salim (Dilip Kumar) and a lowly courtesan called Anarkali (Madhubala).
1922 is a decent watch for horror fans. The themes of the film – guilt and ‘every murderer gets his comeuppance’ (epitomised by a character in the line “In the end, we all get caught”) – are as old as time. It unsettles more than it scares and seeks to be a slow-burner.
Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Anthony Mackie and Nicholas Hoult in pivotal roles, The Banker is now streaming on Apple TV+. The film has been directed by George Nolfi.
Hugh Jackman’s final outing as Wolverine is one of the best superhero movies ever made. This is the Wolverine movie we needed and deserved. A no holds barred film filled with ample gore and eye-popping action, a compelling desolate setting, and marvellous work by Jackman and Patrick Stewart in their last hurrah, Logan is fantastic.
The fifth season of the acclaimed drama TV series Billions is now streaming in India on Disney+ Hotstar. Starring Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis, this Showtime series is about love, politics, power and money.
Written and directed by Park Hoon-jung, this South Korean horror-action film is about a young girl who escapes a government facility that conducted experiments on kids 10 years ago. What happens when strange people start entering her life forms the rest of the plot.
The series is a coming-of-age story that is based on Anmol Rana’s best-selling book – Those 7 Days. The plot revolves around a young boy, Vishwas who travels from a small town to a big city for his first job and meets 7 women whom he learns different lessons from.
The King: Eternal Monarch is a South Korean drama about an emperor Lee Gon who tries to close the doors to a parallel world which was opened by demons and a detective Jung Tae-eul who tries to protect the people and the one she loves.
Written and directed by Jennifer Fox, The Tale is based on her own experiences of child sexual abuse. This is no sanitised version of events. This is harsh reality laid bare - unsparing, unstinting.
This is an interactive movie that lets you make decisions for the main character. Following the same dystopian sci-fi genre of the Black Mirror series, Black Mirror: Bandersnatch revolves around young programmer Stefan Butler, who is adapting a fantasy choose-your-own-adventure novel into a video game in 1984.
The film, starring Smita Patil, Supriya Pathak, Farooq Shaikh and Naseerudin Shah, talks about the issue of “bride buying” in India, through the tragedy of a young girl being sold by needy parents to affluent expatriate Indians in the Middle-East.
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This MX Exclusive series takes us on a bachelorette trip that three friends throw for their best friend and bride-to-be, Mehak. The show features Priyank Sharma, Aashim Gulati, Veer Rajwant Singh and Adah Sharma in lead roles.
Voice is one of those series that will blow you away by its sheer brilliance. The series is about a temperamental, guilt-ridden detective Moo Jin Hyuk (essayed by Jang Hyuk) and gifted profiler Kang Kwon Joo (Lee Ha Na) who join hands to catch the serial killer who murdered their loved ones. Let the simplistic premise not fool you as this show is filled with concepts of criminology and psychology that will fascinate you. Unfortunately, only the first season is available on Netflix, but don’t let that deter you. This show comes highly recommended.
Anurag Kashyap’s first release Black Friday is a riveting tale based on the 1993 bombings that shook Mumbai. Though the film was not a commercial success, it has gained a cult status over the years. Kashyap through his actors recreated the actual events as faithfully as possible. Kay Kay Menon, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Vijay Maurya and Aditya Shrivastava among others gave spectacular performances in the film.
A fantasy rom-com starring Ashol Ashok Selvan, Ritika Singh in the lead, Oh My Kadavule chronicles the story of two childhood best friends who decide to marry on a whim. Indianexpress.com critic S Subhakeerthana wrote in her review, “This film largely works because of the fantasy spin and the fun treatment to the subject matter—but the writing is problematic.” Read the full review here.
Julia Roberts stars in this psychologicla thriller based on the podcast of the same name created by Eli Horowitz and Micah Bloomberg. Roberts plays the role of a social worker at a facility that apparently helps soldiers coming from war zones transition to the civilian life. Though, it is done by making the soldiers basically forget the bad stuff, creating a blank space in its place.
Bobby Cannavale, Stephan James, Shea Whigham also star in this tight, compelling thriller that needs to be watched to appreciate the superlative writing and performances.
The Dark Knight is widely considered to be the best superhero movie ever made, though it has little common with the superhero movies being made today. Its ‘superhero’ was just a costumed and well-muscled rich guy – a man without any superhuman abilities.
Starring Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham in the titular roles of Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw, the Fast and Furious spin-off movie featured Idris Elba as villain Brixton Lore.
Mrs. America is a Hulu miniseries created by Desperate Housewives and Mad Men alum Dahvi Waller. Starring Cate Blanchett in the lead, the series is set in the 1970s 'United States and is about the movement to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment or ERA by second-wave feminists.
Based on Neil Gaiman's fantasy novel, Stardust is directed by Matthew Vaughn. It stars two actors who later played comic-book superheroes - Charlie Cox (Daredevil) and Henry Cavill (Superman).
This FX series has everything in its favour - colourful characters, dark humour, varied settings (every season takes place in different places and times), and excellent writing. Cops face solo gangsters or gangsters with families and your sympathies are dragged all over the place. You think things like -- why did this charismatic rascal had to be a bad person, inherently? There is a character played by David Thewlis in the third reason who is the repelling-yet-compelling sort -- a perfect representation of the show as a whole, I think.
Set after the events of Return of the Jedi, this space western follows a bounty hunter, played by Pedro Pascal. This is the first series of the Star Wars universe on Disney’s web platform. The series has already been renewed for a second season. Read More.
Based on an intriguing what-if premise, The Man in the High Castle is an alternate reality show. In this world, the Axis powers won and the United States was carved up between Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany. Common Americans live under two foreign, oppressive regimes and they are resigned to their fate... until the people come across another reality -- our reality -- according to which things could be better.
Based on Robert Galbraith's crime books, this series follows Afghan War vet and private investigator Cormoran Strike and his assistant Robin as they solve mysteries. In case you are not aware, Robert Galbraith is a pseudonym of JK Rowling.
Chernobyl, a miniseries based on the nuclear disaster of the same name, is scarier than any horror story in existence, precisely because it did happen in the past and a similar event can happen in future. Human incompetence, after all, has no limits. Read more
Fun for children, and a decent way to pass time for adults, Alvin and the Chipmunks is one of the better family movies.
At its core, Kingdom is a tale of the struggle for the throne, but the said struggle gets hampered by dead people getting resurrected because of a mysterious plant which also turns them into witless cannibals.
Marielle Heller directorial A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood stars Tom Hanks as Fred Rogers, the creator and host of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.